Nick,

The SD Wizard allows prefixes and/or suffixes to be assigned to building components. This could be useful if the model has a campus of multiple buildings and you use a prefix or suffix to identify which building the component is associated with. The entries are at the end of the last screen (Screen 41).

Another possible reason to start with the SD Wizard is when you don't know much about the building and you are going to use nearly all of the program defaults anyway and you don't have much time. For example, if you have a meeting in less than an hour where the boss needs some numbers, there are simply fewer screens to go through in the SD Wizard than in the DD Wizard.

Personally I hardly ever use the SD Wizard. When I first started using eQUEST I started with the SD Wizard, then moved on to the DD Wizard, but I didn't see any benefit from starting in the SD Wizard. Unless it's a panic situation or I am dealing with a campus and want to use a prefix or suffix, I just start with the DD Wizard.

Keith Swartz, P.E., LEED AP