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

So you have just completed an eQUEST run and you want to send your reports to a colleague by email. You are wondering, "how can I print to pdf?". (or maybe you are getting an error with your current pdf software).

Well, you could spend hundreds on special pdf software, but there's a free way to do this. You can even print all of your reports into one pdf!