A Comparison Between Four Dynamic Energy Modeling Tools for Simulation of Space Heating Demand of Buildings

Abstract

Different building energy modelling programs exist and are widely used to calculate energy balance of building in the context of energy renovation of existing buildings or in the design of energy performance of new buildings. The different tools have unique benefits and drawbacks for different conditions. In this study, four different types of building energy system modelling tools including TRNSYS, Energy Plus, IDA-Indoor Climate Energy (IDA-ICE) and VIP-Energy are used to calculate the energy balance of a recently built six-storey apartment building in Växjö, Sweden. The building is designed based on the current Swedish building code. The main outcomes of the software include hourly heating and cooling demands and indoor temperature profiles. We explore the general capabilities of the software and compare the results between them. For the studied building with similar input conditions such as weather climate data file, infiltration and ventilation ratio and internal heat gain, IDA-ICE modeled the highest space heating demand while the TRNSYS the lowest due to the simplification of thermal bridges. The main advance feature of VIP-Energy is the detail thermal bridge analysis while the main drawback is the complexity of using the model. EnergyPlus and TRNSYS can be used for energy supply system integration with the ability to add mathematical sub-modules to the models.