eQuest 3.65 automatically creates ASHRAE compliant baseline bldg after running compliance anlaysis?

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I've asked this in another forum but I haven't gotten any answers.

I wasn't even aware that this was something built in to eQuest 3.65 until last week. But a few days ago I finished setting up my proposed building.

I then ran compliance analysis error-free after doing some troubleshooting (I had to revert to previous version of 3.65 to run successful compliance analysis due to floor layering errors).

when I ran my compliance analysis successfully (without any errors) eQuest automatically spit out a baseline PD2 file.

The name of the PD2 file is the same as the proposed building except it has a suffix of "LEED_Base_Bldg".

Everything appears to be ASHRAE 90.1 compliant for the baseline building (Air side and water side HVAC).

The water side systems have been automaticaly reverted back to their ASHRAE compliant configuration with DX coils, bypass factors, etc... (none of that was in the proposed building).

I am currently going through ASHRAE 90.1 to compare the baseline criteria to the automatically created building but as of right now I haven't found anything that needs tweaking.

I was under the assumption that I would need to create the baseline systems manually, by tweaking the electrical usage, U-values, insulation R-values, etc... of the proposed building and do a "save as".
Does anyone know if the automatically-created baseline bldg in eQuest is meant to be ASHRAE compliant?

For now, I'm going to continue looking for anything that needs adjusting but so far everything looks good for the baseline.

I've been warned not to trust the equest baseline outright, which is why I'm checking all my bases.

Currently, the baseline reverted all heating responsibilities to the air-side HVAC system. In other words, All thermal zones fall under the air-side system as of right now (or at least that's what equest set up for the baseline).

Chris Baker
CCI CAD Drafter

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Your is the most promising sounding experience I think I've seen.

I gave the 90.1 compliance features a number of tries early on when it was newly released, and came away bruised and beaten as there were many game-breaking bugs at the time that proved more time-intensive to work around than simply creating a baseline "from scratch." I switched back to making separate baseline project files per my usual routine thereafter. It's worth mentioning I've had a lot of experience building my own baselines, so my workflow is very streamlined on that front relative to someone who hasn't had as much experience.

I would strongly back up the emphasis on thoroughly reviewing all baseline model inputs before declaring it complete. The help documentation for the feature (at least early on) stipulated there were certain things the tool did NOT do.

Even if the baseline generation features are more fully developed now (which is great news!), it probably remains solid advice to advise newer eQuest/DOE2 users to pick up the experience of "rolling your own" baseline models a few times, before relying on any such automations, especially under the auspices of even a cursory review process. Generating a code-compliant baseline is an area where not understanding what is going on under the hood can have rather severe consequences (in terms of perceived competence from clientele/employers).

Altogether however, I'm really happy to hear this feature seems to have come a long way towards generating workable results! Let us know how it turns out once you've had a chance to give it the fine-comb treatment!

~Nick
[cid:489575314 at 22072009-0ABB]

NICK CATON, P.E.
SENIOR ENGINEER

Smith & Boucher Engineers
25501 west valley parkway, suite 200
olathe, ks 66061
direct 913.344.0036
fax 913.345.0617
www.smithboucher.com

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Does anyone else have input on this feature of eQuest?  Has anyone else had success with the automatically created baseline model?

It looks like the water and air side systems are all compliant but some of the building shell attributes still need to be manually updated.

I've been looking at the building envelope - particularly the walls.  It looks like they need to be manually changed to the equivalent in ASHRAE 90.1 - Appendix G (tables 5.5-1 to 5.5-8).

I'm going to attempt the changes in detailed edit.  I'm fearful that if I go back to DD wizard, going back to Detail edit would remove alot of numbers and inputs that eQuest automatically creates when it makes the baseline model.

Thank you!

-Chris

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Has anyone been able to successfully use the LEED Baseline Design Generation Options for ASHRAE 90.1-2010 compliance by now? It's still eQuest 3.65. Thank you.

- Ilana

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