Well, let’s give you the notes here so we can get to what you really want to know:
Energy modeling is effectively the process of constructing a building on a computer and thus making a virtual model of the building for the purpose of modeling/simulating the building energy use and other information about the energy transfer aspects of the building.
The computer simulates the building through weather data for a particular location, and based on the laws of physics, the energy flow can be determined.
It’s really important to note that energy flow can yield the energy going in and out of a building at any given instant of the year: this is known as the heating or cooling load. The energy flow, considered over time also allows you to calculate how much energy a building uses. These are known as the load and consumption respectively.
The peak building load, put simply, is just HVAC jargon for “how big the equipment needs to be”. The energy consumption is effectively the equivalent of what most people see on their home energy bill. Pretty simple right?
Energy Modeling Helps you:
Convert more sales by showing mathematically that your product saves more than it costs
Estimate how much energy a building will use and what it will cost, even with very limited knowledge of the actual building design!
Validate expensive ideas
Make quality long-term decisions for a building
Get LEED points
Get Government rebates (many municipalities require one for BIG rebates)
Show code compliance (sometimes an energy model is required for certain buildings)