The district energy concept adviser (D-ECA): Software from IEA EBC Annex 51 to support district energy system planning

Within the framework of the German research initiative EnEff:Stadt, launched by the German Federal Ministry for Economy and Technology, Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) has developed a computer software program to support urban planners in the early stages of energy efficient district or neighbourhood planning. This software was developed in collaboration with international partners from IEA-EBC Annex 51 Energy Efficient Communities and comprises a set of individual supporting tools. The core of the software is a tool for the energy assessment of districts or neighbourhoods. It uses archetypes and other pre-established configurations to allow simple and quick input of data for buildlngs in the dfstrict. Only a few steps are requfred to identify the energy saving potential of building construction, technical building systems and central supply system strategies. This chapter describes the District Energy Concept Adviser (D-ECA) planning tool in detail, including practical examples. The software can be downloaded free of charge (registration required) from http://www.district-eca.com/index.pho?lang=de.