Elnaz Tafrihi, Luisa Caldas, Mohammad Keshavarzi, Luis Santos
EnergyVR is a virtual reality energy analysis tool that uses EnergyPlus to help designers make informed design decisions on low-energy buildings. Users can analyze their design real-time based on changes made spatially or on different properties of the envelope, all in an immersive experience. The first prototype is based on a simplified model using the San Francisco weather file, where the user can try alternative window-to-wall ratios (WWR), visualize the corresponding design alterations and perform the energy simulations. This tool represents a next step for designers to understand the impact of their design decisions on energy consumption of a building in an immersive setting.
