What is energy modelling and how do we approach it?

Energy modelling is a process used to estimate the energy consumption of a building. Information about climate, building materials, and key building systems is collected. All this data is then entered into a software program to determine the overall energy use of the building’s design.

Energy modelling outputs are used to compare new construction or existing buildings to a proposed case building. Understanding the improvement opportunities by modelling GHG and energy consumption savings is done by comparing the outputs of the energy model in the base case building and the proposed case building.

In order to execute energy modelling, a energy modelling software needs to be used. EnergyPlus is the premier software used for energy modelling. RKD uses EnergyPlus software as it has strong technical capabilities and is listed as an accepted software for the CMHC MLI Select program.