The U.S. Department of Energy, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have released the initial version of the Spawn of EnergyPlus software.
The government entities collaborated with Modelon and Objexx Engineering on the new tool. Spawn is not a replacement for EnergyPlus and won’t be in the foreseeable future.
Like its progenitor, the new tool performs whole-building energy simulation, but it also targets new use cases in advanced controls, district systems, and grid integration. Spawn supports these new use cases by making fundamental use of coupled simulation via the Functional Mockup Interface standard.
It reuses the weather, envelope, lighting, and loads models from EnergyPlus and packages them as a single model. But it replaces EnergyPlus’ traditional, imperative, implicit, load-based HVAC and controls models with explicit declarative state-based models from the Modelica Buildings Library that are translated and automatically linked with the EnergyPlus model.
By combining models in different configurations, Spawn simulates either a single building or a collection of buildings linked by shared thermal, electrical, and control systems.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Aug 24, 2018
Resilience, sustainability emphasized in plans for new 23,000-acre city in the Philippines
“A backup for when Manila fails.”
Codes and Standards | Aug 23, 2018
Cities promote deconstruction of old homes with mixed results
Market factors complicate efforts to recycle material from old structures.
Codes and Standards | Aug 22, 2018
Oregon is first state to change building code to allow tall mass timber buildings
Statewide alternate method allows early technical consideration and approval.
Codes and Standards | Aug 21, 2018
First mass timber panel made from structural composite lumber gets APA certification
Said to be much more cost effective than CLT options.
Codes and Standards | Aug 17, 2018
Zoning changes can be crucial to filling large, empty retail spaces
Alternative uses often require action by local officials.
Codes and Standards | Aug 16, 2018
Nearly a quarter of opioid overdose deaths attributable to construction workers
Massachusetts public health study finds pressure to work in pain contributes to problem.
Codes and Standards | Aug 15, 2018
ICC creates new committee on building safety and security
Will include experts from many different disciplines.
Codes and Standards | Aug 14, 2018
Philadelphia adopts 2018 IECC energy code, while state opts for 2015 code
City is one of the first jurisdictions to adopt newest code.
Codes and Standards | Aug 9, 2018
Denver’s goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030 includes net zero energy buildings
Community solar programs for low income residents part of plan.
Codes and Standards | Aug 8, 2018
Too much parking in U.S. cities proving costly
As car ownership rates drop, excess parking seems more wasteful.