Development of a database of building envelope simulations for evaluating building envelope retrofits

As part of a new Federal program to promote energy efficient retrofit of commercial buildings, voluntary private-sector partners evaluate potential envelope retrofits for their buildings. To support this program, we performed a series of simulations of building envelope insulation and  fenestration throughout the U.S. The DOE-2.1E simulation program was used in parametric modeling of three building sizes in eight U.S. locations for thousands of combinations of loads, construction, HVAC system, insulation, and fenestration alternatives-in total, more than 20,000 envelope options. We combined these energy results with upgrade costs to determine cost-effective upgrades based  on an existing building envelope. 
This paper first describes developrnent of the database of incremental wall and roof insulation, and fenestration  upgrades. Then examples of the tabular summaries of energy and economic results are presented. These summaries allow program participants; to quickly determine cost-effective wall/roof insulation and fenestration upgrades for a building and location similar to theirs.