DesignBuilder Software

🎄 Holiday Office Closure: Plan Ahead for Christmas and New Year Break As we approach the end of another busy year, we want to take a moment to thank you, our customers and partners for your ongoing support and collaboration. We are proud to have worked with you to help reduce the built environment’s impact on our planet this year. Please note that our office and Support Desk will close for normal business on 24th December and reopen on 2nd January. We will have limited office email and support ticket cover for urgent matters only on 27th, 30th and 31st December. If you are likely to need routine administrative or technical support during the holiday period, please ensure you take this into account. We hope this holiday season brings you time to relax, recharge, reflect, and enjoy the company of those closest to you. We extend our warmest wishes for 2025.

📢 Designing True Zero Carbon Buildings The new edition of Prof Ljubomir Jankovic's publication uses DesignBuilder to illustrate key simulation concepts at decisive stages of the design workflow. We invite you to explore this valuable resource for insights into best-practice zero-carbon building design. The book builds from fundamentals to advanced building performance modelling, with chapters 18-19 showcasing operational zero carbon design through multi-objective optimisation. This process evaluates hundreds of potential solutions to identify optimal cost-CO2 outcomes. It then carries forward the best options to calculate both operational and embodied emissions and subsequently uses the author’s own Zero Equation to target a “zero emissions year” for the building. Prof Jankovic said: “I worked with several building simulation applications and chose DesignBuilder because it had all the tools I needed in one place. It fitted well with the combined operational and embodied emissions objectives of my book, whilst squeezing every ‘gram’ of building performance through multi-objective optimisation”. 📚 You can order this publication, or learn more about DesignBuilder’s powerful Optimisation module, from the links provided in the comments below. #DesignBuilder #NetZero #Carbon #Optimisation #BuildingSimulation

🔍 Unlock Advanced Results Analysis in DesignBuilder DesignBuilder’s free Results Viewer helps you explore thousands of EnergyPlus outputs beyond the standard interface, so is perfect for detailed HVAC analysis and custom reporting. Turn complex data into meaningful insights with powerful visualisation tools.   Key benefits: 🔹 Generate annual heat maps for pattern analysis 🔹 Access detailed node-level HVAC data 🔹 View and compare multiple result sets 🔹 Filter and sort data efficiently 🔹 Export outputs for custom analysis or reporting 🔹 Zoom into time periods for detailed inspection 🔹 Report on CIBSE TM52/59 summer overheating compliance   It is ideal for engineers and modellers needing deeper analysis capabilities and custom reporting. A free tutorial introducing the key points of the Results Viewer is available on our website: Training > Tutorials > # 306 or via links provided in the comments below.   ☝️ Important: Please verify you're using Result Viewer v4.2 to get the full benefits: 🔹 Confirm: Open Result Viewer > Help > About 🔹 Download from: Our Website > Release Software > Results Viewer (or via links below)   #DesignBuilder #BuildingSimulation #EnergyPlus #BuildingAnalysis

🔄 Simulation Manager: Work Smarter and Faster in DesignBuilder DesignBuilder’s Simulation Manager allows you to run and control multiple parallel simulations, then access the results for further analysis at your convenience. Discover how to use these time-saving features and more in our free Tutorial 306 "Simulation Manager and Results Viewer": 🔹 Keep working while simulations run in the background 🔹 Simulate multiple design options in parallel 🔹 Use cloud or network computing for faster results 🔹 Organise and compare multiple result sets easily 🔹 Track all your simulations in one interface 🔹 Perfect for parametric analysis, optimisation studies, and handling large projects efficiently.   Offloading longer simulations to the Simulation Manager can improve your productivity, continuing to work in DesignBuilder whilst your simulations run in the background. Your results are automatically organised for easy reference later. Building on our ‘Setting up simulations' tutorial [https://lnkd.in/de-a-pD5], learn how the Simulation Manager can speed up and structure your workflow. Whether running complex analyses on your local machine or leveraging cloud computing, this powerful tool helps you work more efficiently.   👩🎓 Find the tutorial on our website: Training > Tutorials > #306 or via links in comments below. #DesignBuilder #BuildingSimulation #EnergyPlus #BuildingPerformance  

📊 Unlock Powerful Results Analysis in DesignBuilder Learn to visualise, interpret, and convey building performance data effectively. Building on our review of balancing accuracy and simulation time in the 'Setting Up Simulations' post [https://lnkd.in/de-a-pD5], the 'Analysing Results' tutorial will show you how to extract meaningful insights from your simulation outputs.   Key features covered: 🔹 Customising data display options 🔹 Analysing heat balance and internal gains 🔹 Viewing results across different time intervals 🔹 Creating colour-contour plots for data visualisation and easy interpretation 🔹 Setting up custom templates for frequent analyses 🔹 Exporting results for reporting   Master these tools to transform simulation data into actionable design insights. You can find the tutorial on our website: Training > Tutorials > #305 or from the links in the comments below.   #DesignBuilder #BuildingSimulation #EnergyPlus #BuildingAnalysis

🎄 Holiday Office Closure: Plan Ahead for Christmas and New Year Break Please note that our office and Support Desk will close for normal business on 24th December and reopen on 2nd January. We will have limited office email and support ticket cover for urgent matters only on 27th, 30th and 31st December. If you are likely to need routine administrative or technical support during the holiday period, please ensure you take this into account. Here's to a productive end to the year and happy holidays to all!

🔢 Free Tutorial: Improve Your Understanding and Control of Model Data Our Model Data Grid View tutorial illustrates powerful ways to better understand and manage your model’s data, making this tool a vital part of your workflow. It will show you how to:     🔹View and edit model settings in a comprehensive grid layout 🔹Choose exactly which variables you want to see 🔹Sort any column in ascending or descending order 🔹Filter to zones according to one or more criteria 🔹Bulk edit your Detailed HVAC model settings for more efficient modelling 🔹Export data to spreadsheet for bulk editing, then reimport to update your model   These features and more are shown and discussed in the ‘Model Data Grid View & QA checking’ tutorial, freely available on our website: Training > Tutorials > # 301 or from the links provided in the comments below.   🛠️Engineers: You can leverage MDGV's bulk editing feature for configuration of Detailed HVAC model settings. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/dbHeSmxY   #DesignBuilder #BuildingPerformance #Modelling #QA #HVAC

🔧 Modelling AHU’s with Precision in DesignBuilder Air handling units (AHUs) are composite assemblies that typically include fans, heating and cooling coils, humidifiers, and outdoor air systems. There are a range of AHU types available in DesignBuilder to accommodate the many design choices available. The ‘autosize’ option in DesignBuilder enables you to determine the AHU design specifications based on user-defined inputs and design weather conditions. Here are the main AHU components, and links to relevant articles are provided in the comments below: 🔹Fans: Constant or Variable Air Volume, with part-load fan performance curves, and autosized design flow rates. 🔹Heating and Cooling Coils: Choose from Water, Direct Expansion, Electric or combustible fuel sources and view coil sizing data directly from EnergyPlus outputs. 🔹Humidification: Add an electric steam Humidifier or use a Cooling Coil for dehumidification. 🔹Outdoor Air Systems: This sub-system controls and manages recirculation, the mixing of return and outdoor air, demand-controlled ventilation, and economiser operation for free cooling. It also providing optional pre-cooling, pre-heating, and a range of heat recovery devices. 🔹Setpoint Managers: Control the supply air temperature and humidity ratio using Setpoint Managers. More guidance on modelling AHUs as part of air loops in DesignBuilder can be found in our free tutorials or on-demand training. Links to these, and other useful resources are provided in the comments below. #BuildingSimulation #HVAC #DesignBuilder #EnergyModelling

🔄 Top Tip: Fast and Flexible Demand Controlled Ventilation Modelling  Demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) is an energy-saving strategy that adjusts outdoor air volumes to meet occupancy demands in variable-occupancy spaces such as classrooms, theatres, conference rooms, and lobbies. DCV saves energy through reduced fan operation and less heating/cooling of excess fresh air during periods of lower occupancy. DesignBuilder’s DCV tools have been improved in v7.3 to provide simpler controls and more flexible options for managing minimum fresh air flow based on inside CO2 levels. To showcase this, we have prepared step-by-step examples with two common types of Indoor Air Quality Procedure (IAQP) systems: 🔹AHU IAQP, where the amount of fresh air supplied to zones is controlled by varying the recirculation within the AHU. 🔹Zone IAQP, a common approach for 100% fresh air units with outdoor air supplied from an AHU, with no recirculation, and the supply air flow rates are controlled within the zone terminal units. You can find more detailed information and our step-by-step tutorial in our help article. The link is provided in the comments below. #DesignBuilder #HVAC #BuildingPerformance #Simulation       

⬅️ Drag Face Tutorial for Learning Easy Block Modifications   DesignBuilder is widely regarded as having the best geometry creation and editing capabilities of all the mainstream building performance and certification simulation software. Several of our free tutorials show you how to use these tools in short, easily digestible videos.   Our “Stretch, drag face and rotate tools” tutorial shows you how to use the ‘Drag Face’ geometry editing tool effectively, to quickly edit block topology by dragging, pushing or pulling an entire surface outward or inward.   The tutorial can be accessed on our website: Training > Tutorials > # 107 or see the comments below for links. We will explore the 'Add surface' tool in a future post. It is similar to the 'Drag Face' tool, but allows you to modify parts of surfaces for greater modelling flexibility.   #DesignBuilder #Geometry #Learning