Needs and trends in building and HVAC system design tools

Building designers are being increasingly pressurised to design buildings with high standards of energy efficiency, performance and comfort in the shortest possible time. Computer design tools have a tremendous potential for aiding designers in achieving the above design objectives. This article provides a short overview of their application in the building and HVAC field, as well as advances made in their development. The development of applications tends towards integrated and expert design tools. This is a big step towards realising optimal, energy efficient building designs. Despite these apparent advances it was found that the potential of these tools are however largely untapped. This article further identifies the reasons for this and highlights some of the aspects that need attention. The complexity of existing tools seems to be the biggest stumbling block.