U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Federal Energy Management Program

EnergyPlus Software

EnergyPlus is available free from the U.S. Department of Energy. This building energy simulation program is designed for modeling buildings with associated heating, cooling, lighting, ventilating, and other energy flows. EnergyPlus builds on the most popular features and capabilities of BLAST and DOE-2 but includes many innovative simulation capabilities including time steps of less than an hour and modular systems simulation modules that are integrated with a heat balance-based zone simulation. Other planned simulation capabilities include solar thermal, multizone air flow, and electric power simulation, including photovoltaic systems and fuel cells.

Highlights of using EnergyPlus version 1.0 include:

  • Extensive example HVAC input files
  • Heat pump simulations
  • Weather processor
  • And more!