**5. Conclusions**

In this study, we pursued four principal aims. The first aim was the creation of new climatic zoning for Mexico (with a local weather database) for delimiting the winter and summer severity for each capital city state. The actual climatic zoning available was developed by UNAM and considers several geographic and meteorological statistics. In this regard, we concluded that the proposed climatic zoning shares similarities with the Spanish climatic zoning, so this new zoning is compatible with the Open Studio and

SGSAVE work schemes. This compatibility will help with the adaptation of SGSAVE software to the Mexican market.

The second aim was the study of the Mexican energy standard (NOM-020-ENER-2011) for its application in the proposed add-on for Open Studio. For the verification method, reference values and directives were analyzed and applied. Fortunately, Open Studio add-on software was found and used for verifying meeting the standard requirements. We concluded that the Mexican standard has the potential to be adapted to and included in the software. For now, the complement offers a simple report of verification of whether the project complies with the standard, and a final list of radiation and conduction heat gains for the proposed and reference building. Analyzing the results obtained from the testing exercise, we concluded that the standard should be updated on the add-on by programming the new directives and reference values. First, it is important to promote the use of the Mexican standard for motivating implementation of the reference values and directives at present. The strict application of the standard by the relevant authorities should involve promoting the benefits of energy demands/consumption simulations.

The third aim was to research and construct a catalogue of the principal and traditional construction systems in Mexico. Using a public census of Mexican housing, we determined the principal construction system used for walls, ceilings, and floors. By identifying the materials that compose each system, a material catalogue was developed and uploaded in a single file of SGSAVE for the fourth aim. We concluded that, like the standardverification directives, the information can be adapted for the software and programmed for the Mexican SGSAVE version. However, some additional technical information should be researched and included for new materials (like specific heat). The SGSAVE version includes the most-used construction materials in Spain, the entire Saint Gobain catalogue, and some specialized materials available in Europe. For the new version, some vernacular and manual techniques should be studied and included, like bahareque, adobe, and palmleaves ceiling. In other words, for completing the catalogue, more profound research to obtain vernacular material technical data is needed.

For the fourth aim, a testing exercise of the verification method was performed. A base model was designed to obtain initial results. Then, we improved/specified the base model for the most common climatic zones. We verified the standard, resulting in all improved models complying with the directives, and we compared the energy standard and Energy Plus results. For the final test, the proposed models of two other construction systems (wood and adobe/steel) were simulated and the results were compared with those for the reinforced concrete system. We found that the proposed model worked in all the tested models for achieving its goal of verifying the compliance with the standard. Although the model succeed for verifying the standard, it did not achieve the same energy savings level for all climatic zones; one zone showed a higher energy demand than that of the base model. An implementation and reshaping of the Mexican standard is recommended for ensuring a minimum level of energy savings for all climatic zones.

We also demonstrated the differences between the Mexican standard and Energy Plus reports. Energy Plus provides a more complete document with specified heat gains sources, virtual energy demands by an HVAC ideal loads scheme (for design references on the definitive HVAC equipment design), etc. We fulfilled our four aims and proved the viability of developing a Mexican SGSAVE version with a local verification method of compliance with the energy standard, with some pending research aims to be fulfilled in future works.

By constructing an adequate tool, the energy standard could be improved into a complete environmental regulation. The environmental standard official report would provide not only verification of meeting the standard; it will also serve to indicate the economic value of a property, the reliability of a mortgage credit, and the fulfillment of energy credits toward a private environmental certification. In conclusion, by knowing all the benefits of improving the existing standard with software within a simulation engine, we can verify and prove the differences between the results before and after the changes between methods.
