Building Energy Simulation Workflows in the Age of Low Cost Computing

Until recently the infrastructure and knowledge required to employ massively parallel computing techniques for building energy simulation was restricted to national labs and the largest engineering firms.  Now that cloud computing resources, and the tools to use them without needing a doctorate in computer science, are available and cheap running one simulation is just as easy as running a hundred. This seminar explores how these tools are affecting and enhancing the building energy modeler's workflow and our ability to understand ourselves and communicate to our customers how buildings behave and where the best opportunities for energy efficiency are positioned.