CSIRO software is playing a key role in building regulations, and influencing the design and construction of Australian homes.
Overview
As building design becomes more inventive, CSIRO's 'AccuRate' software is helping builders and architects deliver greater energy savings in residential buildings, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Accredited assessors use AccuRate to understand and improve the heating and cooling energy efficiency of residential building designs.
Using AccuRate
AccuRate is available commercially from Hearne Scientific Software.
AccuRate can model up to 50 living spaces within a home and its improved natural ventilation model rewards good design practice in hot and humid climates.
The Association of Building Sustainability Assessors (ABSA) provides training in AccuRate, and examination of prospective assessors.
This qualification is a requirement for ABSA-accreditation as a House Energy Rating Accredited Assessor, using AccuRate software.
Background
The use of simulation software to rate residential buildings in Australia began in the early 1990s with the introduction of the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) - a joint Federal, State and Territory Government initiative.
A CSIRO team, led by now retired researcher, Dr Angelo Delsante, was asked to develop software that could calculate annual totals of hourly heating and cooling energy requirements for residential buildings.
AccuRate is the second generation of residential energy rating software for Australia from CSIRO, and overcomes many limitations of previous software.
Assessing heating and cooling energy efficiency
AccuRate calculates hourly temperatures and heating and cooling energy requirements in a multizone dwelling, and assigns a star rating on the energy efficiency of the dwelling's envelope.
The star rating - from 0 to 10 stars - is based on the sum of the annual heating and cooling requirements for the home.
Assuming all other things are equal, the more stars, the more comfortable and energy-efficient the home is likely to be.
AccuRate provides significant improvements over previous software, including better modelling of:
- natural ventilation and roofspaces
- user-defined constructions
- sub-floor spaces
- skylights and horizontal reflective air gaps
- extra climatic zones.
The incorporation of 69 climatic zones, derived from Bureau of Meteorology weather data, means that AccuRate's calculations can be more specific to the actual climate in the location of the proposed building.
AccuRate can model up to 50 living spaces within a home and its improved natural ventilation model rewards good design practice in hot and humid climates.
Meeting international testing standards
The software has been successfully tested and adopted in Australia, and is now the reference tool for the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS).
The International Energy Agency BESTEST protocol - a tool for revealing program bugs or deficiencies - found AccuRate compared well against their eight reference programs from Europe and the US.
Developed in partnership with the Australian Government Department of Climate Change (formerly the Australian Greenhouse Office), AccuRate gives building designers and builders a tool to accurately analyse, measure and compare energy efficient design options.
Read about CSIRO's work in Sustainable cities and coasts.
Site Map | Legal Notice and Disclaimer | Privacy | Copyright | Last updated: 7 January 2010
