Comparison of the Results from Modeling the Power Performance of a Residential Building Using Different Software Tools

The article considers the following software tools for calculating heat losses and energy consumption: Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) and DesignPH, EcoDesigner STAR, TRNSYS, and MagiCAD Room. The calculations were carried out for one particular object — a residential house with an area of 205 m2  built in the Moscow region. The BEM packages used for the analysis are described. Their advantages and disadvantages, as well as specific features of modeling are noted. The process of interconnection between the building energy model (BEM) and its information model (BIM) is considered. Comparison of the results from modeling the power performance of the object with the same thermophysical properties of its enclosing structures has shown that several BEM-packages should simultaneously be used in designing buildings, because each package is unique in its own way and provides important information, and comparison of the calculation results makes it possible to ascertain that the modeling is correct in nature. The results from calculation of heat losses by heat transfer obtained in all packages have been found to be approximately the same. The calculated heat inputs from solar radiation estimated in EcoDesigner STAR are higher than those estimated in PHPP. The calculated internal heat releases obtained in all packages are different, because each package uses its own methods for specifying internal heat releases. The main disadvantage of the EcoDesigner STAR and TRNSYS packages is noted, namely, impossibility to specify the recuperator thermal efficiency, which leads to excessively high thermal loads on the ventilation system. The MagiCAD Room package does not take into account heat release and heat input from solar radiation; therefore, it can only be used for calculating heat losses and selecting the space heating devices.