Building descriptors provide information about the proposed design and the baseline building. In this chapter, the building descriptors are discussed in the generic terms of engineering drawings and specifications. By using generic building descriptors, this manual avoids bias toward any particular energy simulation engine. The building descriptors in this chapter are compatible with commonly used simulation software.
Each energy simulation program has its own way of accepting building information. EnergyPlus, for instance, uses a comma delimited data file called an IDF file. DOE-2 uses BDL (building design language) to accept information. It is the software’s responsibility to translate the generic terms used in this chapter into the “native language” of the simulation program. Figure 1 illustrates the flow of information.
