Software shall require the user to identify the type of compliance for the project. The software shall require the user to choose one of the following options:
•New Building or Addition Alone. Software may do this by treating an addition alone as a new building, but an addition modeled in this way shall be reported on all output forms as an addition (modeled alone).
•Addition Plus Alteration of Existing Building (if software is approved for this optional capability).
•Alteration of Existing Building (if software is approved for this optional capability).
For each building or separately permitted space, software shall also require the user to identify the scope of the compliance submittal from a combination of the following list:
•Envelope
•Lighting or Partial Lighting
•Mechanical or Partial Mechanical (may include or exclude Domestic Hot Water)
Each combination requires specific assumptions, input procedures, and reporting requirements. Modeling assumptions are documented in Chapter 5. Reporting requirements are documented in Chapter 4. Software shall produce only compliance reports specific to the scope of the submittal determined for the run. For example, if the scope is envelope only, only the PRF-01 forms with envelope only components are produced.
Lighting compliance for a partial compliance scenario may be for the entire building, or may be specified for only portions of the building. When the building applies for partial lighting compliance, the space(s) where lighting for the space is unknown or undefined shall be marked as “undefined,” and the compliance software shall use the standard design lighting power for the user-defined space type for both the proposed design and standard design. Under this compliance scope, the entire building shall be modeled, and the compliance forms shall indicate the spaces for which lighting compliance is not performed.
The combination of the above scopes will determine the standard design that the proposed design is compared to. When a scope is excluded from the performance calculation, the standard design will match the proposed for all features covered by that scope. Specific rules for each building model descriptor can be found in Chapter 5 of this manual.
The program shall account for variations in energy use due to the effects of the California climate zones and local weather data. Climate information for compliance simulations shall use the applicable data set in Reference Appendix JA2.
The candidate software shall calculate the hourly energy use for both the standard design and the proposed design by applying a time dependent valuation (TDV) factor for each hour of the reference year. TDV factors have been established by the Energy Commission for residential and nonresidential occupancies, for each of the climate zones, and for each fuel (electricity, natural gas, and propane). The procedures for TDV energy are documented in Reference Appendix JA3.
The compliance software shall meet required capabilities and pass applicable certification tests as defined in Appendix 3A, Appendix 3B, and Appendix 3C. While the vendor’s software does not need to implement every modeling rule in the ACM Reference ‘Manual, all software features, systems, components, and controls that are modeled must follow the modeling guidelines in the ACM Reference ‘Manual. Vendors seeking certification for software programs to be used for Title 24 compliance should clearly state the extent of the capabilities of their software with respect to compliance. Support of a modeling feature includes correctly processing user input, specifying the standard design correctly, applying that information to simulation models, and processing the results.
Any building features or systems that cannot be modeled in a compliance software program shall show compliance using prescriptive forms.