Integration of Open-Source URBANopt and Dragonfly Energy Modeling Capabilities into Practitioner Workflows for District-Scale Planning and Design

Tanushree Charan, Christopher Mackey, Ali Irani, Ben Polly, Stephen Ray, Katherine Fleming, Rawad El Kontar, Nathan Moore, Tarek Elgindy, Dylan Cutler, Mostapha Sadeghipour Roudsari and David Goldwasser
Additional contact information
Tanushree Charan: Building Technologies and Science Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Christopher Mackey: Ladybug Tools LLC, Fairfax, VA 22031-0000, USA
Ali Irani: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Chicago, IL 60604, USA
Ben Polly: Building Technologies and Science Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Stephen Ray: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Chicago, IL 60604, USA
Katherine Fleming: Building Technologies and Science Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Rawad El Kontar: Building Technologies and Science Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Nathan Moore: Building Technologies and Science Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Tarek Elgindy: Building Technologies and Science Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Dylan Cutler: Building Technologies and Science Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Mostapha Sadeghipour Roudsari: Ladybug Tools LLC, Fairfax, VA 22031-0000, USA
David Goldwasser: Building Technologies and Science Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO 80401, USA

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-28

Abstract: High-performance districts and communities offer opportunities for reducing energy use, emissions, and costs, and can be instrumental in helping cities achieve their climate goals. The design of such communities requires identification of opportunities early on and their re-evaluation throughout the planning process. There is a need for energy modeling tools that connect 3D Computer-Aided Design (CAD) platforms to simulation engines, enabling detailed energy analysis of districts within the workflows and tools used by practitioners. This paper introduces the Dragonfly and URBANopt TM combined toolset that supports the creation of urban models from a range of geometry formats typically used by designers and planners, and provides an integrated pathway to simulate district-scale energy systems. The toolset is piloted by a global architecture and master planning firm to evaluate several key urban-scale technical questions for the design of a district in Chicago. The findings indicate that, while energy savings can be achieved through traditional architectural studies and enhancements to individual building efficiency, the modeling toolset helps identify additional savings and insights that can be achieved when considering district-scale energy systems. Finally, this study demonstrates how the Dragonfly/URBANopt toolset can integrate with master planning workflows, thereby enabling an iterative performance-based design process.

Keywords: district- and community scale energy modeling; urban building energy modeling; high-performance district design; net zero districts and communities; grid-interactive efficient buildings; distributed energy resources; electric distribution system design; master planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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