With origins reaching back over 25 years, the technology originally dubbed ‘APplication for Air-Conditioning and Heating Engineers‘ has evolved into a user-interface, rules processor and the best whole-building energy simulation engine in the world.
APACHE has become the beating heart of IES Virtual Environment.
The APACHE Application in IESVE Software is an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) for the APACHE engine and provides access to the following:
The IES Virtual Environment software provides a VE-Scripts dialog, which is a Python-based Application Programming Interface (API). The API allows for additional custom APACHE simulation controls and auto-creation of results & reports from APACHE’s results. Click below for detailed guidance when using the Python API.
Loads calculations with the world-renowned APACHE engine allows for easy-to-use access to the most robust industry methods, which require (sub)-hourly calculations that account for the storage and thermal mass of construction materials.
Widely regarded as the best whole-building energy simulation engine in the world, the powerful APACHE engine used in the IES Virtual Environment software has unrivalled flexibility and features.
The ApacheHVAC Application in the IES Virtual Environment software allows for detailed HVAC design and optimization for airside systems, waterside plant loops, isolated HVAC equipment or for a large campus of buildings with one central plant. External metered BAS/BMS hourly time-series data sources can be imported into ApacheHVAC to consider new design or control scenarios, all without any 3D model building representation. These plant-only simulation in ApacheHVAC can be coupled with energy generation from PV + Battery Storage within IESVE Software.
APACHE automates the creation of energy code baseline models for compliance comparisons by interpreting the rules associated with local building energy codes, regulations, standards and rating systems. E.g. ASHRAE 90.1, Part L, NECB, Title 24, IECC, etc.
During a simulation, APACHE accounts for thermal mass and records the surface temperatures in rooms and airflow rates through openings on a sub-hourly basis. Those results can be used to confirm occupant comfort for each hour of the year or those results can be exported to MicroFlo as boundary conditions for detailed CFD analysis.
APACHE accounts for surface temperatures in rooms and airflow rates through openings. Export results to MicroFlo as boundary conditions for detailed CFD analysis.
Contact our team to find out more about APACHE.
