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Features

EPOS-Plan models a complete energy system in one project: heat and electricity demand, generators, storage, a full year of operation and the associated costs. All modules work on the same data set, so demand, technology and economics always match.

Project management

Projects are held in a shared database together with the master data catalogues – climate region, demand and plant data, simulation configuration, saved results and costs. A wizard guides you through a new project and only shows the building blocks the project actually contains. Catalogue components are always copied into the project, so changes never affect the catalogue or other projects.

Climate data

For every location an hourly data set with ambient temperature and global, direct and diffuse irradiance can be created. Data are retrieved automatically from the place name, converted to the four main orientations south, east, west and north and supplemented by solar positions – the basis for window gains, collector and photovoltaic yields.

Heat demand calculation

The heat demand of individual buildings or entire district heating areas is calculated in hourly steps across the year, based on geometry, U-values, thermal bridges, air change rate, thermal mass and usage profiles with night, weekend and holiday setback. Alternatively the demand can be derived from measured consumption of oil, gas or other fuels. Domestic hot water and process heat are recorded separately using monthly values and weekly profiles; measured heat load profiles can be imported. Network losses are taken into account as a percentage or as an annual figure.

Electricity demand calculation

Electricity demand is built from consumer profiles with monthly values and weekly patterns and is processed internally in quarter-hourly steps – the resolution required for self-consumption and storage. Measured load profiles in hourly or quarter-hourly resolution can be imported and superimposed.

Heat pumps

Selection from a catalogue of manufacturer performance maps, filtered by operating principle, control, design, installation, flow temperature range and capacity. The calculation uses the complete performance map: heat output and coefficient of performance are interpolated between the supporting points for every hour. Electric back-up heater and bivalent operating modes, utility lock-out periods, different heat sources – ambient air, constant temperature, buffer tank, user-defined source profile or an imported temperature profile –, heat sink for space heating and/or domestic hot water and the operating modes runtime-optimised, output-optimised and PV-optimised can all be modelled. The bivalence point is a result of the simulation.

Boilers

Boilers are described by rated output, fuel-dependent efficiencies, condensing flag and standby loss. The simulation balances fuel input and standby losses hour by hour and reports the annual utilisation ratio, consumption by energy carrier and emissions.

Combined heat and power

CHP modules are described by thermal and electrical output, overall efficiency and lower modulation limit. Three operating strategies are available: heat-led, electricity-led and operation without grid feed-in. A buffer tank smooths operation. Results include operating hours per module, heat and power production, fuel consumption and emissions.

Solar thermal

Collector arrays are described by collector type, number of modules, area, tilt and azimuth. Yield calculation follows the collector efficiency model of EN 12975 with optical efficiency, loss coefficients and incidence angle modifier, and reports both usable heat and the surplus that cannot be used – the decisive figure for sizing.

Photovoltaics and self-consumption

PV systems are modelled with module type, quantity, tilt and azimuth, also in several sub-arrays. Irradiance on the module plane, cell temperature, temperature-dependent efficiency and inverter losses are taken into account. The electricity balance follows the order direct use, battery charging, feed-in and reports self-consumption ratio, self-sufficiency and surplus.

Storage

Thermal buffer tanks are balanced with volume, temperatures and standby losses and managed by adjustable switch-on and switch-off thresholds; they can be assigned to individual generators and, for heat pumps, even serve as the heat source. Battery storage is modelled with capacity, power and state-of-charge limits, and its charge level can be displayed as a separate curve.

Annual simulation

The simulation covers 8,760 hours on the heat side and 35,040 quarter hours on the electricity side. Heat generators work in a freely configurable cascade: each generator covers as much demand as its performance map, operating limits and storage state allow, the remainder is passed on. In parallel the electricity balance is kept from demand, consumption of the heat generators, CHP power, photovoltaics and storage.

Evaluation and key figures

Coverage per generator, bivalence point, full-load hours, annual utilisation ratios, residual heat and electricity demand, fuel consumption, emissions, self-consumption ratio, self-sufficiency and CO₂ savings are available as key figures, annual profiles, load duration curves, output over ambient temperature, donut charts and monthly self-sufficiency balances. Results can be stored per project.

Data exchange

Time series for energy demand, heat pump and the currently displayed chart can be exported as CSV files with time stamp and ambient temperature. Manufacturer data for heat pumps, boilers, buffer tanks and solar collectors can be imported according to VDI 3805; climate data are retrieved online, load profiles for heat and electricity imported.

Costs and energy prices

Investment and operating costs are recorded per component with amount, unit, service life and a range between favourable and unfavourable case. For every energy carrier the working, standing and demand price, calorific values and emission factors are maintained with a validity date, so price developments remain traceable.

Operation and help

Extensive master data catalogues, a project wizard and a start page with status per building block keep the learning curve short. Tooltips at the input fields link to the matching chapter of the online documentation, an assistant answers questions in the context of the current program area, and the interface is available in German and English. EPOS-Plan runs as a standalone Windows application on Windows 10 and 11 and does not require Excel.

The help assistant works in two stages: searching the built-in help is free of charge, runs without an internet connection and transmits nothing. For freely worded answers you store your own access key; only your question, the name of the program area and extracts from the help texts are then transmitted – no project, customer or simulation data. On request the assistant also carries out individual steps in the program; anything that changes data requires your explicit confirmation. Using it is optional, and it can be switched off completely.