Energy retrofit analysis toolkits for commercial buildings: A review

• Published in: Energy (Oxford) 2015-09, Vol.89 (C), p.1087-1100
• Main Authors: Lee, Sang Hoon, Hong, Tianzhen, Piette, Mary Ann, Taylor-Lange, Sarah C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accessibility; Building energy retrofit; Computational efficiency; Design engineering; Energy conservation; Energy conservation measures; Energy efficiency; Energy simulation; Mathematical models; Retrofit analysis tools; Retrofitting; Strategy; Toolkits; Web-based applications
• ISSN: 0360-5442
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2015.06.112

Retrofit analysis toolkits can be used to optimize energy or cost savings from retrofit strategies, accelerating the adoption of ECMs (energy conservation measures) in buildings. This paper provides an up-to-date review of the features and capabilities of 18 energy retrofit toolkits, including ECMs and the calculation engines. The fidelity of the calculation techniques, a driving component of retrofit toolkits, were evaluated. An evaluation of the issues that hinder effective retrofit analysis in terms of accessibility, usability, data requirement, and the application of efficiency measures, provides valuable insights into advancing the field forward. Following this review the general concepts were determined: (1) toolkits developed primarily in the private sector use empirically data-driven methods or benchmarking to provide ease of use, (2) almost all of the toolkits which used EnergyPlus or DOE-2 were freely accessible, but suffered from complexity, longer data input and simulation run time, (3) in general, there appeared to be a fine line between having too much detail resulting in a long analysis time or too little detail which sacrificed modeling fidelity. These insights provide an opportunity to enhance the design and development of existing and new retrofit toolkits in the future. •Retrofit analysis toolkits can accelerate the adoption of energy efficiency measures.•A comprehensive review of 19 retrofit analysis toolkits was conducted.•Retrofit toolkits have diverse features, data requirement and computing methods.•Empirical data-driven, normative and detailed energy modeling methods are used.•Identified immediate areas for improvement for retrofit analysis toolkits.