Distributed Building Performance Simulation— A Novel Approach to Overcome Legacy Code Limitations

This paper describes the development of as well as implementation strategies for distributed simulation of building systems by run-time coupling of existing software. The approach differs from the traditional way of developing software in which additional models are added by incorporating new modules into an existing program. This paper focuses on the actual coupling mechanism. A case study is presented that illustrates the need and potential of the approach. The conclusion is that a distributed simulation environment is more flexible, practical, and powerful than the sum of the individual software programs.