EnergyPlus Meters

EnergyPlus meters are built-in data collection and reporting tools that automatically track and aggregate energy consumption, emissions, and other building performance metrics during simulation. They function as virtual "utility meters" that monitor different aspects of building operation.

Key Characteristics

Automatic Aggregation

Meters automatically sum up energy use from multiple components. For example, Electricity:HVAC totals electricity from all HVAC equipment without requiring manual calculation.

Hierarchical Structure

Meters are organized in a hierarchy where broader categories (like Electricity:Facility) contain subcategories (like Electricity:HVAC, InteriorLights:Electricity).

Multiple Perspectives

The same energy consumption can be viewed through different "lenses" - by fuel type, end use, system type, or equipment location.

Reporting Flexibility

Meters can report at different time frequencies (hourly, daily, monthly, annual) and can be used to create custom reports and summaries.

Common Applications

• Energy auditing - Track total building energy consumption

• Load disaggregation - Understand how much energy different systems use

• Emissions analysis - Calculate environmental impacts

• Utility bill validation - Compare simulated vs. actual energy bills

• Performance optimization - Identify high-consuming systems for efficiency improvements

EnergyPlus includes dozens of predefined meters covering electricity, gas, water, emissions, and other building performance metrics, making comprehensive energy analysis straightforward without complex post-processing.

Electricity Meters

• Cooling:Electricity - Electricity used for all cooling equipment and processes

• Electricity:Facility - Total electricity consumption for the entire building

• Electricity:HVAC - Electricity consumed by all HVAC systems

• Electricity:Plant - Electricity used by central plant equipment (chillers, boilers, etc.)

• ElectricityNet:Facility - Net electricity consumption (purchased minus sold back)

• ElectricityPurchased:Facility - Total electricity purchased from the grid

• ElectricityPurchased:Plant - Electricity purchased specifically for plant equipment

• ElectricitySurplusSold:Facility - Excess electricity sold back to the grid

• Fans:Electricity - Electricity consumed by all fan equipment

• HeatRejection:Electricity - Electricity used for heat rejection equipment (cooling towers, condensers)

• Heating:Electricity - Electricity used for all heating equipment and processes

• InteriorEquipment:Electricity - Electricity consumed by interior plug loads and equipment

• InteriorLights:Electricity - Electricity used for interior lighting systems

• Pumps:Electricity - Electricity consumed by all pump equipment

Natural Gas Meters

• Heating:NaturalGas - Natural gas used for heating processes

• NaturalGas:Facility - Total natural gas consumption for the entire building

Environmental/Emissions Meters

• CH4:Facility - Methane emissions from building operations

• CO2:Facility - Carbon dioxide emissions from building energy use

• CO:Facility - Carbon monoxide emissions from building operations

• Carbon Equivalent:Facility - Total carbon equivalent emissions (CO2 equivalent)

• Hg:Facility - Mercury emissions from building energy use

• N2O:Facility - Nitrous oxide emissions from building operations

• NH3:Facility - Ammonia emissions from building energy use

• NMVOC:Facility - Non-methane volatile organic compound emissions

• NOx:Facility - Nitrogen oxide emissions from building operations

• PM10:Facility - Particulate matter emissions (particles ≤10 micrometers)

• PM2.5:Facility - Fine particulate matter emissions (particles ≤2.5 micrometers)

• PM:Facility - Total particulate matter emissions

• Pb:Facility - Lead emissions from building energy use

• SO2:Facility - Sulfur dioxide emissions from building operations

Nuclear/Radioactive Waste Meters

• Nuclear High:Facility - High-level radioactive waste generated from energy use

• Nuclear Low:Facility - Low-level radioactive waste generated from energy use

Water-Related Meters

• WaterEnvironmentalFactors:Facility - Water-related environmental impacts from building operations