Hey all,

So I'm trying to figure out exactly how to get eQuest to give an average
energy usage for the building in its four different orientations for the
Appendix G requirements. I did some searching, only to find other people
griping that there is no built in feature for this (however the
developers may be working on an Appendix G compliance add-in?), but I
still don't want to do it manually. I've played with the parametric
functions and this is what I've figured so far - any input on what's
going on here is much appreciated.

First, I created my model and baseline. I then took the baseline which
was oriented in the same direction as the proposed building, and added
four parametric runs called "orientation all", "orientation EW",
"orientation N" and "orientation S". Under "orientation all", I created
four parametric components called west east north and south. Under
"orientation EW" I created east and west and under "orientation n" I
just created a parametric component called north (same for its south
counterpart). Each of these components I categorized as follows (as you
can see in the attached screenshot called parametric runs.jpg - although
it doesn't include the S version):

* Type: BDL Command

* Component type: Building Parameters

* Keywords: Azimuth Index: NA Value: X (where X is 0-north,
90-East, 180-south, 270-West; the front of my building is oriented
towards the north in the proposed case)

I ran that, and got the results (screenshot parametric results.jpg).
After all this I then went back into the wizard mode and switched the
orientation of the building from north to south and ran just that one
run. The result was the exact same as the parametric result labeled
"orientation S". "orientation N" was also the same result which
indicates to me that it's not an average, but a best case scenario for
all its components. "orientation EW" makes sense because the front of
the building has the most glass, so orienting it towards the east or
west would increase the solar gain. However, my guess is that if I did
both east and west separately, one would match what EW got, and the
other would be less efficient.

I'm not sure where to go from here. Has anybody been successful in
getting eQuest to give an average, or are we stuck "doing it by hand"?
Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Eric O'Neill