Engineering · Selected work
EnergyPlus Building-Performance Analysis
A staged EnergyPlus study of a DOE small-office model, testing simulation settings, envelope assemblies, lighting, shading, and HVAC alternatives.
- Period
- 2022
- Status
- Individual building-energy systems project
- Perspectives
- Engineering · Research
30-second case brief
Question, responsibility, method, result.
- Question
- A staged EnergyPlus study of a DOE small-office model, testing simulation settings, envelope assemblies, lighting, shading, and HVAC alternatives.
- Responsibility
- EnergyPlus model audit, envelope optimization, HVAC comparison, sensitivity testing, and reporting
- Methods
- Albuquerque office-building case
- Result
- 363.95 to 288.14 GJ modeled total · 20.8% reduction across the documented sequence
Project scope and responsibility
- Context
- AE 551 Building Energy Systems · Drexel University · Instructor: Dr. Jin Wen
- Role
- EnergyPlus model audit, envelope optimization, HVAC comparison, sensitivity testing, and reporting
- Model
- Albuquerque office-building case
- Sequence
- Envelope · infiltration · lighting · shading · orientation · HVAC
- Systems
- PTAC and VAV sensitivity and optimization
- Modeled sequence
- 363.95 to 288.14 GJ total end use · 20.8% reduction
Overview
This individual course project audited and improved an EnergyPlus office-building model for Albuquerque, New Mexico. The work treated optimization as a traceable sequence rather than a single end-state claim, testing the envelope, infiltration, lighting, shading, orientation, and HVAC assumptions in turn.
Envelope and load reduction
Insulation, glazing, infiltration, efficient lighting, and shading were evaluated step by step. In the documented model sequence, total end use falls from 363.95 GJ at baseline to 288.14 GJ after the selected measures, a 20.8 percent reduction. End-use breakdowns also reveal interactions: a measure may reduce heating or lighting while increasing cooling, so each decision is assessed across the complete energy balance. These are model-specific results, not measured building performance.
PTAC sensitivity and optimization
The PTAC analysis varied cooling-coil COP, supply-air temperature, fan performance, and other system inputs. The final report records both the selected values and cases where a nominal efficiency improvement produced an unfavorable trade-off elsewhere.
VAV sensitivity and optimization
The VAV analysis repeats the same disciplined comparison for central-system parameters, including supply-fan efficiency and cooling design setpoints. Results remain specific to the model, weather file, schedules, and system assumptions documented in the report.
