Software

EETD scientists develop software to help design more energy-efficient buildings, audit energy use in buildings, examine the economics of sustainable projects, and model components of building systems. Most EETD software and documentation is available for download and public use.

 

Building Design Advisor (BDA)

A powerful buildings design tool that will unify various specialized tools previously developed at LBNL makes it easy to compare design alternatives and includes multimedia resources such as a case-study library.

CalArch

Cal-Arch is a web-based tool for benchmarking the whole building energy use of California commercial buildings.

COMIS

A computer model that simulates the air flow distribution in multizone buildings. This program was developed in an international effort by researchers from nine countries.

Design Intent Tool

This tool helps building owners, architects, and engineers develop a Design Intent Document to help facilitate record-keeping and ensure that the owner's and designer's vision and goals are achieved and periodically verified through performance measurement.

DOE-2

An advanced computer program that simulates hourly building energy use.

EnergyPlus

Best features of the DOE-2 and BLAST programs combined into a new, powerful, and more accurate program.

GenOpt

A multi-parameter optimization program designed for minimization of an objective function, such as annual energy use, that is calculated by an external simulation program such as EnergyPlus or DOE-2.

Home Energy Saver

The first Internet-based tool for calculating energy use in residential buildings. The project is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy as part of their national ENERGY STAR^® Programs for improving energy efficiency in homes. The Home Improvement Tool is a simplified version of this site.

Interoperability (IAI)

The goal of the International Alliance for Interoperability is to develop a standard universal framework to enable and encourage information sharing and interoperability throughout all phases of the whole building life cycle.

Metracker

Metracker is a prototype computer tool designed to demonstrate the specification, tracking, and visualization of building performance objectives and their associated metrics across the complete life cycle of a building.

Optics

A computer program to calculate the optical properties of glazing systems and laminates. The program can be used to construct new laminates from existing components and manipulate glazing layers by adding coatings, films, changing the substrate or changing the thickness. Optics includes the International Glazing Database with measured spectral data of more than 1000 different glazings.

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.

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.

RADIANCE

A photometrically accurate computer-generated graphic simulation of lighting in indoor environments. The ultra-realistic images produced by the program facilitate the designer's visualization of lighting design options.

RESEM

A simulation-based tool developed to allow the DOE Institutional Conservation Program (ICP) staff and participants to reliably determine the energy savings directly attributable to ICP-supported retrofit measures implemented in a building. RESEM (Retrofit Energy Savings Estimation Model) calculates long-term energy savings directly from actual utility data, with corrections for weather and use variations between the pre-retrofit and post-retrofit utility data collection periods.

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.

SPARK

An object oriented environment for graphically assembling custom models of complex building energy systems.

Superlite

A mainframe and microcomputer program that calculates daylight illuminance distributions for complex room and light source geometries with tested accuracy. Superlite will model daylight coming through as many as five openings and being reflected from as many as 20 opaque surfaces oriented in any direction.

THERM

A state-of-the-art, Microsoft Windows^TM based computer program for modeling two-dimensional heat-transfer effects in building components.

Window

A window thermal analysis computer program that is the de facto standard used by U.S. manufacturers to characterize product performance.

Building Energy Software Tools Directory
U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Many of DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs develop software tools to help researchers, designers, architects, engineers, builders, code officials, and others involved in the building life-cycle in evaluating and ranking potential energy-efficiency in new or existing buildings. This electronic directory provides information about the range of buildings-related energy tools available to the buildings industry. Many tools presented in this directory have been or are currently sponsored by DOE. The tools range from tools intended primarily for research to software now available from private sector vendors.

The energy tools in this directory include databases, spreadsheets, component and systems analyses, and whole-building energy performance simulation programs. For each tool in the directory, a short description is provided along with other information including expertise required, users, audience, input, output, computer platforms, programming language, strengths, weaknesses, technical contact, and availability. To help you find the tool you are most interested in, the directory is organized in the following categories:

• Whole-Building Energy Analysis
• Material, Component, Equipment, and Systems Evaluation
• Codes and Standards Development and Compliance
• Special Applications