The Development of an Hourly Thermal Simulation Program for Use in the Australian Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme

The Australian Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme is aimed at improving the energy efficiency of residential building envelopes. The technical basis of the scheme is a multi-zone hourly thermal simulation program, which will be used to calculate annual heating and cooling energy requirements and temperatures in the building to be rated, from which a star rating is derived. This paper gives an overview of the software, and describes the improvements to the glazing model and the model for slab-on-ground construction that were undertaken as part of its development.