Some of the factors which influence the thermal behaviour of a building and whose influences the Building Simulator allows the user to investigate are given below:
Thermal insulation
Thermal capacity (also known as "thermal mass")
Glazing properties
Built form and orientation
Climate
Shading from nearby buildings and self-shading
Infiltration
Natural ventilation
Mechanical ventilation
Solar gain
Gains from lights, occupants and equipment (both sensible and latent)
Control setpoints & bands, optimum start, frost protection
Available plant capacities for heating and cooling
Plant schedules
Plant radiant/convective characteristics
Performance of boilers and heat pumps
The Building Simulator will output data showing the effects of these factors on:
Air temperature
Mean radiant temperature
Resultant temperature
Surface temperatures
Humidity
Condensation risk
Sensible and latent loads
Energy consumption
Required plant size
The output generated by the Building Simulator may be used by other programs for further processing, formatting, and generating reports:
Results Viewer
Tas Systems
UK Building Regulations Studio
ASHRAE 90.1 Studio