This article is part of BD+C's special five-part Technology Report 2014: Top tech tools and trends for AEC professionals.
For more than a decade, the U.S. Department of Energy has made its EnergyPlus energy analysis and thermal load simulation program available for free to Building Teams.
Using EnergyPlus, AEC professionals can model heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, and other energy flows, as well as water consumption, within a building design.
But without a major rewrite of the program since its creation, using EnergyPlus could exhibit slow performance and occasionally inaccurate analysis results.
The programming language it was originally written in, Fortran, simply could not keep up with advances in the hardware and software computing environment. FORTRAN is a language aimed at scientific programs to be run by scientists for days and weeks on supercomputers, not by building designers running multiple iterations of a design idea in a matter of a few hours.
Because it wasn't well integrated with common architectural design software, EnergyPlus never gained widespread adoption by architects working in the conceptual stage of a project.
At Greenbuild 2013, Autodesk (working pro bono) turned over brand new engine source code to the DOE to create a completely rewritten EnergyPlus for a forthcoming version. The new code will be made available under the DOE’s open source license.
Autodesk’s software engineers translated EnergyPlus—more than 600,000 lines of code—to C++, a modern, object-oriented language that is better supported on mass-market hardware and software platforms.
As a result, a larger ecosystem of developers and vendors will be able to contribute updates to the code in order to improve performance and decrease the time required to run energy model simulations.
The forthcoming version will also work better with BIM applications, auditing tools, and energy dashboards after it is released and developers are able to work on improved integrations.
For more, visit: http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus.
Related Stories
| Oct 26, 2011
Metl-Span selected for re-roof project
School remained in session during the renovation and it was important to minimize the disruption as much as possible.
| Oct 26, 2011
Shawmut Design and Construction awarded Tag Heuer build in Aventura, Fla.
New store features 1,200 sf fit out at Aventura Mall.
| Oct 25, 2011
HKS Science & Technology practice formed
Specializing in the planning and design of highly technical building types, HKS’s Science & Technology practice offers the broadest range of services available to the academic and biomedical research, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device community, including laboratory programming, planning and design, strategic science planning and laboratory equipment planning.
| Oct 25, 2011
Universal teams up with Earthbound Corp. to provide streamlined commercial framing solutions
The primary market for the Intact Structural Frame is light commercial buildings that are typically designed with concrete masonry walls, steel joists and steel decks.
| Oct 25, 2011
Ritner Steel CEO elected to AISC Board
Freund will begin serving on the AISC board of directors, assisting with the organization's planning and leadership in the steel construction industry.
| Oct 25, 2011
Commitment to green building practices pays off
The study, conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, built on a good indication of the potential for increased productivity and performance pilot research completed two years ago, with similarly impressive results.
| Oct 25, 2011
DOE issues report on financing solar photovoltaic systems for K-12 schools
The report examines the two primary types of ownership models used to obtain solar installations. This analysis can help school administrators across the country select the best option for deploying solar technologies in their school districts.
| Oct 25, 2011
MKK participates in BSA Engineering Merit Badge day
MKK principal Craig Watts attended the event as a representative of the MEP (mechanical/electrical/plumbing) engineering industry to give scouts an idea of what’s involved in becoming a mechanical engineer, and an overview of a typical day in the life of an engineer.
| Oct 24, 2011
FMI releases Adjust, Adapt, Act Study
The paper explores several case studies, including Sun Country Builders, Huen, BakerTriangle, Consigli, Skender Construction and Flatiron, and distills the key factors that make these companies unique and successful.