Extracting useful building performance characteristics without simulation

Although simulation is a useful tool, it does not permit extraction of all the information embodied in a thermodynamic model. An alternative but complementary approach is discussed in which the model normally created for simulation is processed using Fourier Transforms to extract structural information which can be obtained without simulation. More importantly, such information is not produced by simulations. Simple existing computer algorithms can be used to accomplish the necessary processing even for large models (>40 nodes). The resulting structural information is useful both to determine whether building performance is satisfactory and to indicate solution paths when it is not.