CIET's Ask Us Anything series is a free monthly Q&A session with industry experts.

In our Demystifying Building Energy Modelling (BEM) Ask Us Anything session, participants brought their questions to our subject-matter expert, Dragos Paraschiv, Professor of Sustainable Energy and Building Technology at Humber College. Dragos provided insights on how building energy modelling actually works and how to leverage it for better energy performance.

If you weren't able to attend this session, here is a Q&A highlight.

Watch the video or read the transcript below.

Question: When building an initial energy model, what resources can you use to justify assumptions on fenestration and wall constructions before a final architectural design is available?

Answer:

Dragos: That's a very good question because you know, if you asked this question 15-20 years ago, the answer was very unknown. It's just relying on your experience. Since around 2011 in many jurisdictions, we now have an energy code for buildings.

So I would say that that's a good starting point for making assumptions to rely on prescriptive parameters for different building systems that are listed in the energy code.

I mean we all intend to get the best buildings possible from the energy efficiency perspective, but as I said, energy simulation, energy modelling allows you to do some trade-offs and to get somewhere started would be relying on the code requirements.

Lisa: OK, thank you. Of course, you know that that code is a is a great resource and it's adopted differently across the country, but that's a whole other conversation.

But hopefully you're familiar with what level of code your jurisdiction has adopted wherever you are.

 

Explore learning opportunities in building code compliance

CIET offers a number of training opportunities in Energy Management Software and Tools. Within this training category are a number of courses specific to EnergyPlus™ and Code Compliance. These comprehensive training courses include:

• Working with the National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB)
• Building Energy Modelling Essentials
• Building Energy Modelling Professional
• Advanced Building Energy Modelling