Buildings are among the largest end users of energy. Whether commercial, industrial, or residential, buildings are responsible for approximately 40%¹ of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and according to the World Business Council of Sustainable Development (WBCSD), buildings account for 25-40% of energy demand². With many organizations spanning multiple facilities, lowering energy costs and emissions is of increasing concern.

Many newly-constructed buildings consume more energy than is necessary, and millions of today's inefficient buildings will remain standing far into the future. This over-consumption is attributable to poor design, inadequate technology, and energy-wastage associated with human behaviours.

With rising pressure from stakeholders to implement sustainable practices, a first step towards better energy management is to evaluate the energy efficiency of a building’s operation. Assessing a building’s design reveals areas of unnecessary energy consumption and points to ways to improve overall inefficiency.

A building simulation is a mathematical model developed using standard software that reproduces actual building construction and equipment details. In providing an exact reproduction of a building’s design, a simulation demonstrates patterns of energy consumption by end use (heating, cooling, and equipment), compares the building to standard building codes, and predicts how a building will perform under different conditions.

Integral to developing optimal building retrofit plans, a building simulation is used to identify and evaluate potential energy-saving opportunities in building operations and technologies, and to provide a precise accounting of associated costs and projected savings. Further benefits of conducting simulations include:

• Effective decision making prior to capital spending;
• Greater precision in budgeting;
• Best possible use of incentive funding;
• Access to simulations for future projects; and
• Enhanced reputation within the community.

Improving the energy efficiency of building operations minimizes energy usage, reduces emissions, and establishes organizations as leaders in green business practices and corporate responsibility. Prestige building certificates, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and BOMA BESt (Building Environmental Standards), further incentivize organizations to build sustainable buildings.

Conducting a Simulation

Building simulations are best handled by professionals with an engineering background in building design. The typical requirements of a building simulation include architectural, electrical, and mechanical drawings of the building, information regarding building operations including refrigeration/HVAC details, and either the building and occupancy permits (for a new building) or the last twelve months of energy consumption details (for an existing building).

Once all simulation requirements are met, modeling software such as AutoCAD is used to produce a thermal zoning of the building. This involves zoning the building according to the orientation of the sun, HVAC systems, room usage, and internal loads. The zoning diagram facilitates the mechanical, architectural, refrigeration, and electrical calculations necessary to generate a comprehensive picture of the building’s energy usage, including the power usage from equipment and space area (wall, floor, roof window). After the data is collected, modeling software such as EE4, EEWizard and eQUEST is used to evaluate the current building design against an enhanced energy efficiency design. The benefit of this comparison is that it identifies advantageous energy efficiency measures and the most practical capital investments, defined in terms of energy and cost savings, and payback period.

Depending on the simulation results and the overall project objectives, various incentive programs are available to offset costs. Incentive programs include the City of Toronto’s Better Buildings Partnership (BBP) – New Construction, the Design Assistance Program offered by Enbridge/and or Union Gas, and the High Performance New Construction (NPNC) Program offered by the Ontario Power Authority. Incentives range from $250 for every kilowatt saved (HPNC Program) to $2,000 + $0.02 per m2 of gross floor area up to a maximum of $7,000 (BBP – New Construction).

Whether you’re looking to improve building designs for new developments or to re-commission existing buildings, cost-effective energy management solutions can reduce energy consumption and emissions and significantly impact the life-cycle of a building.

Energy Advantage® has considerable experience conducting building simulations on behalf of our clients. Our energy experts have the knowledge and expertise to recommend sustainable energy savings solutions for new and existing buildings. Energy Advantage® has saved over $3,000,000 in annual combined cost-savings, and has secured over $2,000,000 in incentive funding for our clients.

Click here to read how we helped Sobeys Capital Inc. save over $1,000,000 in energy costs.

1“Financial Times Report.” Efforts increase to improve sustainability. Finanical Times, 3 November 2009.

2“Energy Efficiency in Buildings”. Transforming the market. World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 5 November 2009.