EnergyPlus models for the benchmarking of residential buildings in Brunei Darussalam

•EnergyPlus simulation tool produced energy benchmark in residential houses.•The three electrical load categories have been identified.•Verification of energy building simulation models against utility data and survey.•EUI for residential buildings in Brunei fluctuates from 47.8 to 64.2kWh/m2. Energy performance of buildings is a highly important measure for Energy Efficiency and Conservation initiatives. The fundamental step toward the understanding of energy use is benchmarking. In this study, the EnergyPlus simulation tool is used to benchmark the energy performance of 400 residential buildings from which three types of buildings were classified. EnergyPlus models were developed for the three types of building designs typically found in the national housing scheme in Brunei Darussalam. The EnergyPlus models produced the energy use intensity (EUI) per year for these buildings, with values ranging from approximately 64.2 to 47.8kWh/m2. The EnergyPlus outputs were verified against the power consumption data, and data from selected door-to-door survey. This study demonstrates the capability of engineering models in producing benchmarking, and simulating conditions for the improvements of energy performance in buildings.