[BLDG-SIM] CAD to energy simulation (was: hornets nest?)

[Chassin, David P]

I was the project manager for Softdesk Energy.  I know for a fact that Autodesk
did not develop it's energy module beyond the condition it was in when the
acquired it as a part of AutoArchitect.  At the time were in the process of
developing a link to the equipment/duct modules of HVAC when Autodesk bought
Softdesk and DOE committed it's energy calcs resources to EnergyPlus
exclusively.  

Softdesk provided the energy module free of charge to all AutoArchitect users.
We were told the disks (I believe 2 of them) were included with every AutoArch
7.2 and 7.5 package.  Our records from Softdesk show that more than 10,000
copies were shipped to users.  My understanding is that when Autodesk upgraded
AutoArchitect to support Release 14, Energy was dropped rather than put it
through a comprehensive QA process again.  I guess they didn't have people who
could make the determination that it worked properly and were uninclined to farm
that job out to anyone.  I still have the source code to the entire system on my
computer and I can run it.  If a sufficiently large number of would-be users
come forward with money in hand, I am quite sure we get it out there again.
Technical it's not a problem.  Financially it's not likely to interest those
with the money.  Another case where the golden rule applies (those with the gold
make the rules).  

I also would love to resurrect the HVAC module linkage that was under
development.  It was much more capable in that it did not just look at the
envelope and estimate loads.  It was capable of collecting information about
rooms and the HVAC system and deliver that information to Trane's sizing
software.  It was abandoned when Autodesk decided not to continue shipping
Energy.

There was another module that had been prototyped and was on hold.  It was
capable of interfacing AutoArchitect to code compliance engines.  We had
demonstrated the capability on MECcheck and it was quite simple to use.  You
basically specified which energy code you wanted to check against and it
collected everything it needed from the drawing.  Anything that was not found
was either defaulted based on previous designs or supplied by the user.  It told
you whether you complied, and if not, just what part of your design was the most
problematic.

A few years ago, when the IAI (International Alliance for Interoperability)
promised back-compatible IFC (Industry Foundation Class) releases every 9 months
to support the data interchanged required to make all this work, the decision
was made to hold off on trying to solve the data exchange problem for each of
the products on a one-off basis.  Unfortunately in the era of Congressional
cutbacks we have been overcome by events: the IFC failed to meet expectations
and the generation of products that are IFC compliant has not yet matured.  In
the interim, with insufficient funding and little sympathy for efficiency
programs, there was no money for contingencies to keep the existing products
compatible with the ever-evolving platforms they need to work.  All our eggs in
the the IFC/EnergyPlus basket.

<soapbox>My concern with EnergyPlus is that it will take longer to complete than
the lifetime of technology on which it depends.  We had a suite of products that
supported existing/evolving technology at a low cost and covered a range of
design environments.  We haven't seen much progress in 5 years (some think even
more) and the prospects for achieving the promise envisioned in 1995 seem more
remote than ever.</soapbox>

Regards,
Dave


David P. Chassin
Staff Scientist
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, Washington
509-375-4369
david.chassin at pnl.gov <mailto:david.chassin at pnl.gov> 

Disclaimer: The facts above are based on memory proven faulty on numerous
occasions, and the opinions are not those of my employer or its clients even
though I sometimes wish they were.

	-----Original Message-----
	From:	david walker [SMTP:walkeng at swva.net]
	Sent:	Friday, January 28, 2000 10:01
	To:	BLDG-SIM at gard.com
	Cc:	BLDG-SIM at gard.com
	Subject:	[BLDG-SIM] CAD to energy simulation (was: hornets nest?)

	Softdesk was purchased by AutoDesk several years ago.  The last software
	release by Softdesk was version 7.2.  I use the building systems (HVAC,
	Plumbing and Piping) daily with AutoCAD R13.  AutoDesk released version
	8 of these programs, but it was only an upgrade to be compatible with
	Release 14 of AutoCAD.  I can't find any record in any of my old
	Softdesk information that even mentions Softdesk Energy.  Are you sure
	it was ever actually a commercial product?

	For the latest release of AutoCAD (2000) the HVAC, Plumbing and Piping
	portions of Softdesk were not upgraded, only the Architectural portion. 
	AutoCAD has stated that these portions will be updated later (estimated
	- 2 years).  In effect AutoCAD has dropped this portion of the Softdesk
	market.  I would guess they would also have stopped any development of
	the energy program.  

	If you find a copy, I'd like to look at it.
	Dave

	Jason Glazer wrote:
	> 
	> A few years ago their was a program called Softdesk Energy
	> by Softdesk Inc. that was developed and sold.  It added a
	> menu to AutoCad where you could specify weather and
	> internal loading, etc., and see monthly energy use results.
	> I don't think it is marketed anymore, in fact when you go
	> to the www.softdesk.com website you get forwarded to
	> Autodesk. No mention of any energy program is on the
	> Autodesk web site that I could find.  All I could find was
	> on PNL's site since they were one of the developers.
	> 
	> http://www.energytech.pnl.gov:2080/bp/bsp/dtp/dtp.html
	> 
	> I am also curious on how well this program worked.  Has
	> anyone ever used it?
	> 
	> Jason
	> 
	> On 27 Jan 00, at 10:26, Mark Case wrote:
	> 
	> > Question: Does anyone have much experience with CAD to energy
simulation
	> > software? I've heard it exists but frankly have never seen it. Would
this
	> > type of interface - say DXF to DOE2.2 or EnergyPlus - have much
impact on
	> > market penetration?
	> >
	> 
	> =========================================================
	> Jason Glazer, P.E.  mailto:jglazer at gard.com  847 698 5686
	> GARD Analytics - http://www.gard.com/
	> Building Energy Simulation and Analysis
	> List Administrator & 90.1 Consultant
	> 
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	-- 
	===============================================================
	Dave Walker			       mailto:walkeng at swva.net
	Walker Engineering, Dublin, VA	   http://www.swva.net/walkeng/
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