By comparing EnergyPlus with other energy simulation tools, this paper explores how to use EnergyPlus to construct models to accurately simulate complex building systems as well as the interrelationships among sub-systems such as HVAC, lighting and service hot water systems. Then energy consumption and cost of a large public building is simulated and calculated for LEED certification using Ener...

An optimization module is developed and incorporated within EnergyPlus. As an application of the optimization module, improved controls are determined for building passive thermal energy storage inventory. The paper describes the implementation of the optimization module within EnergyPlus. Moreover, the paper presents results of a comparative analysis to assess the performance of various optimi...

HVAC operations play a significant role among various driving factors to improve energy performance of buildings. Extensive researches have been conducted on the design efficiencies and control strategies of HVAC system, but very few focused on the impacts of its operational faults on the building energy efficiency. Modeling and simulation of operational faults can lead to better understandings...

Building energy simulation software (e.g. EnergyPlus) is a powerful tool used widely by designers and researchers. However, current software is limited in modeling distributed generation (DG), including DG with heat recovery applied to building end-use, i.e. combined heat and power (CHP). Concurrently, DG investment and dispatch optimization software has been developed, yet has not been linked ...

This paper describes the implementation of long wave radiation (LWR) exchange as part of a co-simulation process of an urban scale simulation program, CitySim, and a building scale program, EnergyPlus. This coupling process was achieved through the use of functional mockup units (FMU) to exchange various weather, load, and environmental information between the two simulation engines. LWR is an ...

Ventilated windows have shown great po tential in conserving energy in buildings and provide fresh air to improve indoor air qua lity. This paper reports our effort to use EnergyPlus to simulate the energy performance of a dual airflow window under different climate. Our investigation first develope d a network m odel to accoun t for th e twodimensional heat transfer in the window sy stem and i...

The airflow network model in EnergyPlus provides the ability to simulate multizone wind-driven airflows. The model is also able to simulate the impacts of forced air distribution systems, including supply and return air leaks. The air distribution system portion of the model is currently applicable for constant-air-volume systems. Future enhancements will include adding hybrid ventilation contr...

Model based control has been proven to have significant building energy saving potentials through operation optimization. Accurate and computationally efficient, and costeffective building energy model are essential for model based control. Existing studies in this area have mostly been focusing on reducing computation burden using simplified physics based modeling approach. However, creating a...

Effective energy management for large campus facilities is becoming increasingly complex as modern heating and cooling systems comprise of several hundred subsystems interconnected to each other. Building energy simulators like EnergyPlus are exceedingly good at modeling a single building equipped with a standalone HVAC equipment. However, the ability to simulate a large campus and to control t...

This paper compares the results from a study conducted at Iowa Energy Center’s Energy Resource Station with EnergyPlus simulation results. The building consists of controlled test rooms, dedicated air handling units and air-cooled chillers for the purpose of obtaining quality data suitable for empirical validation studies. Weather data were also collected at the facility and used for the simula...