LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM and NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Oct 30, 2015) - Sefaira, the leader in software for high-performance building design, today announced that it has selected and integrated EnergyPlus as the primary analysis engine for its Real-Time Analysis applications for architects. EnergyPlus is the industry-standard energy simulation engine developed with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. Its inclusion in Sefaira's Real-Time Analysis tools delivers for the first time the unparalleled power of this engine to every architect's desktop.
EnergyPlus is widely recognized as the industry's most advanced energy analysis engine. Until now it has been a tool used almost exclusively by experts and has not been made accessible or fast enough to support iterative early design. EnergyPlus is simply a simulation engine, without a graphical interface; and interfaces developed by third parties have been focused on experts, which means that analysis is too time-consuming and complex for everyday use by architects. Sefaira's unique integration of EnergyPlus delivers blazing fast analysis speed and brings the analysis directly into the architect's design environment via a user-friendly graphical interface.
Architects can now see results that are consistent with mechanical engineers who use any other EnergyPlus-based analysis software, including Sefaira Systems, which has utilized the EnergyPlus engine since its launch in January 2015. This alignment sets the stage for more streamlined communication and ultimately better collaboration between architects and engineers in the critical early phases of a design project.
"Our architectural design teams seek to work closely with our engineers as early as possible in our projects," said Don Posson, Vice President at SmithGroupJJR. "However, we have found that different disciplines have historically used different simulation tools, with architects focusing on the design and engineers focusing on the systems -- and the results can be difficult to reconcile. Enabling the extended project team to use the same simulation engine, while still focusing on their areas of expertise, is an important step toward better collaboration."
Sefaira's CEO, Mads Jensen, said: "Architects need performance feedback that is fast, easy to use, and fully integrated into their design environments. They also need results that are compatible with the work being done by their consultants. With the integration of Sefaira's Real-Time Analysis and the EnergyPlus analysis engine, we are excited to be the first to provide both of these critical elements in one tool."
About Sefaira
Founded in 2009, Sefaira is the leader in software for high-performance building design. Using Sefaira, architects and other building designers now have the real-time analysis capabilities that enable them to practice performance-based design. This enables designers to create buildings that have the very best performance characteristics in terms of energy use, daylighting quality, carbon emissions, thermal comfort, construction and operating costs.
Sefaira is a Bronze Winner at the 2015 Edison Awards, Winner of the 2014 Architizer A+ Product + Apps Jury Award, the 2013 Sustainability Leaders Innovation Award and the 2013 ENDS Green Economy - Green Data Award. It has been named in the 2014 and 2013 Global Cleantech 100, the 2013 Red Herring Top 100 Global and the 2012 Going Green Global Top 200 private companies. The company also won Gold at the 2013 Ecosummit Award in Berlin as well as the "Green Building Innovation of the Year" award at London's Ecobuild in 2011. Sefaira has offices in London, New York and Sydney.