The files on this page contain commercial reference building models for new construction, organized by building type and location. These U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reference buildings are complete descriptions for whole building energy analysis. You can also return to a summary of building types and climate zones and information about other building vintages.
These files are updated regularly and comply with ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004. For more information about standards, visit the ASHRAE website. There are two versions of these files on this page. Version 1.3_5.0 was updated September 27, 2010 and Version 1.4_7.2 was updated November 13, 2012.
You can also view related resources:
The DOE reference buildings, in ZIP files, are by building type and climate zone. The ZIP files contain the following:
- An EnergyPlus software input file (.idf)
- An html file showing the results from the EnergyPlus simulation (.html)
- For ZIP files by building type, a "scorecard" spreadsheet that summarizes the inputs and results for each location (.xlsx)
- For ZIP files by climate zone, the EnergyPlus TMY2 weather file (.epw).
- For version 1.4, only the IDF file is included.
Reference Buildings by Building Type
In addition to the ZIP file for each building type, you can directly view the "scorecard" spreadsheet that summarizes the inputs and results for each location. This Microsoft Excel spreadsheet is also included in the ZIP file. For version 1.4, only the IDF file is included.
| Building Type | Version 1.3_5.0 updated 9/27/10 |
Version 1.4_7.2 updated 11/13/12 |
|---|---|---|
| Large office | ZIP | ZIP |
| Medium office | ZIP | ZIP |
| Small office | ZIP | ZIP |
| Warehouse | ZIP | ZIP |
| Stand-alone retail | ZIP | ZIP |
| Strip mall | ZIP | ZIP |
| Primary school | ZIP | ZIP |
| Secondary school | ZIP | ZIP |
| Supermarket | ZIP | ZIP |
| Quick service restaurant | ZIP | ZIP |
| Full service restaurant | ZIP | ZIP |
| Hospital | ZIP | ZIP |
| Outpatient health care | ZIP | ZIP |
| Small Hotel | ZIP | ZIP |
| Large Hotel | ZIP | ZIP |
| Midrise Apartment | ZIP | ZIP |
Reference Buildings by Climate Zone and Representative City
| Climate Zone | Version 1.3_5.0 updated 9/27/10 |
Version 1.4_7.2 updated 11/13/12 |
|---|---|---|
| 1A Miami, Florida | ZIP | ZIP |
| 2A Houston, Texas | ZIP | ZIP |
| 2B Phoenix, Arizona | ZIP | ZIP |
| 3A Atlanta, Georgia | ZIP | ZIP |
| 3B Los Angeles, California | ZIP | ZIP |
| 3B Las Vegas, Nevada | ZIP | ZIP |
| 3C San Francisco, California | ZIP | ZIP |
| 4A Baltimore, Maryland | ZIP | ZIP |
| 4B Albuquerque, New Mexico | ZIP | ZIP |
| 4C Seattle, Washington | ZIP | ZIP |
| 5A Chicago, Illinois | ZIP | ZIP |
| 5B Boulder, Colorado | ZIP | ZIP |
| 6A Minneapolis, Minnesota | ZIP | ZIP |
| 6B Helena, Montana | ZIP | ZIP |
| 7 Duluth, Minnesota | ZIP | ZIP |
| 8 Fairbanks, Alaska | ZIP | ZIP |
Please send all questions and comments regarding the reference buildings to [email protected].