Paper Conference

Proceedings of BSO Conference 2020: Fifth Conference of IBPSA-England

     

A Comparative Analysis of Energy Simulation Tools for Architectural Research: A Case Study of a Typical Saudi House

Abrar Sameer Baamer, Ken Bruton, Dominic O’Sullivan

Abstract: The building sector is responsible for over 30% of the energy consumption worldwide, and in Saudi Arabia in particular, the building sector consumes double that when compared to US, UK, and EU. The residential buildings are responsible for half of this consumption mainly for cooling. Energy simulation tools are an important aid in understanding a buildings performance and in optimising the architectural designs to be more energy efficient. However, there are hundreds of building performance simulation (BPS) tools in the market, which makes the choice of design tool very challenging. In this study, a systematic approach was used to filter the most commonly evaluated and compared energy simulation tools in literature, concluding by evaluating the Usability and Information Management (UIM) of four tools: IES-VE, DesignBuilder, Green Building Studio (GBS), and Insight 360, using a case study of a typical house in Saudi Arabia. The objective of this paper is to help the architects and building designers in their decision making of the most suitable tool that serves to optimise their designs.
Pages: 358 - 365
Paper:
bso2020_Baamer