BEMP case studies
BEMP · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The Building Energy Modeling Professional (BEMP) is a professional credential offered by ASHRAE for practitioners who create, run, and interpret whole-building energy simulations. It is aimed at engineers, architects, energy analysts, and consultants whose work depends on simulation results being technically defensible - people who build models for code compliance, LEED or above-code documentation, design comparisons, retrofit analysis, or measurement-and-verification support. The BEMP case studies are 5 cases and about 4,847 words.
1Calibrating to the Wrong Year: Weather Data and the Fudge Factor
A modeler is calibrating an as-built model of a 1985, 240,000 ft², eight-story office tower in a cold climate - gas-fired hot water boiler, two centrifugal chillers, VAV with reheat. Utility bills cover July 2022 through June 2023; the model was driven with a TMY3 weather file.
915 words, about 5 min2Asymmetric Sizing and 780 Unmet Hours in an Appendix G Comparison
A 120,000 ft² middle school is modeled for an ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G comparison. The baseline (System 5 VAV with reheat, gas boiler, air-cooled chiller) was hard-sized by the modeler from the 2019 mechanical drawings with a 15% safety factor added to coil and boiler capacities.
986 words, about 5 min3Four Metrics, Four Answers: Reporting an Electrification Retrofit
A 250,000 ft² mixed-use building (office over ground-floor retail) is gas-heated with condensing boilers and electrically cooled. The owner's RFP states a goal of 'a 30% reduction in energy use.' A proposed all-electric retrofit - VRF heat pumps with heat recovery, LED lighting, and a DOAS with 70% sensible recovery - is modeled against an existing-conditions baseline.
1,071 words, about 5 min4Scope Change, an Overwritten Baseline, and a Dual-Purpose Request
A consulting firm is modeling a 300,000 ft² hospital retrofit for a utility custom-incentive program. The program requires a baseline reflecting 12 months of pre-installation conditions and a 10-year savings claim.
924 words, about 5 min5A VRF Surrogate Model and the 'Errors Cancel' Argument
A 90,000 ft², six-story mixed-use building - apartments over ground-floor retail - is modeled with a VRF heat-recovery system and a dedicated outdoor air system. The tool has no native VRF model, so each apartment terminal was represented as a two-pipe fan coil served by a virtual boiler/chiller plant tuned to mimic VRF efficiencies, and the DOAS as a separate constant-volume AHU.
951 words, about 5 min