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NREL / EnergyPlus

EnergyPlus™ is a whole building energy simulation program that engineers, architects, and researchers use to model both energy consumption and water use in buildings.
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American Format Output for Code reviewers #8851

Open Weedwacker1 opened 3 years ago

Weedwacker1 commented 3 years ago

HTML output does not allow different units. SQL language is Opaque.

Hello EnergyPlus team, as a former Energy Code reviewer in Washington DC, we had started to reject EnergyPlus as an acceptable submission from design teams for minimum code compliance because the typical reports provided from the HTML Table output had units which were not in digestible format. While it is possible to get the Table to change to InchPounds or JtoKWh, it is not possible to do both. In some cases, it would be helpful to have units in MBTU.

While I understand that EnergyPlus is intended just to be an "engine" to other for-profit "front-ends," it does not seem like the for profit companies are implementing code-legible reports for consumption via the SQL database output. DesignBuilder, Simergy, etc. are relying on the output reports from EnergyPlus to provide data for IECC Performance, ASHRAE 90.1 "Budget Method," or Appendix G review. The standard energy code reviewer does not have time to try to hand-convert the PDF data into understandable, and digestible information. At the moment, many jurisdictions are relying on self-input spreadsheets to gather information about the files, without getting that data directly from the energy model. As the energy code increases in stringency, the enforcement of the energy code increases, the temptation and likelihood of designers to manipulate the data or "make a mistake" increases making the necessity for reports directly from the software (and associated time-stamp) essential for verification of inputs and outputs.

Trane Trace and eQuest outputs have many output report forms that were quickly legible and clearly understood by American markets. It is my belief that without addressing the concerns of the energy code reviewer through standardized output reports in acceptable units relevant to typical code inputs and expected outputs (See Appendix G Table 1.3), that EnergyPlus will struggle to be used as a comprehensive tool for American energy modeling code compliance. It will instead be a design tool, and then a whole new model will have to be created for compliance. By creating standardized reports in legible formats and American Units, you will allow for cost-savings on the design and compliance teams, and future-proof EnergyPlus from upcoming building code stringency and enforcement.

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lymereJ commented 3 years ago

@Weedwacker1 - Have you tried the ASHRAE Standard 90.1 Performance Based Compliance Form?

Weedwacker1 commented 3 years ago

Cant say that I have. I will have to check it out.

On Thu, Jul 1, 2021, 11:56 AM Jeremy L. @.***> wrote:

@Weedwacker1 https://github.com/Weedwacker1 - Have tried the ASHRAE Standard 90.1 Performance Based Compliance Form https://www.energycodes.gov/software/ashrae-standard-901-performance-based-compliance-form ?

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