Company Profile

DesignBuilder Software Ltd specialises in developing high-quality, easy-to-use and affordable simulation software tools for assessing the environmental performance of building designs. The flagship product DesignBuilder EnergyPlus can provide information on building energy consumption, CO2 emissions, occupant comfort and much more. The software is the result of considerable investment in user interface technology and illustrates our uncompromising approach to software design.

DesignBuilder Software is a leading provider of Energy Performance Certificate and Building Regulations Compliance checking software in the UK, Ireland and Portugal. 

Version 1 of the product was launched in 2005 as the first Graphical User Interface to the US DOE EnergyPlus simulation engine and, 5 years on, it is still the most complete EnergyPlus interface. Version 2 was released in May 2009 and adds Building Information Modelling interoperability through a gbXML import facility and integrated 3-D CFD calculations linked to EnergyPlus.

DBS is able to offer considerable expertise in the building energy analysis arena. We have many years experience working with building design practitioners and have contributed to several successful UK Government funded research projects, including the development of the NDEEM/3TC national stock modelling methodology, energy performance indicator development through the BESTCert project and 3TC simulation algorithm development.

The DesignBuilder software is being distributed through a network of Partners in USA, Italy, Portugal, France, Mexico, Australia, China, India, Japan, South Africa, Chile and Serbia, Montenegro to deliver local sales, support and training.

Our Aim

"We aim to bring advanced building modelling into the mainstream by providing tools that are easy to use and highly accessible both in terms of initial cost and in the time taken to learn them. We are particularly keen to encourage the uptake of environmentally responsible design techniques and to play our part in reducing building-related pollution to sustainable levels."

Personnel

Dr Andy Tindale: Director and founder of DBS, has been working in building energy modelling for over 20 years in academia and building design consultancies. He has combined his expertise in building energy simulation with an understanding of industry modelling needs to drive the development of the DesignBuilder product. Involvement with a number of building energy-related research projects has contributed to some useful developments including the 3TC simulation method. Andy received his PhD on Solar Roofspace collectors from the Polytechnic of Central London in 1991.

Dr Steve Potter: Director of DBS, has been working in the building simulation software sector for over 20 years. He has considerable experience in building energy simulation and the development of architectural modelling, CFD and building services software, including management, design and development input to significant commercial projects. Steve obtained his PhD on CFD coupled radiation methods from Northumbria University in 1998

DBS also employs a dedicated team of software developers, web developers, graphic designers and administrative staff.

Research Projects

Apart from the DesignBuilder project, we have successfully completed a number of government and privately funded research projects since 1999:

1. OBOES - Reseach project part funded by DTI Innovation Scheme. The 18 month project started Nov 07 and aims to identify practical methodologies for integrating 5 areas of capability into the DesignBuilder interface:

• Optimisation – provide optimal solutions given a set of criteria describing the relative priorities for each of the key measures of success (energy, CO2, comfort, cost etc).
• New UI methodologies to be tested with a view to make optimisation tools accessible to general users in the industry.
• High-speed simulation (to process the large numbers of simulations required in optimisation analyses in reasonable time).
• Design advice. Provide advice to guide the user towards the most optimal designs choices. The user would set the constraints (i.e. define which aspects of the design are fixed and which can be varied). Otherwise the process should be automatic. 
• General 3-D CAD interoperability to allow any reasonably well drawn 3-D building CAD model to be loaded to the simulation interface, automatically identifying spaces and surrounding surfaces, adjacencies and windows.

2. SAVE BestCert European Project (pilot a common methodology capable of fulfilling the requirements of the EPBD directive), advising on methodology, provision of user interface software and development of prototype generic building layouts and energy performance indicator calculation procedures. This project was useful in guiding DesignBuilder user interface, database and algorithm development and has kept DesignBuilder at the leading edge for Building Regulations and Certification energy calculations.

3. NDEEM/3TC - development of UK Government NDEEM/3TC Modelling Simulation Package used to provide informed policy decisions. Stock-modelling tool is based on a portfolio of building models containing detailed survey information on over 300 buildings. The 3TC simulation method is an output from this project.

4. Action Energy - project to develop a methodology and prototype environmental performance indicator calculation tool. Many of the ideas developed in this project found their way into the BESTCert project.

5. NiteCool - The original client brief was for a series of design curves to assist designers wanting to include night cooling as part of a strategy to reduce peak summertime temperatures and/or cooling loads. The solution was to use the 3TC simulation technique embedded in a spreadsheet to generate the design curves in real time. This approach was then extended to create a standalone Windows program capable of generating either base design data or design curves. The popularity of this easy-to-use tool prompted BRE to ask us to convert it to a NiteCool web page making it available to a much wider audience.

6. AirSoft - we developed and extended the software used by Passivent and its clients for calculating the size of natural ventilation openings required to provide comfortable summertime conditions. 

Company Details

DBS is a Private Limited Company

Date of Incorporation: 19/08/2002

Company No. 04514127

Name & Registered Office:
DESIGNBUILDER SOFTWARE LIMITED
PALACE CHAMBERS
41 LONDON ROAD
STROUD
GLOUCESTERSHIRE, GL5 2AJ, UK