A lot of you are awesome energy-modelers. Now you can prove it. Recently, we sent out a survey which a number of you had participated in. Enough of you asked about Userpoints and how to get them and what they do. We did some brainstorming and decided to revamp userpoints and make the process as simple as possible. A few weeks ago, the top users were basically 3 people, and everyone else was near a tie, we decided to reset the board!
What do your Userpoints do for you? Earn a reputation as a great modelerEnergy Modeling Blog
My first energy modeling assignment was for a building that was nearing the end of construction. The owner wanted a second opinion, or third-party energy model, to see how it would compare to the energy modeling results given by the design team for LEED certification. What they really wanted to know was how much they should expect to pay for utilities during their first year or two, because they were a national real estate developer trying to predict the future of their investment. Since this introduction to the powerful tool of energy modeling, my mind has been focused on proving to myself and others that the most useful investment for energy modeling is to influence the building envelope and architecture design at...
Filed under: building envelopeinsulationr-value
We've just wrapped up the survey and want to give a big thank you to everyone who participated. We got a bunch of awesome feedback we'll be able to put to use in developing future courses and the website.
Now on to the winners, Anna and Kari!
Kari MuellerPE, LEED AP
Rushing is a Seattle-based MEP and Sustainability Consulting firm providing energy modeling for a variety of project types. At Rushing, our engineers recognize that every design decision has an impact on the energy use of a building. Our engineers select and utilize appropriate building simulation tools to provide feedback on energy implications of design decisions from conception to completion.
We have extensive experience providing...
Filed under: Freebies
We're Hiring!
Energy-Models.com is growing.. quickly! We produce top-notch content for modelers but our subscribers keep asking for more. That's where you come in. We need your help and energy modeling talent for new courses.
We want to expand our course offerings to provide relevant training for modelers, engineers, building consultants and architects. We're looking for software gurus, industry experts, opinion leaders and modeling pros. Don't worry, we're not asking you to quit your day job: you'll just accrue passive income and grow your reputation.
Available Positions Software InstructorWe're looking for energy modeling and building simulation software gurus with real world knowhow. You've been working with X...
Filed under: Hiring
I saw this quote on a bumper sticker the other day: "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step"
It's not a new quote to me but for some reason-perhaps because the weather was nearly 100 degrees (which is rare in Wisconsin)- I had a flashback to a Wednesday morning drive to work at Trane CDS, supporting TRACE 700 (it was a really hot summer)
At the time, I only had a month or so of experience and I remember having anxiety a few mornings on my way to work because I had realized that even though we did not make decisions for our customers, people were making BIG decisions based off of the energy-models that I had supported. I had yet to complete my Trane Graduate Training program, and while I was savvy...
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A great energy-modeler never stops learning. Level up your skills and check out our new advanced lesson on modeling a Dedicated Outdoor Air System in TRACE 700.
Here's a quick preview of the new lesson.
1DOASIntro //
The DOAS demo includes example files and a complete walk through.
In Scenario 1, we cover one VAV system with one DOAS. In Scenario 2, it's 5 supply air rooftop units with one DOAS. We also cover how to use the TRACE 700 new file wizard, how templates can speed up your model, and validate results from scenario 1 vs 2.
We'll...
Filed under: TRACE 700
Just installed the full version of eQUEST, a free building simulation program and now it wants a registration code? No, you didn't accidentally download spyware. It's likely that you might not have correct permissions in Windows for the default install. You'll get a prompt that looks something like this:
Don't bother entering your software registration code! This is indicative of a larger problem that needs a full solution.
To solve this error (takes 5-10 minutes)
Uninstall eQUEST Right click the install for eQUEST and "Run as Administrator" When prompted to see who the install is for, select "Just me" That... Filed under: eQUEST
With the addition of our new chat functionality, we have received a lot of feedback and learned that many of you want to control the weather.
We figured out how to control the weather - well at least in an energy-model. Per your feedback, we made it easy for you to edit or even create weather files (and do all of this entirely in Microsoft Excel).
Many of you have probably tried editing weather files - and you probably found that it would be easier to control the actual weather.
The folks here put our heads together, and with my ninja-like weather-editing skills, and with a little programming, we created a spreadsheet that makes it simple for you to import weather data,...
Filed under: energyplusTRACE 700weather
One of the most common complaints a client (or an energy modeler) vocalizes is that the energy model does not match up with the existing utility rates.
It seems that no matter how much you explain that the % savings stays the same regardless of an exact match on utility bills - the client won't believe you, until he or she sees the utility bills matching with the energy model output.
I've heard this question a lot... That's probably an understatement. As a result, I found that I was able to solve mis-matched models based on a "gut feeling". However, one day I decided to write down my thought process to obtain this "gut feeling" and realized that there was a method I was using, based on seeing thousands of energy-...
Filed under: Matching RatesUtility Rates
Good old Daylight savings time is officially in play. For many of you reading this, you may never have heard of it, but it's something we do in much of the United States, Canada, and Europe, as well as other parts of the world. Basically, we move our clocks an hour forward for about half of the year.
The history of daylight savings time is actually pretty interesting, and recently, it was moved into March because it was deemed to save significant amounts of energy. (Culturally, more people stay up later than get up early, therefore - less lights are used!).
In any case, this reminded me of a common question: How do I model Daylight savings time in TRACE 700 or eQUEST
It's really easy!
To make the...