Hevacomp Simulator V8i from Bentley Automates Baseline Comparisons for LEED Reporting Requirements

PHOENIX – Bentley Systems, Incorporated today announced that its Hevacomp Simulator V8i building energy simulation software, which takes full advantage of the U.S. Department of Energy’s EnergyPlus simulation engine, now automates ASHRAE baseline comparisons of building designs to determine LEED certification requirements.

These automated comparisons against a baseline building in the same geometric orientation with ASHRAE-defined construction types, for items such as walls, windows, roofs, and slabs, will save engineers and architects hundreds of design hours on a typical project.

Hevacomp Simulator V8i enables designers to calculate percentage performance improvements for designs incorporating construction types that outperform minimum default values. The software compares the actual design to a comparative baseline building by averaging the results of four baseline simulation orientations. It then compares those results with the design building simulation run to determine eligible energy-efficiency credit points, in areas such as building fabric, lighting, and equipment, for use in the project’s LEED certification application.

“Manually calculating ASHRAE baseline comparisons to determine increased energy performance is an extremely time-consuming endeavor, often adding days or even weeks to the advancement of the design,” said Noah Eckhouse, Bentley vice president, Building Performance Group. “The ability of Hevacomp Simulator V8i to automatically rotate the baseline in three 90-degree increments to average baseline simulation runs helps users deliver their projects quickly and profitably.”

Hevacomp Simulator V8i, along with Hevacomp Mechanical Designer V8i and Bentley Tas Simulator V8i, is part of Bentley’s Energy Performance Series. This robust software for building energy design, analysis, and simulation makes it possible for engineers, architects, and energy assessors to better understand and accurately predict the energy consumption, CO2 emissions, operating costs, and occupant comfort of projects ranging from small and simple to very large and highly complex. Bentley’s Energy Performance Series has been proven in the very demanding U.K. market for the design and construction of high performance “green” buildings and now supports United States and Canadian standards.