Energy Modeling

In March of 2007 the United Nations Environmental Program released the report Buildings and Climate Change, stating 30-40% of energy worldwide is consumed in what is known as the Life-Cycle (the design, construction, operation and demolition) of a building. This report confirms what many of us in the green building industry already understand; addressing the energy use of the built environment could have the single greatest impact in reducing our energy demands as a society and therefore the negative effects on our environment, economy and well-being.

Of all the stages in the Life-Cycle of a building, the energy used in the operation phase has the greatest environmental impact. Accordingly focusing on this consumption is extremely effective in reducing a building’s overall consumption, yet determining energy use in a building’s operation phase is not always an intuitive process for even the most experienced designers.

In our efforts to reduce operation phase energy use for our clients Green Ideas has found energy modeling as an indispensable design tool and has therefore integrated energy modeling into our service offerings. Energy modeling can help project team members evaluate a variety of energy conservation measures with little resource allocation to determine optimum strategies that maximize both energy and cost efficiency.

More information on energy modeling:

Overview of Energy Modeling

The Energy Modeler's role on the Project Team