COMFIE
Description
Performs hourly simulations of buildings, in order to provide mechanical, energy and architectural engineers or architects with accurate estimates of a building’s energy needs and temperature profiles. The zone models of COMFIE are based upon a finite volume method on which a modal reduction technique is applied. The output comprises the yearly and hourly heating loads, hourly and mean temperatures in the thermal zones. COMFIE building model is also coupled to additional modules (PV generation, earth tube). Graphs and histograms may be obtained from PLEAIDES, the user-friendly interface of COMFIE.
External Link to Product Page:
Country:
France
Major Capabilities:
Whole Building Energy Simulation, Load Calculations, Ratings and Certificates
Building Type:
Commercial, Residential, Multi Family
Keywords:
gbXML
Languages:
French, English
Platform:
Windows
Pricing:
Reduced for Non-Commercial/Academic Use, Free To Try
Help And Support:
Subscription Chat/IM Support, Subscription Phone Support
Last Software Update:
October 21, 2015
High level of computer literacy not required.
Mechanical, energy, and architectural engineers working for architect/engineer firms, architects, consulting firms, utilities, federal agencies, universities, and research laboratories.
Building geometry, thermal characteristics, internal loads and schedules, climate, heating and cooling equipment characteristics. Readable, structured input file are generated by PLEIADES the user-friendly interface completed by ALCYONE, the 2D graphical input and 3D display interface. Import from GBXML is possible.
Formatted reports printed directly by PLEIADES; including input and output (tables and graphs).
COMFIE has a user-friendly interface (ALCYONE/PLEIADES) ; dynamic simulation allows for analysis of thermal comfort and passive solar structures ; focusing on the envelope allows for use by architects ; Several validation and intercode comparison activities have shown the reliability of the model, the computation time being small thanks to the model reduction technique. Several buildings can be modeled. Model reduction using modal analysis allows for optimization and uncertainty studies thanks to low computation time. COMFIE is also linked to a life cycle assessment software (EQUER) allowing environmental evaluation of the building.
