Welcome to PRIMERO!

PRIMERO is a modular software package for primary energy optimization of buildings and individual rooms designed with the aim of increasing user comfort and energy consumption in the crucial stages of planning.

The optimization extends to the building and its individual rooms with respect to size, shape, fenestration, shading, construction, ventilation, use, control of technical systems and much more.

The objective of planning with PRIMERO is a passive-solar-optimized building such that high comfort leads to a low energy requirement for the necessary building services.

PRIMERO was developed with the involvement of the necessary scientific experiments, in particular that of architectural design content and layout. The program conveys the language of architects, planners along with those of engineers, energy consultants, involved in the daily planning process for the users.

The program is ideally suited for use in teaching.

logo_komfort

Komfort

Licht

Energie

Sommer

logo_uwm

U-Wert-Manager

The advantages of PRIMERO are:

  • Can be implemented in early planning stages
  • Ease of use
  • Reduced input costs through the use of many defaults, such as a catalog of about 60 typical constructions
  • Simple optimization of the building by creating variants
  • Descriptive analysis of the results incl. comparison of variants

The software is part of a series PRIMERO of the Rud. Otto Meyer-Environmental Foundation funded research project.

PRIMERO has been developed in the HafenCity University, Hamburg, under the guidance of Prof. Udo Dietrich, Research Group REAP, in cooperation with the company ALware (PRIMERO-energy, -Light and -Summer), the Institute for Energy and Buildings (IEG) in Nuremberg, FH Wolfenbüttel and the GWJ Technology GmbH in Braunschweig (PRIMERO convenience).

The calculation engine used in the module PRIMERO light for the daylight autonomy and power savings for artificial lighting was developed by Dr. Detlef Hennings.

Description of each Module

PRIMERO-Comfort

PRIMERO-Comfort is based on the dynamic simulation program EnergyPlus software for the evaluation and optimization of thermal comfort and the resulting cooling energy demand in a room. The resulting simulation of this tool, by means of a histogram, are the hourly profiles of the temperature in the room, leading to the energy flows from vent, people, electric bones, artificial lighting and the cooling effects using thermo active components or an active cooling system (air cooler). 

PRIMERO-Comfort is designed primarily for architects and architecture students, allowing the user to create any kind of rooms in a more realistic form including interactions of all mentioned aspects, achieving an optimized solution.

The comfort appraisals are both based on the German DIN 4108-2, and after the Dutch adaptive comfort standard ISSO74.

Further reading with scientific paper: OPTIMISATION WITH “PRIMERO-COMFORT”

[PRIMERO-Summer, PRIMERO-Energy, PRIMERO-Light and U-value manager is available only in German]

PRIMERO-Light

PRIMERO light is a simulation program to determine the daylight factor and the expected electricity demand for artificial light in a single room. PRIMERO light can be used as stand-alone or as an add-on for PRIMERO energy.

In PRIMERO light, due to the 3D input, a rapid understanding of the spatial geometry is possible. The control input is done through an interactive space view.

PRIMERO-Energy

PRIMERO-energy considers the whole building determining first the heating requirement, followed by performing an extrapolation on the expected primary energy demand for the service heating, ventilation, hot water and electricity for artificial lighting.

The calculation is performed according to the EV 2002 / DIN 4108-6 and is therefore valid for residential buildings according to the Energy Saving Ordinance 2009.

PRIMERO-Summer

PRIMERO summer performs the legal energy-saving summer heat protection according to DIN 4108-2, considering the solar radiation of a particular exposed area individually in a building surface.

Based on our own investigations, reaching beyond the scope of DIN 4108-2, recommendation for a reduction of the maximum allowable solar transmission value in PRIMERO summer was integrated. Hereby it is possible to find office space for an interpretation of windows and shading, resulting in creating comfortable spaces.

U-Value Manager

The U-value manager is a useful as a stand-alone or in conjunction with PRIMERO Energy, PRIMERO Summer and convenience with add-on tool for the accurate determination of the U-value of own construction.

The calculation is performed according to DIN EN 6946 by simply entering the structure of the respective component in layer thickness and order as well as the selection of building materials.

Following image gallery shows snap shots of using the software. Please click here.