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The TRUE Greenest, LEEDest state in the U.S.A?

Author: Bob

Posted on: Aug 15, 2011

Reads: 12,780

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So, what is the GREENEST state in the U.S.A.?

This is pretty hard to gauge of course, but let's say we will use LEED buildings as a metric. If you look at the LEED buildings by state map we recently published, it's clear that California takes the cake in all categories, with thousands more LEED certified buildings than any other state. However, looking at the map, it was notable that the top 4 states were identical to the top 4 states in automobile emissions, as well as urban sprawl, among a number of other factors.

Furthermore, when sorting the data from Certified to Platinum, some interesting trends appear. Most notably, California...

Filed under: LEED

ASHRAE Wisdom from a LEED Jedi

Author: tracewindu

Posted on: Aug 12, 2011

Reads: 14,574

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ASHRAE Standard 90.1, Appendix G Fan Power Calculations

It’s safe to say that there’s a solid ten (or more) requirements in Appendix G that engineers, energy modelers, and rating authority reviewers consistently trip over. If I had $100 for every conversation I’ve had about correctly calculating the baseline system fan power per Appendix G, I’d be sipping a drink with an umbrella on an island somewhere.

In this first installment of “Wisdom from a TRACE Jedi” we’ll be discussing the baseline supply fan power calculations when exhaust fans (toilet, garage, etc.) are involved. The ECB subcommittee of 90.1 published a formal interpretation ruling on just this topic in the summer of 2010 and thus will be the basis of our...

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How to get TRACE 700 for FREE

Author: Bob

Posted on: Aug 11, 2011

Reads: 23,517

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Recently transfer jobs and find your new company won’t fork over the dough to buy you TRACE 700? Or are you a small firm and want to save money? Perhaps you just want to learn Trane TRACE and expand your resume?

Want TRACE 700 for free? You have three options. Option 1 - TRACE Rewards Points

Do you spec equipment? Or do you purchase equipment? Do you talk to your local Trane rep? Well, you might not know it, but you might be able to get TRACE 700 for free (this will be the full support package too). It’s possible to get a discount too.

See, many Trane offices have “rewards points” systems. When you purchase equipment you get points which are often redeemable for office training events, and even trips to...

Filed under: TRACE 700

Doing a LEED Energy Model In House?

Author: Bob

Posted on: Aug 7, 2011

Reads: 8,817

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If you're a LEED AP you passed a pretty difficult test, so how difficult could a LEED energy model be? Well, doing an energy-model is one thing, but doing a LEED energy-model is another. With countless nuances in LEED modeling, it takes a decent bit of experience to get good at modeling for LEED. To be honest, I have seen some horrible models. In fact, in my years working in TRACE 700 support, I've told many LEED APs that he or she would save money by sub-consulting the project to a firm with more experience.

How can you avoid this? Well, we recommend making friends and getting training! We offer a low cost "LEED for Energy-Modelers"...

Filed under: LEED

LEED and Energy-Modeling

Author: Bob

Posted on: Jul 24, 2011

Reads: 39,400

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Are you a LEED AP? Do you know the ins and outs of energy-modeling?

If you can answer yes to both of these questions your portfolio will be on hyper-drive. Here, we are going to outline the TRUE importance of an Energy-model in LEED certification. In fact, we'll quantify it and also answer some beginner questions if you are new to the subject. We are also going to help you decide whether to do a model in house or hire a consultant (and also help you to avoid getting ripped off if you do hire a consultant).

What is LEED energy-modeling?

When someone refers to LEED energy-modeling, they are almost always referring to LEED Energy and Atmosphere credit 1, and likely Energy and Atmosphere pre-requisite 2....

Filed under: featured LEED

Top 12 Reasons TRACE Users Should Learn eQUEST

Author: Joe

Posted on: Jul 14, 2011

Reads: 13,153

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As an avid TRACE user, I always wanted to learn eQUEST, but trainings were hard to find (and support was near impossible to get!). With a growing online community, the need for centralized support has dwindled and eQUEST has become even more popular.

Learning eQUEST has paid off faster than I ever imagined. I had no idea how big the community was until I started working with it.

Apart from the fact that learning eQUEST will help you better understand TRACE 700 (like learning Spanish helps with understanding the nuances English, verb conjugation anyone?) - here are 12 great reasons to learn eQUEST, and if you think they are great too, head over to our...

Filed under: eQUEST

Energy Modeler's Unit Converter In Depth

Author: Joe

Posted on: Jul 13, 2011

Reads: 10,131

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This is the first converter that is tailored to energy-modelers, or at least we think so... It includes prioritized units and conversions used most commonly in an energy modeler’s world. It also includes “non-linear” unit conversions such as EER, COP, EIR, as well as temperature, heat transfer units, lighting, glass parameters other units commonly found in eQUEST and other modeling programs.

Almost every modeler has some sort of spreadsheet, table, or handout with a long list of conversions and conversion units. Here, we have taken our most used conversions and added them to a converter so...

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Energy Modeling Toolbox: Fan Calculator In Depth

Author: Joe

Posted on: Jul 13, 2011

Reads: 13,254

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Energy Modeling requires very specific calculations and conversions. We thought that developing a nice set of online tools would be beneficial to the community. So today we want to introduce the Energy Modeling Fan Calculator. This is the first in a series of tools we'll be releasing. Head over to the calculator if you want to try it out. Continue reading this blog for a more in depth discussion about the Fan Calculators relationship with the major energy modeling programs.

Does it agree...

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LEED jokes

Author: Joe

Posted on: Jun 3, 2011

Reads: 11,103

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In light of the popularity of our architect joke's blog, we received some user submitted LEED jokes:

Ironic LEED credits

LEED certified Lenscrafters

Credit Earned: SS c1 Site Selection (1 point)

LEED certified Northern Ireland Civil Rights Administration Building

Credit Earned: EA c6 Green Power (2 points)

...

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Top 10 Under-Used Features of TRACE 700

Author: Bob

Posted on: May 25, 2011

Reads: 14,558

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TRACE 700 has an armada of features. Some of them are way under-utilized. Let's take a moment to look at a few of them and see how they can be used:

Metric/English Units: By going to the options menu and selecting units, one can convert from English to metric units with a click of a button. Maybe this sounds obvious, however, many people forget about this when working in English units and viewing the ECB/PRM report. Changing units, then viewing the report will give you the values in kW-hr, and KW.Summary information: Under assign rooms to systems, a summary information checkbox is listed. When checked, this box will give information about any room, rooms, systems or entire project such as square...

Filed under: technical TRACE 700

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