Methodology for Modeling Building Energy Performance across the Commercial Sector

This report uses EnergyPlus simulations of each building in the 2003 Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) to document and demonstrate bottom-up methods of modeling the entire U.S. commercial buildings sector (EIA 2006). The ability to use a whole-building simulation tool to model the entire sector is of interest because the energy models enable us to answer subsequent 'what-if'questions that involve technologies and practices related to energy. This report documents how the whole-building models were generated from the building characteristics in 2003 CBECS and compares the simulation results to the survey data for energy use.