This piece was originally published in the September 2018 issue of electroindustry.

Suzanne Alfano, MBA, CET, Industry Director, Building Systems Division, NEMA

While building energy models provide a reasonably accurate prediction of the performance of individual equipment like chillers and pumps, these models poorly predict the performance of systems.

Under this Strategic Initiative, NEMA will contract with an independent consultant to

• identify gaps in inaccurate modeling of energy conservation benefits of systems in commercial buildings;
• create a white paper detailing the results of the research and recommendations for further action; and
• identify options for a path that can be implemented to capitalize on the research and recommendations in support of a systems-based approach to energy modeling.

The analysis will include identification of the requirements of an ideal system efficiency model for a variety of applications (e.g., total building, HVACR, lighting, industrial facility) and rate the attributes of each model against an ideal.

The scope of this study is limited to commercial building systems. It considers full-cycle testing and design versus actual verification of energy modeling attributes. Depending on initial findings and recommendations, a follow-up phase may be proposed.