Dear Sarah,
As Jeremiah notes, EnergyPlus is not intended for “calibration” of predicted energy use to actual energy use. It can be done, but requires additional tools, such as GenOpt (from Lawrence Berkely) or many manual adjustments to your input.
Another possibility is software such as offered by Retroficiency (www.retroficiency.com). Their software does not offer the level of calculation and modeling detail that EnergyPlus has, but is very easy to use, incorporates actual weather data for the period under study, and also incorporates your actual energy usage data. The calibration tools are also very easy and intuitive. (It is not free, but for commercial energy auditing, it seems definitely to save more time that its cost here in the USA.)
James V Dirkes II, PE, BEMP, LEED AP
www.buildingperformanceteam.com
Energy Analysis, Commissioning & Training Services
1631 Acacia Drive, Grand Rapids, MI 49504 USA
616 450 8653
From: EnergyPlus_Support@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:EnergyPlus_Support@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jeremiah Crosset
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