[BLDG-SIM] BLDG-SIM at gard.com

[Doug Maddox]

It's nice to see an open discussion on the state of building simulation
software. It sounds like quite a few people are using DOE2.2 and PowerDOE.
Is DOE2.2 relatively bug free now? Last I heard (several months ago) it was
not quite ready for prime time.

My take on EnergyPlus is that it will offer more flexibility than DOE2
currently does - especially in mechanical systems. Possibly users who do a
lot of DOE2 work might benefit enough from that flexibility to merit the
extra effort required to build their own pre- and post-processors. 

I also understand that they have converted the programming language to an
object-oriented format, and that this might be easier to work with in the
development of custom functions or custom system types. I have spent many
long hours going through DOE2.1E program code trying to make custom
functions work properly. The limited access points for function writing and
the complicated nature of the code has made this process very difficult at
times. 

One thing that is not clear to me yet is whether EnergyPlus will have as
many built-in features as DOE2.2 (such as ground heat pumps and full sets of
default performance curves). 

I have seen a good bit of criticism and doubt about EnergyPlus on these
messages. Are there any EnergyPlus supporters out there? I'd like to hear
both sides.

Also, is DOE2.2 more friendly to function writing than DOE2.1E? What about
DOE2.3? 

Doug Maddox
maddox at sover.net



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