EnergyPlus Workshop - Salt Lake City

November 3 – 5, 2011

Salt Lake City Library
210 East 400 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111
Map

Hosted by:
University of Utah | Integrated Technology in Architecture Center
University of Idaho | Integrated Design Lab

EnergyPlus is developed and funded by the US Department of Energy, and is freely downloadable at www.energyplus.gov. The workshop is designed to cover all the basic topics of EnergyPlus. From the manual: "EnergyPlus is a whole building energy simulation program that engineers, architects, and researchers use to model energy and water use in buildings. Modeling the performance of a building with EnergyPlus enables building professionals to optimize the building design to use less energy and water."

Objectives:

The aim of this workshop is to equip designers and engineers with the technical skills to be able to perform building simulation using Energy Plus and understand how to use the tool as part of the Integrated Design Process. Note the emphasis on the Integrated Design Process, which means that the focus is on how to use simulation to design high performance buildings. This means that the workshop will not focus on using simulation for compliance, be it code compliance or beyond-code compliance (e.g. LEED).

Day 1 is about the basics and nuts and bolts of EnergyPlus. The whole simulation process is introduced in a step-by-step manner, from geometry development to result analysis. The main tools described are the OpenStudio plugin for SketchUp as the geometry modeler and of course the EnergyPlus as the calculation engine. Other, more advanced, tools are also introduced, for example the use of scripts to run multiple simulations and result extraction. At the end of Day 1, participants will be able to develop an input file for and get results from basic EnergyPlus simulations.

Day 2 is about how to use simulation appropriately and how to communicate results within the integrated design process and for compliance purposes. The first section is how to use EnergyPlus to support integrated design processes for high performance buildings. Several passive design strategies will be discussed: daylighting, thermal mass, and night flush. This section focuses on loads analysis and detailed active systems are not included at this stage. This allows designers to get necessary information in order to inform passive design decisions. The second part of the day is how to use EnergyPlus for compliance, be it code compliance or beyond-code compliance. The division into these two main sections is intentional and highlights the different functions of building performance simulation. At the end of Day 2, participants will be able to develop a series of EnergyPlus simulations for performance analysis in support of passive design and the integrated design process as well as documenting the results for compliance purposes.

Day 3 is about HVAC systems definition. In the first two days, the HVAC system definition will rely on (two) HVAC templates available in EnergyPlus, an automated definition of HVAC systems. In Day 3, the rest of the EnergyPlus HVAC templates will be discussed. Furthermore, manual development of HVAC systems without the template will be discussed. The main example for exercise will be a water source heat pump system.

Click here to view the detailed syllabus.

Instructor:

Ery Djunaedy, PhD is a Research Scientist (Building Physics Specialist) at the IDL, University of Idaho Boise. He has degrees in the area of Building Physics/Science from the Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia, National University of Singapore, and Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Netherlands. His main interest is in building performance simulation, especially the building energy and airflow simulation. He has used advanced simulation tools like the energy and computational fluid dynamics simulations to design high performance buildings. He has taught building physics courses to architecture students in the Netherlands, the UAE and now in the US. He has been involved in various building design projects in Boise, Idaho and throughout the region since 2006 when he first joined the IDL in Boise.

Fee:

The fee is based on the number of days participated:

Two days: $600 per person
Three days: $775 per person

Participation Requirements:

Registration and fee payment: via UIRSVP only.
The organizer will NOT provide a computer. The participants have to bring their own laptop computer for hands-on exercises. EnergyPlus works on Windows, Mac and Linux. The OpenStudio plug-in for SketchUp works only on Windows and Mac. This workshop, however, will provide support ONLY for Windows.
Software installation: some software needs to be installed prior to the training day. No installation support will be provided during the training day. A list of software (all freely downloadable software), along with the installation guide will be sent to the participants. You will also receive instructions to ensure that all installations are working correctly.

Workshop Deadlines and Cancellation:

The registration is reserved on a first-come first-served basis. Participants are encouraged to register early (and make payment) via UIRSVP. Registration cannot be done by telephone or email. The registration will be closed at 5pm on Tuesday November 1, 2011 or when the maximum number of participants is reached.

The organizers reserve the right to cancel this workshop due to insufficient enrollment on or before October 28, 2011. In the event of workshop cancellation, all fees will be refunded. The organizers will not be held responsible for participants’ nonrefundable travel expenses.

Participants that have registered and decide not to attend must submit a withdrawal request via email on or before 5pm (Mountain Time), Friday, October 28, 2011 to be able to receive a fee refund. No refund will be given after 5pm (Mountain Time), Monday, October 31st. Note that the refund process can take up to 8 weeks, depending on the credit card issuing company.

Time and Location:

Dates: 3 – 5 November 2011
Hours: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Location: City Library, 210 East 400 South, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111. Map.

Other Information:

Persons with disabilities who require classroom assistance are encouraged to inform the organizer of their needs at least one week before the workshop. Email Joerg Ruegemer at ruegemer@arch.utah.edu.

Participants are responsible for their own accommodations and travel. Coffee and cookies will be provided, however breakfast, lunch and dinner will not be provided. There are several eateries in walking distance from library. Click here to see hotels in proximity of the library.

There is a light rail (TRAX) at the library. Little parking is near the library, it is encouraged that you take light rail, cab, or walk.

Any questions and comments can be directed to eryd@uidaho.edu.