Micropas6

Easy to use detailed energy simulation program which performs hourly calculations to estimate annual energy usage for heating, cooling and water heating in residential buildings. In addition to its purpose as a compliance tool for California�s Title 24 Energy Efficiency Standards, Micropas can be used to demonstrate that a home meets Energy Star requirements in California (15% above Title 24). The program includes a load calculation for use in sizing heating and cooling equipment.
 
Micropas6 has been in wide use in California since the early 1980s as a building energy code compliance tool and is growing in use elsewhere under the Model Energy Code. The last survey showed that about 75% of the single-family homes permitted in California used Micropas to determine code compliance. The program is mature, reliable and fast. Micropas6 is fully supported with top notch documentation and complete printouts. The program has a wide range of features to help automate and manage its use.

Keywords

energy simulation, heating and cooling loads, residential buildings, code compliance, hourly

Validation/Testing

Micropas has passed the HERS Bestest Tier 1 tests.

Expertise Required

to read building plans and an understanding of how the energy efficiency of building features (e.g. U-factors, SHGC, R-values, SEER, etc.) are specified.

Users

Over 2300 copies have been sold since 1983, mostly in California and other west coast states. Current users include builders, architects, engineers, mechanical contractors, utilities and energy consultants.

Audience

Although Micropas is a capable general purpose hourly simulation program for energy efficient residential buildings, the main use of the program is to document compliance with residential building energy codes such as the Model Energy Code and California's Title-24 Code.

Input

Data is required describing each building thermal zone (15 maximum); opaque surfaces (walls, roofs, floors, 100 maximum); fenestration products (doors, windows, skylights, 100 maximum); thermal mass (slabs, etc., 25 maximum); HVAC equipment (heating, cooling, venting, thermostats) and water heating systems (domestic and hydronic heating).

Output

Seven types of clearly formatted printouts are available including summary output, detailed building descriptions, HVAC sizing summary and assembly U-value calculations. For detailed oriented studies, yearly, monthly, daily and hourly table output is available including time-of-use and bin data. Annual and table outputs can be saved in delimited formats suitable for importing into other software for additional analysis and graphics. For studies including many runs, a parametric run generator and databases of run results are available.

Computer Platform

Can run on any DOS, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, 98, XP, 2000 or Windows NT based computer. Can run on Macintosh using emulation software.

Programming Language

Microsoft Professional Basic.

Strengths

Mature and reliable program used daily by hundreds of energy consultants in California. Good documentation and good support via toll free number. Can calculate annual energy usage and provide load (sizing) calculations at the same time. Able to manage multiple runs. Not as complex as DOE-2, not as simple minded as UA type compliance programs.

Weaknesses

No detailed modeling of heating and cooling systems is provided--seasonal performance values like AFUEs and SEERs are used.

Contact

Availability

Micropas is $795 US. Research option is $500 US. Demonstration version available on web site.

Printable Version