Plus Plan Updates: New HVAC Templates and Design Day Simulations

If you're on our Plus plan, you may have noticed we only had four Energy Plus HVAC templates to work with. We've heard your feedback and have added some more advanced options to help with your Green Star, LEED, and other modelling projects.

As of today, you'll find two new detailed HVAC systems available:

• Packaged Air Handling Unit (AHU) Systems – great for projects requiring more control over air handling and distribution

• Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) Systems – ideal when you need flexible zoning and energy-efficient cooling/heating solutions

What makes these different?

These detailed templates are quite a bit more advanced than our standard Energy Plus HVAC options. They give you finer control over system parameters and better represent real-world HVAC configurations, which is especially helpful when you're working on compliance modelling or need to demonstrate specific system performance.

Key benefits of the detailed VRF template

• More accurate part-load performance modelling that reflects how VRF systems actually operate

• Individual zone control with simultaneous heating and cooling capabilities

• Heat recovery between zones for improved energy efficiency

• Better representation of outdoor unit performance across varying conditions

• More realistic energy consumption predictions for VRF-specific features

Key benefits of the detailed Packaged AHU template

• Advanced air-side economiser controls for more accurate free cooling modelling

• Detailed fan energy modelling with multiple control strategies (constant volume, VAV, etc.)

• Better humidity control and dehumidification performance

• More options for ventilation strategies and outdoor air control

• Separate heating and cooling coil performance characteristics

• More accurate representation of system operation and sequencing

Design Day simulations now on Plus

We've also made Design Day simulations available on the Plus plan. This lets you run single-day simulations to test peak heating and cooling loads, size equipment, and troubleshoot system performance without waiting for full annual runs. It's a great way to iterate quickly during the design phase.

Learn more in our Design Day documentation.

Getting started

Because these templates have more features and settings than what you might be used to, we recommend taking some time with the documentation before jumping in. We've also put together dedicated on-demand courses for both systems that walk through the key settings and common use cases.

Helpful resources:

• HVAC Templates

• VRF Template

• VRF on-demand course

• Packaged Air Handling Units

• Packaged AHU on-demand course - Coming Soon

• Design Day documentation

If you run into any questions while working with these new features, feel free to reach out, we're here to help.