solar panels

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To all:

My client wants to install solar panels. How do I enter solar panels as a
measure into eQuest?

Thank you.

Yehuda Israel

Yehuda Israel's picture
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Joined: 2011-09-30
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I am not sure if this is a new feature, but I never noticed it before. In the
wizard, underneath the zoning drop down menu there is a button titled "Zone
names and Characteristics" In there, there is an option to change the zone
naming from "Automatic" to "User Defined". Whenever I select User defined,
the program hangs for a few seconds, than quits unexpectedly. Has anyone gotten
this feature to work, or know why it causes eQuest to crash on me?

Attached are a few pix that show what I am taking about.

Thank,

-Eddie

Eddie Corwin's picture
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I have used it a few times successfully. it is a nice feature that helps
eliminate some of the extra stuff in the names of the spaces that bother me.

rdh4176's picture
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Joined: 2011-02-14
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You have gotten it to work! I have tried using this feature on a few different
computers, and it always causes eQuest to crash. What operating system are you
working on?

Eddie Corwin's picture
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It is a new feature to 3.64. I've also had it hang and crash a model --
setting it back to "Automatic" cleared the problem. That said, I've
also used it successfully on a few projects. Not sure if there are
limits on the naming or number of user defined names.

bfountain's picture
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Joined: 2011-09-30
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i am using windows XP professional. havent tried it on a newer OS yet. my
computer isn't anything amazing either. there was a post a while back that
someone couldn't get it to work either, maybe searching for that person and
asking them what they did might help.

good luck!

rdh4176's picture
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I have also used this feature with XP professional and didn't have any problems.
Jeremy

Jeremy McClanathan's picture
Joined: 2011-09-30
Reputation: 200

I have used it with success and failure. It had to do something with how
the zone boundaries were defined. I never did figure out why but one time
after changing the names (after multiple crashes) it simply accepted my
definitions and I never looked back.

Alan Crittendon, PE, LEED AP

Alan Crittendon's picture
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I tried using this feature on Windows XP and Windows Vista, and neither of them
worked. The program crashes as soon as I change the naming from "automatic" to
"user defined", I don't even get the opportunity to enter any names. If anyone
else has any experience getting this feature to work, please post is to email
list. I would really like to use this feature, as it would save a lot of time
later on.

Eddie Corwin's picture
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Yehuda,

in the Economics Tab (in DDedit mode only), you need to go to the top of
your navigation tree (at the left) and right-click on your Project at the
very top of the tree. A new window will appear to let you "create"
components in this module of DOE-2.

About half way down this menu you will see "Create PV array" or something to
that effect. This new window is where you will enter in the
characteristics and input assumptions for your PV system.

Pasha

Pasha Korber-Gonzalez's picture
Joined: 2011-09-30
Reputation: 600

I have also used this feature successfully on my 4 yr old, Windows XP
machine. Send over your files (.pd2 & .inp) and I'd be happy to see if I
can recreate the error on my machine...

However, this is my guess on why it is crashing your file. From the images
you sent you have 35-ish zones in your floor plan. I'm going to assume that
you also have plenums for all these spaces...if so this means that you have
70 zones that you are asking to custom re-name. This is a lot of data for
the littel eQuest wizard to handle.

My sugesstion to you based on my simulation experience is that you need to
simplify your zoning pattern for the sake of eQuest, and for your own sanity
when you move into DDedit mode. It is poor practice for models to be zoned
for every internal wall in the ARCH drawings. eQuest doesn't think like
Arch programs, it thinks like HVAC programs so when you zone your floor
plans you should combine all adjacent spaces that are "thermally alike".
Not only will it simplify your model file so that DOE2 can easily process it
(faster run times too) and it will simplify your inputs and the management
of your inputs if you can streamline your input data for those spaces that
you can combine.

Unless you have an independent HVAC system serving each of your zones and
they are all being conditioned to different thermal characteristics, it is
not good modeling practice to zone every single space and internal wall from
the ARCH dwgs.

If you want more info or a review of your inputs and zoning pattern, I'm
happy to make suggestions based on "if I were in your shoes...this is what I
would do."

cheers,
pkg

Pasha Korber-Gonzalez's picture
Joined: 2011-09-30
Reputation: 600