Energy Modeling Blog

What is Energy-modeling?

Bob Fassbender's picture
Author: Bob F
Posted on: Sep 8, 2014
Reads: 26,823
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It is very difficult to answer the question "What is Energy-modeling" in as few words as possible. Here is my latest attempt that will soon be edited and published in, Architectural Drafting and Design, published by Cengage, 7th Edition.

Definition of Energy Modeling

Energy modeling, short for Building energy modeling (often abbreviated as BEM), is the computer simulation of a building used to determine or estimate building energy usage. A virtual building is created in a software package, the building components are entered, and the building is simulated over the duration of 1 year using a weather file.

The components entered into the simulation are numerous and thus most energy models allow for some...
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Filed under: Energy-modeling

5 cold hard truths about Energy-modeling

Bob Fassbender's picture
Author: Bob F
Posted on: Aug 7, 2014
Reads: 20,449
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I read an article a few years back about how energy-modeling was inaccurate. I disagreed with a lot of the articles premise, but not the energy-nerd’s conclusion. The article failed to specify that they were talking about residential energy modeling, which I thought was a cheap shot, because it is easier to miss the mark on poorly controlled buildings. My biggest problem with the article was that it blamed the software. I have a saying:  If you want to blame the software, please consult a mirror first.

The software packages are not the main problem. Not even close. Barking up that tree is the calling card of someone who just wants to bitch about energy-...
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Filed under: Energy-modeling

5 Psychrometric Tips to Keep You from Going Psycho

Bob Fassbender's picture
Author: Bob F
Posted on: Jul 15, 2014
Reads: 17,632
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I remember learning Psychrometrics in college. It was in one of my early chemical engineering classes and was really just a footnote to our main syllabus. The Professor was walking through it on the chalkboard, and explaining this and that; I thought that it seemed rather intuitive and unimportant to my career path (the irony!). I stopped taking notes and decided to sit back and try to reason through it. Somewhere mid-lesson I must’ve started daydreaming because suddenly the bell rang, and class was dismissed. I didn’t look further into it.

A few weeks later, we had our midterm. I had studied everything in my notes. So naturally, about 90% of the mid-term was based on psychrometrics. I thought, “no big deal, I remember enough of...
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Filed under: psychrometrics

GHX Keeps You Warm When Hell Freezes Over

Ed Lohrenz's picture
Author: Ed Lohrenz
Posted on: Jun 16, 2014
Reads: 17,358
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The Steinbach Credit Union built a new 45,000 square foot, 3 story office building in Winnipeg, MB in 2009. The building featured a number of energy efficiency features, including high insulation values, efficient lighting, a green roof and a ground coupled heat pump (GCHP) system that uses the earth under the parking lot as its energy source.

If you’ve been in Winnipeg in January, you’ll have an appreciation for winter. Our winter design temperature is -28 F (-33 C), with extreme temperatures occasionally dropping below -40. This winter, as anyone in North America knows, the Polar Vortex blessed us with the coldest winter on record. We had 25 days when the temperature didn't get above -20 F in December and January.

...
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Filed under: GHXPolar Vortex

How to get LEEDonline to work on a 64 bit computer

Robert Fassbender's picture
Author: Bob
Posted on: Jun 11, 2014
Reads: 17,226
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So, you want to use LEEDonline?

First thing, you must have Internet Explorer or Safari. It won't work in any other browser. 

There's a list of other things but if you have used LEEDonline in the past, you will need to make some changes.

If you have 64 bit Internet Explorer, you will need to setup a 32 bit option. This is easy enough:

Go to your desktop Right click and create a shortcut Set the shortcut path to C:\Program Files (x86)\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe Give the shortcut a name (something like "32 bit IE" or whatever helps you remember)

Now, to make sure that this 32-bit version of Internet explorer operates in "compatibility mode":

Open the 32 bit version of IE. Go to LEEDonline.com Go...
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Filed under: LEEDUSGBC

Chilled Beams vs High Performance VAV

Robert Fassbender's picture
Author: Bob
Posted on: Jun 4, 2014
Reads: 18,486
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Hello Friends and simulators-

We get an awful lot of questions about modeling new systems, and rightly so. These often involve workarounds and many people do these workarounds differently. (Example, how do I model VRF in eQUEST?). 

What are some of these cool "new" systems:

Chilled Beams Displacement Ventilation Underfloor Air Distribution 

While all these systems have their own time and place, newer does not always mean better.
Before getting caught up in the hype of any new, flashy system, make sure that you don't disregard high performance technology in conventional systems (example high performance VAV). 

This is a great read, by an...
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Filed under: Chilled BeamsTRACE 700VAV

How to get 90% Off

Becca's picture
Author: Becca
Posted on: May 13, 2014
Reads: 14,994
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We have seen a number incoming search engine links looking for "Energy-models.com coupon code"

If you want to try one of our courses, and you want a discount? How does 90% off sound?

For a limited time only, we are offering "Pay with userpoints", where you can earn points and use those points to pay for our products.

The best way to earn points is by referring others with your referral link.

Get your referral link on your user page  Share your link by email, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, telegraph, smoke signals Earn 200 points = $20.00 off for each user who creates a FREE account.  Use your...
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Filed under: DiscountsTraining

Free New Course for Managers

Robert Fassbender's picture
Author: Bob
Posted on: May 7, 2014
Reads: 18,599
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Attention MANAGERS and EMPLOYERS

You probably always hear about needing better software, and that may be true, but remember that faster cars require better drivers. The software is not the limiting factor. Not even close.

I know you are busy, so to move straight to the point: we have put together a free tutorial to help you hire quality energy-modelers, or which energy-modelers you should retain (who deserves a raise?)

In a nutshell, the course covers:

The 5 factors to evaluate in an applicant 20 example interview questions to help evaluate these factors (with answers) Red Flags to watch out for Ingredients to build...
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How Liberal is LEED?

Becca's picture
Author: Becca
Posted on: Apr 28, 2014
Reads: 31,698
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When we first published a map of LEED buildings per capita in 2011, we were accused of a political agenda by a few people. After the initial surprise and chuckle, our curiosity started to grow, after all, as energy-modelers we naturally gravitate towards analyzing data. So we asked ourselves, “What side would this map be on for a political agenda?”

Can you guess...
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LEED Fan Power- Step by Step

Bob Fassbender's picture
Author: Bob F
Posted on: Feb 10, 2014
Reads: 19,995
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Question:

USGBC is asking me for a manual calculation on fan power. Can you walk me through how you calculate the fan power for a VAV system for LEED?

Answer:

It’s a pretty straightforward process. However, it does require some bouncing around in ASHRAE 90.1 and that can lead to confusion, so after this walk-through you might simply prefer to use our fan calculator. One of the most complicated parts of the calculation is determining the filter credit. But remember that you should only apply the fan credit if ALL the supply air is filtered. (The workaround is discussed in the...
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Filed under: Fan CalculationLEED
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