Integration of thermal energy simulation in the early design stages: six case studies

Abstract The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the feasibility of energy tool integration to the design process from the early stages. With that purpose, it presents a systematization of the procedures that take place between designer and modeler, based on six case studies of buildings in a warm climate. The key elements are the understanding of the buildings' characteristics, programming, including goals and needs, and solution proposals and designer´s intentions. Such concerns led to the development of a checklist to improve the dialogue between modeller and designer. The results also highlight the variables that most influence the building's energy consumption, and the interaction between modeller and designer, according to their profile, the implicit freedom and constraints in the programing, the recurrent solutions which, in some cases, could do without the simulations. Besides the confirmation of the feasibility of early integration, the main contribution of this study is the mapping of the processes between designer and modeller and the intensity of the relationships, demonstrating the potential and constraints of integration, which may be useful in the development of energy tools and training for modellers.