Whoa! Graphisoft announce EcoDesigner energy evaluation tool

[Anonymous]

http://www.graphisoft.com/company/press_zone/ecodesigner.html

I see that Graphisoft EcoDesigner for ArchiCAD12 has just been announced!

Sounds excellent!

Will be very interested to see further details when released.

[Laszlo Nagy]

Mats wrote:
Swedish Architect Zoltan Kiss

Haha, Swedish architect Zoltan Kiss.
Zoltan Kiss is as Hungarian a name as you can get.

[Anonymous]

Mats, Ralph and Karl thanks for credible answers in this discussion. As I understand, at the moment Graphisoft hasn't got a dedicated expert nor a technical support person/network for ED, so your contribution is greatly appreciated.

In my opinion, it is crucial to explain clearly which sort of decisions will a ArchiCAD+ED user be able to make without using additional specialized software (including VIP-Energy) or a consulting engineer. I will try to guess here but it would be great to hear from ED product managers what is it best suited for and which of those analysis will provide the most credible results in ED:

-building fabric quality analysis (U-values for carbon/energy savings)
-infiltration study (air-tightness/construction quality for carbon/energy savings)
-building orientation analysis
- facade glazing ratio analysis
-openings and facade shading analysis (is there any linkage to ArchiCAD model?)
...


Also for advanced users and designers who operate worldwide a more detailed user guide with calculation assumptions would be appreciated, e.g. location and accuracy factors like:

- which climate data has been used? (the source)
- the type of climate data? (e.g. recorded historical or averaged/calculated, hourly or monthly)
- occupancy gains patterns from which country's standard or code was used and would it be possible to edit it?
- is it a dynamic thermal simulation?
- is it hourly or monthly simulation? (affects results resolution and accuracy)
- please explain monthly energy balance components - some definitions are confusing, e.g. natural cooling in emitted energy?
- infiltration rates, facade shading definitions
...

Hopefully Mats will be happy to spare a few minutes to clarify above for us.

Ivan

[Anonymous]

Hi!

ED is for most kind of design decision that the Architect encounters in his design process. This includes all mentioned decisions by TRIBU, but not infiltration analysis that is rather complex, ED gives you some indication but you cant control it in detail. For final validation, infiltration analysis and evaluation etc VIP-Energy should always be used.

Climate data origins from NOOA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and NCEP (National Center for Environmental Prediction) and is measured sub daily data compiled to hourly data. We have made comparative energy calculation with Meteonorm and Measured data from SMHI (Swedish Meteorological Institute) with little deviation.

For Swedish conditions the hourly data is often good enough that you can use it even for detailed hourly analysis of existing building. The next step to get higher accuracy you have to measure the micro climate around the building. We have not verified this because hourly measured data (especially solar radiation) can be very difficult to obtain in most countries. But if the data is good enough in Sweden then it ought to be good enough even for hourly analysis internationally.

In VIP-Energy you can also create your own climate data from a different sources.

Mats Ola

[Miklos Sved]

Hi Ivan,

The official channels of EcoDesigner related information are:
- the Graphisoft reseller channel. Please contact your local Graphisoft partner,
- the official product web-page, where the product workflow and capabilities are explained and illustrated by movies.
For an article detailing the product's capabilities please visit www.vector1media.com

EcoDesigner will be available for download from the official web-site, soon. The package includes the detailed ED User Guide from where answers to all your questions and more can be obtained.

If you decide to purchase the product, a dedicated team of professionals (product manager, energy specialist, developers and technical support) will be at your service to make sure that you are able to use it to its full potential.

Best Regards,

Miklos Sved
GSHQ

[Laszlo Nagy]

Let me just quickly add the exact url for the article so it is easier to find:

http://www.vector1media.com/article/feature/ecodesigner/

[dearmariana]

Also for advanced users and designers who operate worldwide a more detailed user guide with calculation assumptions would be appreciated, e.g. location and accuracy factors like:

- which climate data has been used? (the source)
- the type of climate data? (e.g. recorded historical or averaged/calculated, hourly or monthly)
- occupancy gains patterns from which country's standard or code was used and would it be possible to edit it?
- is it a dynamic thermal simulation?
- is it hourly or monthly simulation? (affects results resolution and accuracy)
- please explain monthly energy balance components - some definitions are confusing, e.g. natural cooling in emitted energy?
- infiltration rates, facade shading definitions

I second the need for a comprehensive user manual that could be available prior to purchase. We are leaning towards purchasing, but a list of assumptions and resources for calculations would seal the deal for us. I'm not pretending that I would be able to discern one program from another based on detailed calculation methods, but it would be beneficial to be able to say to a client 'this was based on this type of simulation (should they ask)'. There has been lots of great information passed around on this forum, but I am having to cut and paste it - together with info from the various websites and articles - to create a document explaining the assumptions of ED.

-Mariana

[Anonymous]

I am interested in ED but then it must be certified to be credible. It should make calculations as recommended by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). It should be tested in accordance with ASHRAE Standard 140-2004,Standard Method of Test for the Evaluation of Building Energy Analysis Computer Programs,” and it meets the requirements for simulation software set by ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004 and the LEED® Green Building Rating stem.


I use Trane TRACE 700, and it complies with Appendix G for Performance Rating Method of ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2004 for LEED analysis, and was the first simulation software approved by the IRS for energy-savings certification (EPAct). TRACE is also tested in compliance with NSI/ASHRAE Standard 140–2004

Once you model the building almost none of the available softwares are complicated to use and there are all fast. I wold be interested in ED to avoid modeling twice.


Then what about the simulation:
Trane chooses from eight load-simulation methodologies, including Heat Balance based RTS, using algorithms provided in the latest ASHRAE Loads Toolkit. One could specify either hour-by-hour (8760) or reduced-year energy/economic analysis Predefined weather profiles represent the climates, elevations, and time zones of over 500 cities around the globe.
One could describe building envelope and site orientation, as well as room construction, air flows, thermostat settings, heat sources, and utilization schedules.
One could model traditional HVAC systems including single-zone, VAV-reheat, parallel fanpowered VAV, under floorair distribution and dedicated outdoor-air systems. Include thermal storage, energy recovery.
Simulate control strategies optimum start/stop, temperature static pressure setpoint reset, humidify cation.
Model ventilation airflow based on requirements of ASHRAE Standard
Predict operating costs,
Provide optional database of minimally-compliant equipment for ASHRAE 90.1-2004 baseline models.


Without defining all these how could one make any meaningful decision.

Then is VIP energy qualified to provide all of the above? is it equal to a Trace 700


Again ----- All of these because if one could model a building the rest is relatively simple it could be delegated to an engineer or to a manufacturer as a performance spec and be designed later.

[Andy Thomson]

LEED requirements are calculated differently in different states/provinces and for different building classes. I can only speak to what I know. In Canada, I use Hot2000 for modeling to the federal R2000 standard. In California, I have just started using EnergyPro(4.4 and 5) as it is one of the only certified softwares to provide standard Title24 analysis - which is both required for a building permit - but also for the LEED for Homes standard. ED does not help me at all in this regard. What does is a method of modeling, and a detailed interactive component schedule that gets all parameters concerning surfaces of walls, floors and ceiling/roofs that energy is lost or gained from. I have being doing take-offs for energy analysis softwares for almost 10 years now - and I can't believe it has taken me this long to realize the obvious - that the best way to port archicad to any modeling software is to obtain this data in a tabular form to speed data entry to the analysis software. I'd be happy to describe the method if there are other architects/designers in California that would like to do their own T24 reports - it's easy. Just PM me... I can post ED results here with this workflow to compare design heatloss and cooling loads if anyone is interested. If only ED would export the data it uses to do its own analysis in a legible way - the add-on would gain several new dimensions of utility overnight.