Representatives from eight countries working with 19 different computer programs assessed the ability of computer models to simulate the thermal load and energy requirements of commercial buildings.
Participants checked the consistency and accuracy of their computer programs to assess how much confidence government policy makers and HVAC system engineers can place in computer estimates of building energy requirements. Understanding differences in predictions about building energy consumption is important to architects and engineers studying the relationships between energy consumption and building architecture and to public policy makers developing energy performance standards for buildings.
In a second phase participants compared eleven different computer models to predict the energy flows within the Avonbank office building near Bristol, Great Britain. The results predicted by the models were compared with the performance of the building as determined by monitored data.
Various areas were identified during this project where the simulation of building energy transfer processes needed further development. These developments were undertaken by subsequent tasks.