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

Author

Listed:
  • 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
    The author completed the research while at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, but is at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the time of publishing.)

  • 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
    The author completed the research while at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, but is at Camus Energy at the time of publishing.)

  • 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)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Tanushree Charan & Christopher Mackey & Ali Irani & Ben Polly & Stephen Ray & Katherine Fleming & Rawad El Kontar & Nathan Moore & Tarek Elgindy & Dylan Cutler & Mostapha Sadeghipour Roudsari & David , 2021. "Integration of Open-Source URBANopt and Dragonfly Energy Modeling Capabilities into Practitioner Workflows for District-Scale Planning and Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-28, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:18:p:5931-:d:638453
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Ehsan Kamel, 2022. "A Systematic Literature Review of Physics-Based Urban Building Energy Modeling (UBEM) Tools, Data Sources, and Challenges for Energy Conservation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-24, November.
    2. Martin, Rit & Arthur, Thomas & Jonathan, Villot & Mathieu, Thorel & Enora, Garreau & Robin, Girard, 2024. "SHAPE: A temporal optimization model for residential buildings retrofit to discuss policy objectives," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 361(C).

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