Software and supercomputer, the best way to save energy
Research & Development
A SUSTAINABLE house-designing software package developed in Australia will soon be available to homeowners across the world to help them significantly reduce energy costs.
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Called Roborater, the conceptualising software program evaluates new house designs, extensions and additions and then suggests alternative energy-saving materials, ideas and techniques.
The software package was developed by Sustainability House in Adelaide, South Australia.
Mark Clayton, the business development manager of Sustainability House, said that although most new houses in Australia meet the building code of achieving a Six Star energy rating, many new homebuilders want to exceed this standard design rating.
“By taking the base file of the design, applying Roborater and using a super computer we can create more than 13,000 simulations per minute on how to improve the energy efficiency of that design,” he said.
”It may be as simple as a new home owner wanting to know the most efficient way to spend an extra $3000 on their home and get the best energy savings possible from that money.
“It provides a revolutionary approach to building simulation which completely exceeds the expectations of the building industry, addressing social economic and sustainability issues.’’
Identified energy saving materials and techniques are also costed and provided to the consumer.
Energy Assessors are often employed by people to undertake the same task as Roborater – but they can not achieve the same speed and scope.
“We use a super computer in Singapore to run the simulations and identify different options that are available for a the client,” Clayton said.
The Roborater program has now been shortlisted in the Australian 2015 Sustainability Awards.
“We have been developing the Roborater program for a number of years and plan to commercialise it next year,” Clayton said.
“It has already been used for modeling by State and Federal Governments and can be applied to any houses within the 69 different climate zones in Australia.’’
He said the software was also displayed in Barcelona last year and attracted interested from Singapore, Malaysia and the United States.
“We have included the international development of the product within our strategic plan,’’ Clayton said.
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