A Survey of Urban-Scale Building Energy Modelers

In recent years, ASHRAE Technical Committee TC 4.7 has become interested in Urban-Scale Building Energy Modeling (UBEM), due to the increasing research activities in this field. Currently, work is being performed on UBEM at different universities and laboratories in the U.S. However, no known document exists that summarizes the work that is being prepared at these different institutions. Therefore, at the request of ASHRAE TC 4.7, Subcommittee on Multi-Scale Building Energy Modeling (MBEM), Mr. Ron Judkoff (MBEM Chair), the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) at the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station of the Texas A&M University System conducted Zoom/phone surveys with urban-scale building energy modelers from universities and research laboratories in the U.S. This report “A Survey of Urban-Scale Building Energy Modelers”, presents the survey results, which are based on transcriptions of Zoom/telephone interviews with Dr. Christoph Reinhart at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Dr. Ralph Muehleisen at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Dr. Joshua New at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Dr. Tianzhen Hong at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Dr. Anthony Fontanini at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Dr. Wangda Zuo at University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder)

Energy Systems Laboratory: Building a Model Repository Collection

The Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) is a division of the Texas Engineering Experiment Station and part of the Texas A&M University System. First established in 1939, the ESL maintains a testing laboratory on the Riverside Campus in Bryan, Texas, and offices on the main campus of Texas A&M. The group consists of five faculty members from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, as well as three faculty members from the Departments of Architecture and Construction Science. The lab currently employs approximately 120 staff members, including mechanical engineers, computer science graduates, lab technicians, support staff, and graduate and undergraduate students. The Lab focuses on energy-related research, energy efficiency, and emissions reduction, and has a total annual income for external research and testing exceeding $4.5 million. With energy research and policy at the forefront of public discussion, both academic and political, the urgency of making this research publicly available is very high. The Energy Systems Laboratory collection in the Texas A&M Digital Repository is unique in a number of ways. After first contacting the library in March 2005, the ESL became one of Texas A&M's earliest adopters of the repository. The collection is very diverse, and contains conference proceedings, published articles, technical reports, and electronic theses and dissertations produced by students affiliated with the ESL. The ESL is also the first repository client to take the initiative of assigning staff members to learn the batch loading process for themselves, both relieving library staff of the burden and allowing the collection to expand even more rapidly. The collection has also successfully made the transition, despite some challenges, from the original DSpace interface to the Manakin-themed repository now in place. After three years, the collection remains one of the largest collections in the system, continues to grow as more of the group's research and publications are added to the collection, and is held forth as a model collection to prospective repository clients in the Texas A&M community. This is a testament to the Energy Systems Laboratory's dedication to the building of their repository collection, and their clear understanding of the advantages of open access. This presentation will discuss the excellent working relationship built between the Energy System Laboratory and the library, and how such relationships can be fostered with other collections as the repository expands. It will also recount the events leading up to the ESL's original adoption of the repository, and will chronicle the evolution of the repository collection, the addition of new content, the transition and adaptation to new technology, the copyright and other challenges faced, and the group's future needs for additional tools and services

A Comparison of the Stringency of the 2001 IECC Versus the 2009 IECC and 2009 IRC

This report documents the differences between the 2001 IECC , 2009 IECC and 2009 IRC. The three codes are compared using the climate zones proposed by the 2009 IECC for the State of Texas. The comparison is carried out using the same code-compliant simulation with input variables that reflect differences between the three codes

The International Code-Compliant Calculator (IC3) v4.5.6

This report presents the Energy Systems Laboratory’s (ESL) web-based software tool - International Code Compliance Calculator (IC3), v4.5.6, test suites result of the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) verification procedures - RESNET Publication No. 002-2020 (RESNET 2020). These tests were developed using the RESNET Standard ANSI/RESNET/ICC 301-2019 (RESNET, 2018), Addendum A (RESNET, 2021a), and Addendum B (RESNET, 2021b)

Regional Energy Baselines and Measurement and Verification Protocols: Subtask 3.1 for the Southern Energy Efficiency Center

The Southern Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC) was established to substantially increase the deployment of high-performance “beyond-code” buildings across the southern region of the U.S. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Program, and administered by the National Energy Technology Laboratory. The goal of the first 18-month phase was to address efficiency goals of states, utilities, and various energy-efficiency programs. In order to achieve this goal, the project efforts included defining the baseline energy patterns within the project region, as well as the measurement and verification (M&V) protocols for use in determining the efficiency improvements SEEC, state and USDOE efforts with respect to that baseline. This work is defined under the SEEC Subtask 3.1 Define Regional Baselines and Measurement & Verification Protocols. This report presents preliminary deliverables of this subtask developed and documented by the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) for use by the SEEC member state region. The primary goal of this subtask is to provide the state energy offices with a comparison tool of energy use either by total or per-capita. This tool is expected to allow the state energy offices to compare their energy use pattern against other states’ and the national average energy use by end-use sector. In addition, they can use this tool for a comparison of energy use within their states by end-use and by fuel-source. Another goal of this subtask is to demonstrate the usability of public-available data such as the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency (DOE EIA) data sets and the U.S. Census Bureau data sets. This approach has been successfully demonstrated by ESL as part of the Comptroller of Public Accounts and the State Energy Conservation Office report on Texas Energy Future. Limited preliminary analysis of the data was made since it was not a project goal. The data provides the basis by which extensive state by state analysis can begin. In addition, the recommended measurement and verification (M&V) protocols for an individual building or facility, ASHRAE/CIBSE/USGBC Performance Measurement Protocols (PMP) for Commercial Buildings, can be used as a bottom-up approach for energy efficiency improvements of buildings within the SEEC 12-state region

Review and Recommendations of Existing Methods and Tools for Building Energy Analysis: Subtask 2.4 for the Southern Energy Efficiency Center

ESL-TR-09-04-01The Southern Energy Efficiency Center (SEEC) was established to substantially increase the deployment of high-performance “beyond-code” buildings across the southern region of the U.S. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Program and administered by the National Energy Technology Laboratory. During its first 18-month phase, to expand the use of existing methods, procedures and tools for building energy efficiency in the marketplace; project efforts include identifying the existing tools from very simple calculators for estimating energy savings to detailed methods for measurement and verification of commercial building energy savings and defining their technical and practical characteristics. This work is defined under the SEEC Subtask 2.4 Expand the Use of Existing Methods and Tools. This report presents preliminary deliverables of this subtask developed and documented by the Energy Systems Laboratory (ESL) for use by the SEEC member state region. The primary goal of this subtask is to provide the state energy offices with the list of available tools and recommendations for use. By scrutinizing the information gathered, these recommendations have been developed to encourage the use of a number of existing tools that are not widely used, but provide valuable information and insight on the benefits of building energy efficiency in the SEEC member states. The resultant summary spreadsheet will also allow them to choose the appropriate tool, either simple calculators or detailed methods, according to the inquiry