Overview

Decisions made at an early stage of the design in a construction process can significantly affect how a building performs, both in terms of energy and cost, as well as the environmental impact. Designing low energy buildings requires a holistic approach to consider the complex and interactive design elements taking into account of climate, energy efficiency, thermal comfort and cost efficiency.

This short course for building professionals, delivered over two days, aims to provide a practical, hands-on introduction to four quality simulation packages that are widely used by architects, energy modelers and researchers.

Design Builder
WUFI+
IES
Revit

Agenda: Thursday 2nd April

8:30 Breakfast and registration

9:00 Introduction to Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) tools

A holistic approach to building design: energy efficiency vs cost effectiveness

Contrasting the capabilities of the 4 BPE tools

10:15 Refreshment break

10:30 Introduction to Danesmore Pastures energy saving pilot study

Case study: model development using the 4 simulation software packages

Inter-comparison of simulation outputs among software tools

Model calibration using data collected from post-construction test

12:30 Lunch and networking

13:15 Round-table modelling demonstrations of the 4 software packages

15:45 Modelling outputs: open discussions

Impact of thermal properties on energy consumption: insulation, cold bridges, WWR

Impact of over/undersized systems on the energy consumption

Impact of ventilation on IAQ, overheating risk, moisture risk

Energy vs cost efficiency

16:30 Close

Understanding and Closing the Building Performance Gap