I have not used equest until about 2 weeks ago but I've experimented with some of the other platforms and equest is by far the most reasonable to work with.
The older release of version 3.65 was a little buggy but those have since been worked out from what I've seen so far.
But I will say that it depends on what your existing design files are (Autocad or Revit).
If you have your project already drawn up in revit there is a revit add-on that you can install for energy plus that will recognize windows, zones, building shell, etc.. (you have to specify each with the add-on). You then export a file to energy plus and continue the energy modeling process.
There is also an add-on for "Sketchup" that does the same thing. If you already have a 3d model in revit, sketchup is unnecessary. If you have a 3d model in Autocad, you can export that to sketchup, then use the sketchup add-on to specify the shell, zones, windows and doors, you would then use the add-on to create the file for energy plus.
Sketchup (which is by google) would require you to draw the building in 3d from scratch if you don't have a 3d model drawn yet.. I wasn't happy with that.
Plus, sketchup is no longer FREE as it was in the past. The newest version of the Sketchup allows you to install and use the energy plus add-on. However, Sketchup now has a brief trial period after which you are required to pay a few hundred dollars to purchase the software (which you would likely only use once for the purpose of exporting to energy plus). I didn't like that either!
Thus, If you have a 3d model or BIM drawn up in Autocad, energy plus is probably the easiest way to go. Otherwise, eQuest is probably the best alternative.
eQuest is very straightforward and easy to use. It does have its quirks! But any issues I've had were quickly resolved through this usergroup. And this is my first time doing the energy modeling.
Sketchup was purchased by Trimble years ago.
Their purchase agreement with Google required the maintenance of a free
version. You can download Sketchup 8 (free, non-Pro version) from here:
http://www.sketchup.com/download/all
The GUI for energy plus that interfaces with Sketchup is called OpenStudio
and is being actively developed by NREL. (Also free).
https://openstudio.nrel.gov/
To respond to the original question/comment about eQuest 3.65 -- I haven't
updated to the latest build. Thank you for bringing the revisions the my
attention.
Sketchup is still "free." (At least the version that I am using is.)
They now call it Sketchup Make and there is a free and a fee version. As
an frontend to OpenStudio/EnergyPlus the free version is just fine. All
you really need (or want) to do is run the EnergyPlus plugin. In fact,
if you get fancy and attempt to save your file as a sketchup file you
will run into lots of terrible problems.
A hint, if you intend to try OpenStudio/EnergyPlus for a spin using the
Sketchup interface, DO NOT open, save or do anything else with the
Sketchup "File" menus for those actions. The OS plugin has buttons that
take care of those functions. I spent weeks building models that would
look great and work, only to have them "explode" and fly into disjointed
pieces at unexpected times. That happened because I thought that the
Sketchup file management tools worked - they don't. Since I weaned
myself off of accidentally using the "File" drop-down menu that problem
went away. It was a hard habit to get away from since we are so used to
using those Windows menu items for "Save", "Open", "Save As" etc.
Another hint has to do with the way that the Sketchup plugin and
OpenStudio share files. They both use the same file (*.osm) which is
neat because they are always identical. However, they don't always
update the file before switching back and forth between the programs.
If you have both programs open at the same time (and you will do this)
you need to remember to save the file before switching, and then to open
the file again once in the other application. The reason is that the
applications (OpenStudio for example) don't actually use that file when
running, they use a temporary files. If you don't manually open the
newly changed file from Sketchup OS will use that temporary file rather
then the newly modified one. The programmers included a built in a
pop-up window to prompt for this when going from OS to Sketchup, but not
the other way around. You can use the OS button in Sketchup Plugin to
launch the OS application, but if you already have OS open it creates
another version. Pretty soon you end up with lots of versions open -
not a good thing.
Good luck with OS. I find it to be powerful and useful, but extremely
difficult to use because of a lack of descriptions of the various
fields. Unlike eQuest, the field names just sit there and dare you to
figure out what they might be asking for - there are lots of information
hidden away in the voluminous manuals and things - all written for use
in the "native" EP+ front end. You are left to guess at what might be
appropriate in the OpenStudio application and plugin. Another problem
for me is their plethora of default values for lots of things that are
named in ways that don't make any sense to me (they are just references
to various sections of a bunch of standards). I finally gave up using
those and made my own constructions and things that I know about. I
just deleted all of their defaults and started from scratch. It worked
much better for me that way.
It is an interesting tool, but very much still a research project.
As someone who is very familiar with OpenStudio ecosystem of tools (PSD is an NREL licensed provider of OpenStudio training, support services and consulting), I'd like to take a moment to elaborate on a few issues being discussed in this thread:
1) OpenStudio / SketchUp - Licensing issues
a. The current Trimble website for SketchUp (http://www.sketchup.com/download/all) still offer users a choice of either free (SketchUp Make 2014 or SketchUp v8.0) or pay (SketchUp Pro 2104 or SketchUp Pro 2013) versions for download.
b. The licensing terms for SketchUp Make 2014 (the currently available free version) clearly list the software as for non-commercial use.
c. The licensing terms for SketchUp 8.0 (released by Google in September 2010, prior to the Trimble acquisition) are much looser and allow for it to be used for commercial use.
d. Versions of the OpenStudio SketchUp plugin will function correctly in ANY of the SketchUp versions mentioned above
e. Trimble could remove the download link for SketchUp 8 (and stop supporting it) at any time. Users will likely be able to find SketchUp 8 installation executables (from mirrored sites) for a long time.
f. The OpenStudio roadmap (https://openstudio.nrel.gov/openstudio-roadmap) refers to an item for FY 2015 and beyond titled "Support for additional (simpler) geometry editing alternatives". This is clearly roadmap speak for development of an alternative (to SketchUp) geometry editor for OpenStudio.
a. The OpenStudio SketchUp Plugin is attempting to maintain two different object models simultaneously - i.e. in parallel. One object model (defined by objects contained in the .skp file) contains SketchUp objects such as dimension lines, views, patterns, surfaces, etc. The 2nd object model (.osm) contains objects related to OpenStudio (OpenStudio surfaces, subsurfaces, surface properties, schedules, etc.). The two models, while sharing a common workspace, are not linked in a way that they know that the other exists. In other words, they are independent from one another.
b. With a little practice / training, it can be clear when working in the SketchUp workspace, which objects you are creating and when (you can easily go back and forth, but not so easily undo the creation of OS objects in SketchUp).
c. When one is authoring OpenStudio models in SketchUp, they need to save the files (.skp and .osm) independently. Then, when opening/reloading - the users should open each independently and in reverse order, as well.
3) OS SketchUp Plugin / OpenStudio Application linkages
a. A 'loose' (one-way notification of changes) connection between the two applications exists. If a user has a file open in both SketchUp Plugin and the OS Application open at the same time, this needs careful management.
i. One can 'launch' the OpenStudio Application from within the SketchUp Plugin environment, thus having the same .osm file opened for parallel editing inside two different applications at the same time.
ii. Changes / updates saved to a file while in the OpenStudio Application will notify the SketchUp plugin to be reloaded, thus resynchronizing what the user is seeing.
iii. Changes / updates saved to a file in the SketchUp Plugin will not notify the OpenStudio Application to be reloaded, preventing synchronization and requiring a re-launch.
4) OS - Lack of field descriptions (user help)
a. Many data object and properties in OpenStudio map 1:1 to a corresponding EnergyPlus object. In these cases, referring to the (*well documented) EnergyPlus Input/Output reference and/or Engineering reference can be very helpful. Our friends at Big Ladder software have converted these enormous pdf documents to searchable and hyperlinked text here: http://bigladdersoftware.com/epx/docs/. I have found this to be an extremely useful resource.
IN the next few weeks, PSD will be opening registration for a free OpenStudio webinar to demonstrate some of the new features available in OpenStudio V1.3. While still an interface that some might call 'rough on the edges' - it offers access to some innovative modeling capabilities that are difficult to find in other software tools. Look for the invite to learn more.
I have not used equest until about 2 weeks ago but I've experimented with some of the other platforms and equest is by far the most reasonable to work with.
The older release of version 3.65 was a little buggy but those have since been worked out from what I've seen so far.
But I will say that it depends on what your existing design files are (Autocad or Revit).
If you have your project already drawn up in revit there is a revit add-on that you can install for energy plus that will recognize windows, zones, building shell, etc.. (you have to specify each with the add-on). You then export a file to energy plus and continue the energy modeling process.
There is also an add-on for "Sketchup" that does the same thing. If you already have a 3d model in revit, sketchup is unnecessary. If you have a 3d model in Autocad, you can export that to sketchup, then use the sketchup add-on to specify the shell, zones, windows and doors, you would then use the add-on to create the file for energy plus.
Sketchup (which is by google) would require you to draw the building in 3d from scratch if you don't have a 3d model drawn yet.. I wasn't happy with that.
Plus, sketchup is no longer FREE as it was in the past. The newest version of the Sketchup allows you to install and use the energy plus add-on. However, Sketchup now has a brief trial period after which you are required to pay a few hundred dollars to purchase the software (which you would likely only use once for the purpose of exporting to energy plus). I didn't like that either!
Thus, If you have a 3d model or BIM drawn up in Autocad, energy plus is probably the easiest way to go. Otherwise, eQuest is probably the best alternative.
eQuest is very straightforward and easy to use. It does have its quirks! But any issues I've had were quickly resolved through this usergroup. And this is my first time doing the energy modeling.
Chris Baker
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Sketchup was purchased by Trimble years ago.
Their purchase agreement with Google required the maintenance of a free
version. You can download Sketchup 8 (free, non-Pro version) from here:
http://www.sketchup.com/download/all
The GUI for energy plus that interfaces with Sketchup is called OpenStudio
and is being actively developed by NREL. (Also free).
https://openstudio.nrel.gov/
To respond to the original question/comment about eQuest 3.65 -- I haven't
updated to the latest build. Thank you for bringing the revisions the my
attention.
- Matt Hein
Sketchup is still "free." (At least the version that I am using is.)
They now call it Sketchup Make and there is a free and a fee version. As
an frontend to OpenStudio/EnergyPlus the free version is just fine. All
you really need (or want) to do is run the EnergyPlus plugin. In fact,
if you get fancy and attempt to save your file as a sketchup file you
will run into lots of terrible problems.
A hint, if you intend to try OpenStudio/EnergyPlus for a spin using the
Sketchup interface, DO NOT open, save or do anything else with the
Sketchup "File" menus for those actions. The OS plugin has buttons that
take care of those functions. I spent weeks building models that would
look great and work, only to have them "explode" and fly into disjointed
pieces at unexpected times. That happened because I thought that the
Sketchup file management tools worked - they don't. Since I weaned
myself off of accidentally using the "File" drop-down menu that problem
went away. It was a hard habit to get away from since we are so used to
using those Windows menu items for "Save", "Open", "Save As" etc.
Another hint has to do with the way that the Sketchup plugin and
OpenStudio share files. They both use the same file (*.osm) which is
neat because they are always identical. However, they don't always
update the file before switching back and forth between the programs.
If you have both programs open at the same time (and you will do this)
you need to remember to save the file before switching, and then to open
the file again once in the other application. The reason is that the
applications (OpenStudio for example) don't actually use that file when
running, they use a temporary files. If you don't manually open the
newly changed file from Sketchup OS will use that temporary file rather
then the newly modified one. The programmers included a built in a
pop-up window to prompt for this when going from OS to Sketchup, but not
the other way around. You can use the OS button in Sketchup Plugin to
launch the OS application, but if you already have OS open it creates
another version. Pretty soon you end up with lots of versions open -
not a good thing.
Good luck with OS. I find it to be powerful and useful, but extremely
difficult to use because of a lack of descriptions of the various
fields. Unlike eQuest, the field names just sit there and dare you to
figure out what they might be asking for - there are lots of information
hidden away in the voluminous manuals and things - all written for use
in the "native" EP+ front end. You are left to guess at what might be
appropriate in the OpenStudio application and plugin. Another problem
for me is their plethora of default values for lots of things that are
named in ways that don't make any sense to me (they are just references
to various sections of a bunch of standards). I finally gave up using
those and made my own constructions and things that I know about. I
just deleted all of their defaults and started from scratch. It worked
much better for me that way.
It is an interesting tool, but very much still a research project.
Charlie
Hello fellow modelers!
As someone who is very familiar with OpenStudio ecosystem of tools (PSD is an NREL licensed provider of OpenStudio training, support services and consulting), I'd like to take a moment to elaborate on a few issues being discussed in this thread:
1) OpenStudio / SketchUp - Licensing issues
a. The current Trimble website for SketchUp (http://www.sketchup.com/download/all) still offer users a choice of either free (SketchUp Make 2014 or SketchUp v8.0) or pay (SketchUp Pro 2104 or SketchUp Pro 2013) versions for download.
b. The licensing terms for SketchUp Make 2014 (the currently available free version) clearly list the software as for non-commercial use.
c. The licensing terms for SketchUp 8.0 (released by Google in September 2010, prior to the Trimble acquisition) are much looser and allow for it to be used for commercial use.
d. Versions of the OpenStudio SketchUp plugin will function correctly in ANY of the SketchUp versions mentioned above
e. Trimble could remove the download link for SketchUp 8 (and stop supporting it) at any time. Users will likely be able to find SketchUp 8 installation executables (from mirrored sites) for a long time.
f. The OpenStudio roadmap (https://openstudio.nrel.gov/openstudio-roadmap) refers to an item for FY 2015 and beyond titled "Support for additional (simpler) geometry editing alternatives". This is clearly roadmap speak for development of an alternative (to SketchUp) geometry editor for OpenStudio.
2) OpenStudio / SketchUp object models - integration
a. The OpenStudio SketchUp Plugin is attempting to maintain two different object models simultaneously - i.e. in parallel. One object model (defined by objects contained in the .skp file) contains SketchUp objects such as dimension lines, views, patterns, surfaces, etc. The 2nd object model (.osm) contains objects related to OpenStudio (OpenStudio surfaces, subsurfaces, surface properties, schedules, etc.). The two models, while sharing a common workspace, are not linked in a way that they know that the other exists. In other words, they are independent from one another.
b. With a little practice / training, it can be clear when working in the SketchUp workspace, which objects you are creating and when (you can easily go back and forth, but not so easily undo the creation of OS objects in SketchUp).
c. When one is authoring OpenStudio models in SketchUp, they need to save the files (.skp and .osm) independently. Then, when opening/reloading - the users should open each independently and in reverse order, as well.
3) OS SketchUp Plugin / OpenStudio Application linkages
a. A 'loose' (one-way notification of changes) connection between the two applications exists. If a user has a file open in both SketchUp Plugin and the OS Application open at the same time, this needs careful management.
i. One can 'launch' the OpenStudio Application from within the SketchUp Plugin environment, thus having the same .osm file opened for parallel editing inside two different applications at the same time.
ii. Changes / updates saved to a file while in the OpenStudio Application will notify the SketchUp plugin to be reloaded, thus resynchronizing what the user is seeing.
iii. Changes / updates saved to a file in the SketchUp Plugin will not notify the OpenStudio Application to be reloaded, preventing synchronization and requiring a re-launch.
4) OS - Lack of field descriptions (user help)
a. Many data object and properties in OpenStudio map 1:1 to a corresponding EnergyPlus object. In these cases, referring to the (*well documented) EnergyPlus Input/Output reference and/or Engineering reference can be very helpful. Our friends at Big Ladder software have converted these enormous pdf documents to searchable and hyperlinked text here: http://bigladdersoftware.com/epx/docs/. I have found this to be an extremely useful resource.
IN the next few weeks, PSD will be opening registration for a free OpenStudio webinar to demonstrate some of the new features available in OpenStudio V1.3. While still an interface that some might call 'rough on the edges' - it offers access to some innovative modeling capabilities that are difficult to find in other software tools. Look for the invite to learn more.
All the Best,
Chris Balbach, PE, CEM, CMVP, BESA