With origins reaching back over 25 years, the technology originally dubbed ‘APplication for Air-Conditioning and Heating Engineers‘ has evolved into a user-interface, rules processor and the best whole-building energy simulation engine in the world.
APACHE has become the beating heart of IES Virtual Environment.
The APACHE Application in IESVE Software is an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI) for the APACHE engine and provides access to the following:
The IES Virtual Environment software provides a VE-Scripts dialog, which is a Python-based Application Programming Interface (API). The API allows for additional custom APACHE simulation controls and auto-creation of results & reports from APACHE’s results. Click below for detailed guidance when using the Python API.
Loads calculations with the world-renowned APACHE engine allows for easy-to-use access to the most robust industry methods, which require (sub)-hourly calculations that account for the storage and thermal mass of construction materials.
Widely regarded as the best whole-building energy simulation engine in the world, the powerful APACHE engine used in the IES Virtual Environment software has unrivalled flexibility and features.
The ApacheHVAC Application in the IES Virtual Environment software allows for detailed HVAC design and optimization for airside systems, waterside plant loops, isolated HVAC equipment or for a large campus of buildings with one central plant. External metered BAS/BMS hourly time-series data sources can be imported into ApacheHVAC to consider new design or control scenarios, all without any 3D model building representation. These plant-only simulation in ApacheHVAC can be coupled with energy generation from PV + Battery Storage within IESVE Software.
APACHE automates the creation of energy code baseline models for compliance comparisons by interpreting the rules associated with local building energy codes, regulations, standards and rating systems. E.g. ASHRAE 90.1, Part L, NECB, Title 24, IECC, etc.
During a simulation, APACHE accounts for thermal mass and records the surface temperatures in rooms and airflow rates through openings on a sub-hourly basis. Those results can be used to confirm occupant comfort for each hour of the year or those results can be exported to MicroFlo as boundary conditions for detailed CFD analysis.
APACHE accounts for surface temperatures in rooms and airflow rates through openings. Export results to MicroFlo as boundary conditions for detailed CFD analysis.
APACHE is the world-leading whole-building energy simulation engine at the heart of IES software. With over 30 years of development, it powers heating and cooling loads calculations, system sizing, energy simulation, HVAC optimisation, compliance, and thermal comfort analysis — all within a single integrated platform.
APACHE captures a comprehensive range of building performance metrics including energy, water, carbon, energy cost, thermal comfort, airflow and HVAC loads / system sizing— with simulation results available at annual, monthly, hourly, and sub-hourly intervals down to a one-minute timestep.
APACHE supports the most robust industry-standard methods including the ASHRAE Heat Balance Method, CIBSE Admittance Method, ANSI/ASHRAE/ACCA Standard 183, and ISO 52000 — with sub-hourly calculations that account for solar gain across all surfaces, thermal mass and construction materials.
APACHE performs hourly comfort simulation across hundreds of rooms, analysing operative temperatures, PMV, PPD, and standard effective temperatures. It supports compliance with ASHRAE Standard 55 and CIBSE TM52, and results can be exported to MicroFlo for detailed CFD analysis.
Yes. The ApacheHVAC application enables the most comprehensive coverage of any tool for detailed HVAC design and control optimisation – including for airside systems, waterside plant loops, and campus-scale central plant.
Yes. APACHE includes a Python API through the VE-Scripts dialog, allowing users to create custom simulation controls and automate the generation of results and reports — helping teams save time on repetitive tasks and build bespoke workflows.
Contact the IES team at sales@iesve.com to discuss how APACHE can support your building performance analysis or explore IESVE software to see how it fits within the wider platform.
Contact our team to explore how APACHE can support your building performance analysis.
