Computer-aided building energy analysis techniques

Buildings are slowly replacing long-term investments that consume a lot of energy. Given current economic, as well as environmental constraints on energy resources, the energy issue plays an important role in the design and operation of buildings. Careful long-term decisions in the design and operation of buildings can significantly improve their thermal performance and thus reduce their consumption of energy. Alternative building design strategies, standards compliance and economic optimization can be evaluated using available energy analysis techniques. These range from simplified manual energy analysis methods for approximate energy use estimates to detailed computerized hourly simulation. The availability and case of use of today's computers make them effective tools in the decision-making process of building design. This paper reviews the most common building energy analysis techniques and the potential applications of computer technology in the energy simulation and optimization of buildings.