[Strawbale] Free software for building performance analysis

[David Neeley]

Greetings!

You  may not be aware of it, but your tax dollars are helping pay for
the development of many software tools that may be freely acquired.
Some are highly technical and may be difficult to use, while others
are much simpler.

I thought it would be worthwhile to make a list of a few of them, so
you may determine if any of them might be helpful.

I have listed a number of these tools below, but there are a few
others as well. Note that the Window program (listed last below), for
example, includes an up-to-date database of international window
manufacturers and products. Using this, you can find the best
performing windows available for your needs.

* Building Design Advisor. Windows based, it coordinates the working
of a number of other software tools developed at Lawrence Berkeley
National Labs. Probably beyond the interest of those not in the
professional design biz, but see for yourself:
http://gaia.lbl.gov/BDA/

* Design Intent Tool. A database tool that allows you to specify your
design objectives and then to track them through the design phase to
be sure that they are all being met. It also allows you to easily
benchmark performance objectives and see that they are being met in
practice. http://ateam.lbl.gov/DesignIntent/

* Home Energy Saver. A Web-based tool for making decisions regarding
your house in your location. This works in concert with the Energy
Star program. http://hes.lbl.gov/

* EnergyPlus. A professional-grade program to do hour-by-hour modeling
of a building's energy performance. EnergyPlus. As its Website puts
it:

"Best features of the DOE-2 and BLAST programs combined into a new,
powerful, and more accurate program. Some EnergyPlus features: heat
balance loads calculation, simultaneous loads and HVAC calculation,
sub-hour timesteps, moisture absorption/desorption in building
elements, loop-based HVAC systems, a new input data structure allows
easy attachment of graphical user interfaces, modularized code allows
others to easily add new calculation features, a new output data
structure allows easy attachment of postprocessors for results display
and analysis, additions (such as ground heat transfer and interzone
air flow) allow simulation of processes not available in either DOE-2
or BLAST, and a link to the component-based program SPARK allow
simulation of complex systems that are beyond the scope of the basic
EnergyPlus model." http://gundog.lbl.gov/EP/ep_main.html

* PEAR "A simplified PC-based tool, based on extensive DOE-2
simulations. Readily useable by builders, architects, or lenders to
provide reliable estimates of building energy consumption. PEAR is
also useful as a tool for producing home energy ratings."
http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/tools_directory/software.cfm/ID=120/pagename=alpha_list

* ProForm "ProForm is a software tool designed to support a basic
assessment of the environmental and financial impacts of renewable
energy and energy efficiency projects. Given the necessary data,
ProForm calculates basic financial indicators and avoided emissions of
CO2 and local air pollutants expected from a project."
http://poet.lbl.gov/Proform/

* RESFEN "Program for calculating the annual heating and cooling
energy use and costs due to fenestration systems in residential
buildings. RESFEN (RESidential FENestration) also calculates their
contribution to peak heating and cooling loads."
http://windows.lbl.gov/software/resfen/resfen.html

* Window "A window thermal analysis computer program that is the de
facto standard used by U.S. manufacturers to characterize product
performance." http://windows.lbl.gov/software/window/window.html

The entire list is at http://eetd.lbl.gov/eetd-software.html

David