October 3, 2016 – Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have further validated the accuracy of the ORNL-developed Autotune building energy model calibration software, an open source system that can inform contractors to make smarter retrofit decisions. Through two case studies, the research team analyzed Autotune’s accuracy, beating the industry’s energy efficiency standards while automating the equivalent of about 45 man-hours of calibration effort per building. Using Autotune, the team analyzed whole-building energy consumption and multiple parameters such as lighting, electricity loads, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning use and temperatures of existing buildings and corrected, or tuned, the models to yield optimal energy efficiency. Results of the case studies were published in Applied Energy.
