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

Not only does TRACE compute the Fan CFM and calculate the allotted KW, it also breaks the fans into correct ratios based on your input. Then, it subtracts that fan energy out the the cooling equipment's EER or COP. (one of my favorite features)</p>

7.  LEED libraries built in

TRACE 700 includes all the equipment from 90.1-2004 and 2007. It also includes the walls and roofs by climate zone (so you don't have to look up U-values)

8. Copy and Past from Excel

That's right, in the component tree view, you can copy and paste from Excel, which means you can do some really cool searching. I can't make it through a LEED model without using this feature.

9. Automatic Building rotation

It automatically rotates the building four times for you. This means you only have 1 file, not 4. Trust me, when backing up a file repeatedly, 1 file = good, 4 files = bad.

10. LEED Report

The latest and greatest. TRACE 700 outputs its data almost identically to what LEED requests, so it makes entering the data for LEED 100X easier than ever. 

So, do we use TRACE 700 for LEED projects? Absolutely. While we use other software, I have to give TRACE 700 the LEED edge. 

PS - Do you want to learn how we model a building step by step? Check out our upcoming webinar - TRACE 700 + LEED step by step.