A performance-based design validation study on EnergyPlus for daylighting analysis

This paper proposes a performance-based design validation approach to study EnergyPlus for daylight harvesting capabilities. It considers EnergyPlus as a possible analytical tool to assist in design decisions, because it enables the rapid calculation of multicriteria analysis. The study has two main sections: first, it presents a sensitivity analysis of input parameters, such as wall reflectance, window size and position, visible transmittance of glazing, and room width. It uses useful daylighting illuminance (UDI) as the output parameter for analysis. Second, it presents a comparison of a hypothetical scenario for the design of a shading device to establish a comparison between a validated simulation tool and EnergyPlus considering a performance-based design process. The validation was performed against the Radiance simulation engine using direct and relative validation approaches. The geometric model for analysis consisted of an egg crate shading device with variations in the horizontal and vertical components. The output index, which was used as a decision-making parameter, was the occurrence frequency of hours within the UDI. The results showed that EnergyPlus classified solutions similarly to Radiance. The errors were within a 20% margin, and it was considered satisfactory for assisting in the search for low complexity facade design solutions. ∙The use of EnergyPlus for daylighting analysis in early design stages.∙Validation models for simplified architectural analysis tools in the context of performance-based-design∙Sensitivity analysis and comparative testing.∙Key limitations and guidelines to use EnergyPlus in less pragmatic daylighting analysis.