Generating an analytical energy model

A non-transitory computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the program comprising instructions that when executed by data processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to perform operations comprising:

• receiving a conceptual representation of a building including one or more user-defined floor levels and multiple surfaces defining geometrical volumetric spaces;
• and
• responsive to a request to generate an analytical energy model, automatically generating the analytical energy model by:
• deriving geometric information from the conceptual representation;
• based on the geometric information, defining one or more mass volumes;
• algorithmically assigning one or more surface types to mass volume surfaces based, at least in part, on surface type definitions, a number of space adjacencies and the geometric information, associated with a corresponding mass volume surface, the surface type definitions specifying a material construction of a corresponding surface type;
• defining one or more thermal mass zones based on the determined one or more mass volumes and a corresponding number of user-defined floor levels;
• deriving, using a model generator, thermal properties of the one or more thermal mass zones;
• combining the defined one or more thermal mass zones, the derived thermal properties, and predefined analytical energy model parameters to generate the analytical energy model.

A system comprising:

• one or more computers operable to perform operations comprising:
• receiving a conceptual representation of a building including one or more user-defined floor levels and multiple surfaces defining geometrical volumetric spaces;
• and
• responsive to a request to generate an analytical energy model, automatically generating the analytical energy model by:
• deriving geometric information from the conceptual representation;
• based on the geometric information, defining one or more mass volumes;
• algorithmically assigning one or more surface types to mass volume surfaces based, at least in part, on surface type definitions, a number of space adjacencies and the geometric information, associated with a corresponding mass volume surface, the surface type definitions specifying a material construction of a corresponding surface type;
• defining one or more thermal mass zones based on the determined one or more mass volumes and a corresponding number of user-defined floor levels;
• deriving, using a model generator, thermal properties of the one or more thermal mass zones;
• wherein the deriving is based on the geometrical columetric spaces, the one or more surface types assigned to the mass volume surfaces, and corresponding material construction;
• and
• combining the defined one or more thermal mass zones, the derived thermal properties, and predefined analytical energy model parameters to generate the analytical energy model.