Has anyone else noticed that the last few months have brought some interesting new trends to the industry? This has also been evident given the inquiries here at Energy-models.com. (I should probably follow up on some of the trends that are changing in the building simulation community- yes, I am a data nerd). While our typical support request is usually a request to rectify some error or anomaly, the last few months have seen a slight change. Our number 1 inquiry has been for “taking over” an existing project, and we have simply not been able to accommodate these requests. We have tried to help where we can, which has often meant sending someone a referral. The trouble is that we only know so many people who we feel confident in...

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-...

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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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:

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...