Like the Oracle from the Matrix, Jeff Hirsch recently offered the energy modeling community a glimpse into the future, and what a bright it is for eQUEST. Development of the eQUEST program is ongoing and there will be a new release with DOE-2.3 as the underlying engine sometime in the coming year.

eQUEST and DOE-2 are alive and well and our combined development efforts are at an equal or higher funding and effort level than ever before.  -- Jeff Hirsch

There are so many reasons that putting to rest rumors of eQUEST's demise helps the community. First, the decision to make eQUEST the software of choice for energy modeling is easier for people. Whenever there is uncertainty surrounding a software product it makes it harder for people to dedicate their time and money to learning it.

A version of eQUEST that fully supports DOE-2.3 that will be released at the same time. (in the coming year) -- Jeff Hirsch

That's damn exciting.

We also ask that you continue to support one another in this and other forums, as the freeware nature of our products requires the user community to hang together and exchange information and ideas.

Sketchup is a pretty amazing product, especially since you can download the non-pro version for free.  It's utilized by millions of people to do 3D modeling with especially loyal followings in the engineering, architecture and construction industries for obvious reasons.  

SketchUp was originally created by @Last Software.  Their team got to know Google while developing the Google Earth Plugin for SketchUp, which allows crowd sourced construction and mapping of 3D buildings and non-flat earthly features.  They had been selling their product for $500 a pop, but Google decided to release a free version along with the now $495 pro version.

They ended up liking each other and Google acquired the @Last team in 2006.  But today, Google announced they were selling the SketchUp product and software team to Trimble, a silicon valley based technology company best known for their GPS hardware and software.  

SketchUp might fit nicely into Trimble's Building Information Modeling(BIM) products.  The general feeling is that SketchUp users are a little worried since they're the ones who have been contributing most to the project over the last few years as Google has put it on the back burner.  The hope is that Trimble treads lightly and allows the organic growth of the product to continue.  

So, you're into energy-modeling, and you're probably not that happy with the program you use, or you think it's buggy, or whatever. Maybe you want to get into energy-modeling, and you don't know what to choose. Soo many options.... Which one do I chose?  Heck folks, if I knew which one to bet on, I might be able to get some sleep, instead of staying up trying to stay updated on everything. Something that interests me is that A LOT of folks call us here at energy-models.com and ask about what software to choose. I've noticed 5 things that seem important to people:

1. Credibility (Do other people recognize the name?)
2. Accuracy (Can I trust it's output?)
3. Longevity (Is it going to still be used in a few year?)
4. Standards (Is it accepted for LEED, 179D, etc?)
5. Cost (is it worth buying it?)

Since this article focuses on TRACE 700, the answer to questions 1-4 is "Yes, absolutely". The answer to 5 depends on your point of view, I suppose. Now, the way I see it, if you hire an energy-modeler, it often costs $100/hour or more and something like unmet hours can cost you easily 20 hours (I've seen people spend weeks on them). So, the cost is actually a pretty minor issue in my opinion. The annual cost of TRACE after your first purchase is less than a good day's wage for an energy modeler. So the answer to 5 is YES. </p>  Now, that we answered the questions that most people have, let's look at how it works with LEED. 6.  Automatic Fan calculations

Losing sleep because of LEED?

Or do you just think LEED modeling is a pain in the ass? Maybe you find it easy, but for some reason you are still getting comments from LEED reviewers?

I've been teaching TRACE 700 + LEED for over 4 years now, and I have never met someone who didn't have more to learn (though I've met about 200 people who think they knew everything!)

LET'S FACE IT: You Don't know what you don't know

By popular demand, we have completed a "step by step" LEED + TRACE 700 course. It's a course unlike any other - we dive right in. Plus, we have a massive cheat sheet to help you stick to the "process". See, that's the key with LEED modeling - have a process, but the process needs to have some flexibility.  That's what we cover in this course.

In this course, we walk through a LEED Model from start to finish, step by step by step. But, we skip the boring part of setting up the model (we have a video available if you wish to watch this part though).

So, we start with a Load Design model, convert it to an energy-model for LEED, then we create the LEED baseline building, troubleshoot, and prepare for submittal.

We also take on the big questions, like "How much do I charge for a LEED model?" or "How long does a LEED model take?

As a special bonus, you will get listed in our database of TRACE 700 LEED modelers once you pass the final exam. Since I've met so many people who think they are the best, we are also going to be featuring the highest scorers (with their permission of course). Thus, we can really find out who is a super-skilled TRACE 700 ninja.

What is Energy?

For all the talk about saving energy nowadays, there doesn’t seem to be enough talk about energy itself. What is Energy anyway? Well, I can hear a bunch of nerds reading this saying “Energy is the ability to do work”. By the way - that’s not a definition, that’s idiocy. It’s like asking, “What is an automobile?” and then answering, “an automobile is the ability to drive”. Get my point?

So, I ask again, what is energy? What is energy not hidden behind matter (naked energy, so to speak)? Does anybody really know? Well, the last great Scientist, Einstein, was famous for an equation about energy. However, that equation answered the question - What is matter? The answer of course being “Energy”. So, we know that that matter is made of energy, and therefore matter and energy are made of the same thing.

Then, what is this “thing” that makes up matter AND energy? Well, nobody really has an answer. Stephen Hawking (not a great scientist) has pretended to know since 1975, but if he actually did know, we would have hover cars by now. Furthermore, his answer (or the answer of other physicists) is such that most people cannot even follow the logic.

I will simplify the logic here. Basically, most conventional science tells us that matter and energy are made of “mass”, but not the conventional type of mass that has weight. By mass, they mean some tiny strange particles (or strings as some will say) that show resistance when attempting to change their direction (even light “pushes” on something when it hits it - search the internet for ‘solar sail’ for more information).

Disclaimer: We know that many of the really good modelers are already doing this! If you are already up to date on this, at least check out some of our recommendations

Regardless of your software preference (maybe you use both), you have probably already said this to yourself, "Why the heck isn't there an undo button?" 

Or maybe you are sick of not being able to run TRACE 700 files on a network?

So what's the solution. You have no doubt heard of "cloud computing" right? This is where your files are stored online somewhere and then backing it up is their problem. To be honest, a lot of cloud computing sucks because of speed issues and lack of user friendliness.

There is an option that is so easy a 100 year old architect could use it  (you use your computer just like you usually do) and it's great for energy-modelers. Oy yeah, and it's free (you get 2 gb of space free, and you get a bonus if you sign up with the link below). It's called dropbox and you can use this link to sign up and get bonus space.

Why is it BETTER than running TRACE 700 on a network?

Dropbox backs up your file everytime you close it. So, the rest of the time, it's just like any other file on your computer, so you don't run into issues with . There's a limit to the number of backups, but if you change the file name every so often, that's not a problem.

You can also share a folder.

Solar Panels - most bang for the buck

This map shows the solar energy potential by region in the United states for items such as photo-voltaics, solar hot water, and solar heating.

Don't forget, the map is interactive. Use your scroll wheel or +/- buttons to zoom in and out. Left click and drag to move the center of the map.

Hover the mouse cursor over a region to see more details since the map also tells you: how many houses can a solar panel power? (by location, assuming 100,000 square foot array).

Total Annual Building Energy Consumption for New York City

View larger map

Check out this map that shows a near building level energy analysis of New York City. The map also estimates the heating, cooling, electricity and hot water use of each block.

The map represents the total annual building energy consumption at the block level (zoom levels 11-15) and at the taxlot level (zoom levels 16-18) for New York City, and is expressed in kilowatt hours (k Wh) per square meter of land area. The data comes from a mathematical model based on statistics, not private information from utilities, to estimate the annual energy consumption values of buildings throughout the five boroughs. To see the break down of the type of energy being used, for which purpose and in what quantity, hover over or click on a block or taxlot. 

 

Data Source: Spatial distribution of urban building energy consumption by end use
B. Howard, L. Parshall, J. Thompson, S. Hammer, J. Dickinson, V. Modi

Energy-models have become more popular in the last couple years - this is certain. This is in part due to ASHRAE, LEED, and increased computational power.

So you could ask, "How successful is energy-modeling?".

Let's take a look at the [current] ultimate metric for environmental success - Global Warming.

I've heard that a way to measure global warming is by arctic populations, especially that of tertiary predators - chiefly the polar bear. While watching the Big Game, I witnessed something that gave indisputable evidence that the polar bear population is thriving, and possibly even evolving.

The number of polar bears shown over the passed few years has grown exponentially, which indicates healthy arctic populations and large polar ice caps.

The numbers are staggering, if we cite polar bear sample population sizes during "Big Game" Commercials:

• 2009 - 2 polar bears
• 2010 - 3 polar bears (one was an infant - so successful breeding is occurring)
• 2011 - 4 polar bears
• 2012 - 8 polar bears

Please note that no animals were harmed making the energy models that stopped global warming.

What do you think is the hardest part of starting a model?

I'm sure one of the items is getting a clear picture of the building, which often means looking at drawings, and mechanicals.

Often, it's best to talk about the model with a person that knows the building well or asking them to describe it. In the case where you ask for the building inputs, those unfamiliar with energy modeling often send unnecessary data, but miss key components.

However, if you send them this form, and ask them to fill out and include your email. BOOM! You can receive the basics requirements you need to build a model.

In fact, with this information, you could build a model in about 15 minutes (eQUEST, System Analyzer, TRACE 700 new file wizard).

What are the ideal uses of the building energy model survey?

• Preliminary LEED calculations
• Life Cycle Cost analysis models
• Simple Payback Models
• Comparative Models 
• Energy Audits

The link is: 

http://energy-models.com/building-survey