From a press release issued by Bentley today:

“Drury Crawley, Ph.D., technology development manager, U.S. DOE, said that in the DOE’s energy building research, simulation has proven critical for designing and operating buildings to support decision making. At the same time it:

•Helps design teams and owners focus energy-use reduction efforts;
•Permits assessment of predicted performance with established benchmarks or goals;
•Enables teams to evaluate alternatives.

Dr. Crawley added that the integration of the U.S. DOE’s EnergyPlus – a comprehensive building, envelope, HVAC, lighting, water, site, and renewables simulation program – with commercial software is critical to bringing energy simulation into mainstream workflows.”