Commercial Building Benchmarks Now Available
DOE, working with three national laboratories, has developed commercial building benchmark models. These benchmark models are complete descriptions of buildings for whole building energy analysis using EnergyPlus, a simulation program. There are 16 building types that represent approximately 70% of the commercial buildings in the U.S., in each of 16 locations, representing all U.S. climate zones. Currently new construction benchmarks are available -- based on ASHRAE Standard 90.1. The benchmark files are available for:
Building Type Name
Floor Area
ft2
Number of Floors
Large office
498,590
12
Medium office
53,630
3
Small office
5,500
1
Warehouse
52,050
1
Stand-alone retail
24,690
1
Strip mall
22,500
1
Primary school
73,960
2
Secondary school
204,170
3
Supermarket
45,000
1
Fast food
2,500
1
Restaurant
5,500
1
Hospital
241,350
5
Outpatient health care
10,000
2
Small Hotel
43,200
2
Large Hotel
122,116
6
Midrise Apartment
33,600
4