IES-VE is a software tool for the thermal modelling of buildings and infrastructure and comes under the umbrella of Building Information Management (BIM) software. It is designed with a focus on compliance with regulations, energy and thermal diagnostics and user versatility. The underlying model is based on the laws of physics, with occasional use of empirical results from the literature where relevant. The philosophy behind this approach is that each model represents an experimental black box that can be customised as much as possible to describe real buildings at a level of detail specified by the user. For example, a user may be happy to make a quick model made up of a few cuboid-shaped rooms with default wall constructions and a simple idealistic heating system. If more detail is required, a user may instead specify the exact geometries of each room including occupancy, lighting, insulation, central heating systems, ventilation, furniture, glazing, etc.
The tools that allow these detailed specifications are split up into mini applications. The applications that will be required for preparing a model for Indalo® are outlined below.
· ModelIT – main modelling tool for specifying building geometry.
· Components – interface for importing external objects.
· Apache – main thermal modelling tool.
· Macroflo – natural airflow modelling tool.
· ApacheHVAC – specification of HVAC networks and control systems.
· VistaPro – tool for querying Apache output data.
A user may use Apache or ApacheHVAC applications to model HVAC a system, although Apache is limited to full fresh air (DOAS) systems for the purposes of Indalo®.
Indalo® output is intended to be used directly from the Indalo® web dashboard.
