TC 4.7 website

[Z. Todd Taylor]

Robert Sonderegger <Robert.Sonderegger at SRC-Systems.com> wrote:

[ snip ]

> > This would not be meant as competition to EnergyPlus or other large codes.
> > Many of the "pieces" of Energy Plus et al. would fit well in this effort.
> > The idea would be to make the many available toolkits (e.g. TC 4.7's
> > Energy I, II, III) truly useful, by casting them into a modern S/W context
> > (e.g. as COM components).
> > 
> >  Any interest out there for a Linux-style building simulation effort?

If by "Linux-style" you mean "open source software," then yes,
by all means.

If by "Linux-style" you mean "runs under Linux," then yes, but
not just Linux---generally cross-platform.  (COM is not and
probably never will be cross-platform.  CORBA has a much better
chance.)

What is not needed is yet another monolithic, do everything, be
everything simulation "tool."  (EnergyPlus is working that
front??)  We need reusable parts and a simple framework for
connecting them.  Envision a calculation engine running on a
big-iron server with various clients (web-based, CAD-based,
spreadsheet-based, simple Perl script-based, etc.) accessing it
over the net.  Some would use full hourly simulation
capabilities.  Others would just want U-value calculations or
solar angle calcs.

This suggests another thing that is not needed---a GUI.  If the
underlying simulation parts were free of legal encumbrances, any
entrepreneur could build a nice GUI front-end for any
purpose---code compliance, home energy ratings, CAD, job
costing, building diagnostics, commissioning, sales, you name
it.  Early focus on a GUI tends to restrict the possible uses of
the software and tends to lock it into a single platform/OS.
Build the calculation engine in an open process so all can
inspect and improve it and let the market build the various
GUIs.

I could go on and on on this very interesting topic...

--Todd
-- 
Z. Todd Taylor
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Todd.Taylor at pnl.gov
Why isn't it "heels over head"?

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