Engine Feature Comparison

asked 2015-11-13 15:17:20 -0600

updated 2016-01-09 15:27:50 -0600

Update: it would be good if this table (see Google Spreadsheet linked from @JulienMarrec answer) could be completed soon so that I can use it in a DOE document. Thanks everyone. Any DOE-2.1E (@JoeHuang) and HAP experts out there?

Also note 10 additional rows added to spreadsheet.

At the risk of starting a war on a Friday, I want to try to use UH to crowd-source some information about features available in various engines. For each of the following features, I am looking for one answer per engine and each answer to consist of a list of yes/no/partial/user-hook to the ability to model each of the following. Feel free to append to the list if you want to expand scope.

Dedicated outdoor air systems (DOAS)
Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems
Variable-speed drives
Commercial refrigeration
Air-source heat-pump
Water-source heat-pump
Ground-source heat-pump
Multi-function heat-pump
Radiant heating
Radiant cooling
Evaporative cooling
Absorption chiller
Condensing boiler
Heat recovery
Ice storage
Equipment cycling
Optimal start/stop
Static pressure reset
User defined control
Photo-voltaics
Building integrated photo-voltaics
Solar thermal
Natural ventilation
Displacement ventilation
Underfloor air distribution
Illuminance calculations (i.e., virtual sensors)
Illuminance calculation-driven lighting control
Illuminance calculation-driven shade/blind control
Thermal mass
Thermal bridges
Phase-change-material

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Comments

Adding to the list: 32. Electrical Storage (e.g. electric battery model)
33. Complex Electric Power calculations (ie. magnitude and phase)

Ralph Muehleisen ( 2015-11-13 22:15:37 -0600 )edit

Is #33 really a BEM feature?

__AmirRoth__ ( 2015-11-14 10:39:27 -0600 )edit

It should be. Complex electrical building loads are needed for microgrid, distribution, and transmission network design and control. NERC just made a requirement that transmission operators needed new complex dynamic load models for buildings for better reliability.

Ralph Muehleisen ( 2015-11-14 10:59:25 -0600 )edit

I added columns for EnergyPro and Carrier HAP in the spreadsheet, if someone wants to go after those. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. This is valuable.

__AmirRoth__ ( 2015-11-16 10:41:32 -0600 )edit

Added additional rows based on my understanding of capabilities of E+ v8.4 and eQUEST v3.65 build 7163. Would be useful to have a consistent definition of Yes and No applied to this document, as many times a creative work-around can be used to abstract a physical phenomena into restrictive model inputs. In that spirit - does 'No' mean 'without a work-around requiring pre-processing or post-processing' to evaluate? And does "Yes' mean that the data model supports direct modeling of the physical phenomena..? That leaves the 3rd option partial/user hook even more unclear to me.

ChrisBalbach ( 2016-01-10 10:34:28 -0600 )edit

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6

answered 2015-11-14 03:23:04 -0600

Julien Marrec

29716 ●94 ●76 http://www.effibem.com/

I think it's going to be messy trying to do this here.

I'd like to propose we try to fill a collaborative Google spreadsheet located here.

Feel free to add your answers, or even engines or features.

If you are disagreeing with a previous rating, please leave a comment.

Also, I think the "Partial / User-Hook" is a bit confusing, since with a stretch everything can be a "partial" if you're creative enough (and/or not very concerned about accuracy).

I would draw the limit as to being stuff you do only in the modeling software. Using outputs of the model to calculate heat recovery for example shouldn't be qualified as "partial". Neither should calculating the performance of a facade using another software (e.g. THERM) to create a derated U-value.

But using a "dummy zone" in eQuest to control the temperature of a DOAS is a "partial" to me.

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Comments

OK. I just thought that the comment feature here could be used for discussion, while the answers are refined. But Google Docs works also. And there will be a pointer to it from here.

I intended "user-hook" to cover things like user-functions and EMS. I'm not exactly sure what I meant by "partial". Anyways, I agree with your refinement.

__AmirRoth__ ( 2015-11-14 08:44:41 -0600 )edit

@ __AmirRoth__ how do you want to handle daylighting stuff in this document? @rpg777 would probably say that E+ does a terrible job at the illuminance metrics, but gets the job done when paired w/ Radiance via OS. Should this be marked as a Yes or Partial? I'm really surprised that Trace can claim any sort of reasonable capability in that area.

Also, should IES VE be considered an engine per the original question?

ljbrackney ( 2015-11-16 09:13:41 -0600 )edit

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7

answered 2015-11-16 10:59:35 -0600

rpg777
6980 ●6 ●15 http://openstudio.net/

updated 2015-11-16 13:41:37 -0600

If we're talking engines-only here, I believe there are a few columns on the list that do not belong there. I also agree with @Julien Marrec that this "Partial / User Hook" business is confusing; it's the basis for tools that are not purely engines already appearing on this list, and is the basis I'd use to lobby for other tools -- engines and interfaces alike -- to be added to it.

Many items on the feature list can only be evaluated in a BEM context with a multi-engine approach, which begs the question: what are we really trying to enumerate, here? Because we've got a (growing) list of... "things", that covers physics, mechatronics, physiology, psychology, economics, and voodoo, many of which don't lend themselves to a simple yes or no without some explanation.

Sorry to be the one to whiz in the Wheaties this fine Monday morning, but I'd just like to see this effort end up being useful (not saying that this is easy, either).

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Comments

You forgot hermeneutics. Which rows would you delete from a comparison of BEM engines?

__AmirRoth__ ( 2015-11-16 12:19:32 -0600 )edit

No, I didn't, and I wouldn't delete any rows. I would delete a column or two if this is truly to be a comparison of just pure simulation engines. If it's inclusive of middleware, then I'd add OpenStudio, Honeybee, and SPOT Pro to the columns. And then we'd also have to add Radiance and AGi32 to the list, as engines capable of modeling daylighting, and with the help of the aforementioned middleware, checking half a dozen of the row's boxes, there.

rpg777 ( 2015-11-16 13:36:33 -0600 )edit

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3

answered 2015-11-14 08:02:17 -0600

SEI_Associates
215 ●1 ●4

I have filled in the Trane Trace column in Julien's Google spreadsheet.

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2

answered 2015-11-16 10:03:03 -0600

crduggin

800 ●4 ●5

I went ahead and put in answers for IESVE.

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2

answered 2015-11-15 21:42:07 -0600

hongtz
270 ●2 ●2

Others to consider:

occupant behavior
demand response
operational faults
dynamic glazing
district cooling and heating systems
CHP
simplified and detailed air flow models
non-vapor compression cooling technologies, e.g. thermoelectric
other renewable, e.g. wind turbine
DC power

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@hongtz, thanks. Do 'occupant behavior' and 'demand response' fall under 'user-defined control'? Otherwise, what is the operational/accepted definition of these features?

__AmirRoth__ ( 2015-11-16 10:22:07 -0600 )edit

Yes both relate to interaction with or control of energy services in buildings in response to occupants needs or demand response signals. The 'user-defined control' feature can include them as long as it enables adequate coding to implement these types of controls.

hongtz ( 2015-11-17 11:27:47 -0600 )edit

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1

answered 2015-11-16 14:31:32 -0600

Chris Jones
1109 ●1 ●6

I don't believe you should group DOE2.1e and EnergyPro together. EnergyPro includes a bunch of functions that enable modeling such things as VRV that DOE2.1e doesn't model directly.