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Overview of DOE-2 |
The DOE-2 program for building energy use analysis provides the
building construction and research communities with an up-to-date,
unbiased, well-documented computer program for building
energy analysis. DOE-2 is a portable FORTRAN program that can be used
on a large variety of computers, including PC's. Using DOE-2,
designers can quickly determine the choice of building parameters which
improve energy efficiency while maintaining thermal comfort. A user
can provide a simple or increasingly detailed description of a building
design or alternative design options and obtain an accurate estimate of
the proposed building's energy consumption, interior environmental
conditions and energy operation cost.
What Is DOE-2?
DOE-2 is an up-to-date, unbiased computer program that predicts the
hourly energy use and energy cost of a building given hourly weather
information and a description of the building and its HVAC equipment
and utility rate structure. Using DOE-2, designers can determine the
choice of building parameters that improve energy efficiency while
maintaining thermal comfort and cost-effectiveness. The purpose of
DOE-2 is to aid in the analysis of energy usage in buildings; it is not
intended to be the sole source of information relied upon for the
design of buildings: The judgment and experience of the
architect/engineer still remain the most important elements of building
design.
Structure of DOE-2 The figure shows a flowchart of DOE-2. Basically, DOE-2 has one subprogram for translation of your input (BDL Processor), and four simulation subprograms (LOADS, SYSTEMS, PLANT and ECON). LOADS, SYSTEMS and PLANT are executed in sequence, with the output of LOADS becoming the input of SYSTEMS, etc. The output then becomes the input to ECON. Each of the simulation subprograms also produces printed reports of the results of its calculations. |
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DOE-2 Flow
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The elements of DOE-2 shown in the figure are as follows:
Uses for DOE-2
Because of the scope and flexibility of its input, DOE-2 can be used in
many applications, especially those involving design of the building
envelope and HVAC systems, and selection of energy conserving or peak
demand reduction alternatives.
Validation of DOE-2
DOE-2 has been validated by comparing its results with thermal and energy use
measurements on actual buildings and with calculations. Detailed information on
some of the DOE-2 program validation efforts may be found in the following reports
(available from the National Technical Information Service, 5285 Port Royal Road,
Springfield, VA 22161):
Documentation
DOE-2.1E has the following manuals:
Machine Requirements
DOE-2 versions are available for most computer platforms and operating systems.
Hardware requirements vary, but generally 32 Mb
of RAM and 200 Mb of hard disk space is required.
Impacts of DOE-2
Following is a summary of the applications and impacts of the DOE-2 building energy
simulation program.
DOE-2 is the most widely-used government-developed program for building
energy analysis in the US and 40+ other countries. It is used to achieve energy-efficient,
cost-effective building designs.
Users report an average 22% reduction in energy use through use of DOE-2. In the U.S.,
this has led to a savings of approximately $11B in energy costs through 1998 (an estimate approved by
the U.S. Government Accounting Office).
Some examples in the U.S. are: The White House World Trade Center Sears Tower Hirschhorn Museum Boston City Hall New York State Capitol Texas State Capitol Ronald Reagan Library U.S. State Department NREL Laboratory Bank of Boston Pacific Museum of Flight Peachtree Place One Magnificent Mile |
Examples in other countries are: National Library (France) New Parliament House (Australia) Berlin Holocaust Center Nestle' Headquarters (Switzerland) U.S. Embassy (Berlin) DOW Europe (Switzerland) Renault Technocenter (France) Citibank Plaza (Hong Kong) |
DOE-2 is the basis of books and design guides on energy-efficient buildings. These include:
DOE-2 is the source of algorithms, calculation techniques, and correlations for many widely-used simplified methods. These include:
ADM-DOE2 CBIP (Canada> Compare-IT CoolTools COMPLY-24 DesiCalc |
DOE-Plus DOE2Parm DrawBDL Energy Gauge USA EnergyPro EZ-DOE |
FTI/DOE2 Home Energy Saver (LBNL) Home Improvement Tool (LBNL) Perform 2001 PRC-DOE2 PRC-Tools RIUSKA |
RESFEN 3.1 VisualDOE 3.1 Visualize-IT |
 
DOE-2 has been incorporated in commercial building design software
environments such as COMBINE (European Community) and RIUSKA
(Finland).
 
DOE-2 results on the energy-efficiency potential of
different building types has been incorporated by Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory in the U.S. Energy Information Administration's
National Energy Modeling System for predicting future energy demand.
 
DOE-2 is used by professional societies and industry groups for
research, development, and impact analysis. For example, ASHRAE used
DOE-2 for standards development and the Gas Research Institute (GRI)
used DOE-2 to assess the energy economics of, and thereby determine
future R+D and marketing efforts for new gas technologies, including
gas-engine-driven chillers, desiccant cooling systems, direct-fired
absorption cooling, and cogeneration.
 
Many utility companies use DOE-2 as a key element in their demand-side
management programs to encourage energy-efficiency as an alternative to
building new power plants. For example: Northeast Utilities, Pacific
Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison offer DOE-2 analysis to
architects and engineers as an incentive to designing energy-efficient
buildings. The Bonneville Power Authority (BPA) in its Energy Edge
program used DOE-2 to show the practicality of buildings that use 30%
less energy than its existing standard. Pacific Gas and Electric
(PG&E), the largest investor-owned utility in the U.S., used DOE-2 in
its ACT2 (Advanced Customer Technology Test) project to select advanced
energy efficiency retrofit measures in residential and commercial
buildings. Many States use DOE-2 to determine the potential for energy
savings. For example, New York State used DOE-2 to show that adoption
of cost-effective conservation measures would reduce statewide
electricity consumption by 38%.
 
States and the federal
government use DOE-2 to forecast the long-range cost and energy savings
of building energy efficiency programs.
 
The National
Fenestration Council (NFRC) has used DOE-2 to develop window energy
efficiency labels.
Because of its accuracy, DOE-2 is used as a reference standard program. Two examples of this are:
Developers
DOE-2 was developed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Hirsch &
Associates, Consultants Computation Bureau, Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory and University of Paris. Major
support was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy; additional
support was provided by the Gas Research Institute, Pacific Gas &
Electric Company, Southern California Edison Company, Electric Power
Research Institute, California Energy Commission and others.