Comparison of Green Building Energy Modeling Tools
There are a number of tools that can be used to help model building energy use. Use the chart below to compare features of VisualDOE, EQuest, EnergyPlus and EnergyGauge Summit Premier.
Feature
EnergyGauge
Summit Premier
VisualDOE
eQuest
EnergyPlus
Annual
hourly building energy simulation
Automated
features for ASHRAE 90.1 2004 code compliance
¹
X
X
X
Automated
features for LEED 2009 and LEED 2.2 (NC)
simulation capabilities ¹
X
X
X
Automatically
creates ASHRAE reference building
X
X
X
Automatically
create and submit USGBC mandated PDF template
to claim LEED 2.2 (NC) energy modeling
points (EA Credit 1)
X
X
X
Qualified
software for Federal Tax Deductions
X
Approved
software for Florida energy code compliance
X
X
X
Approved
software for California Title 24 non-residential
code compliance
X
X
X
Free
technical support
X
²
²
¹ EnergyGauge Summit Premier has specific menu options to automatically run these simulations without requiring the user to create the baseline building manually. All other listed software products require the user to manually create the baseline and as-built (design) building input files and then run them individually to compare results.
