[BLDG-SIM] (No Subject)

[Kathy Ellington]

This survey has been sent to the following mailing lists:
  bldg-sim at gard.com
  tc47-l at gard.com
  ibpsausa at gard.com
  ibpsa at mailbase.ac.uk
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October 5, 1999


                DOE-2, BLAST and ENERGY-10 User Survey 

The U.S. Department of Energy is supporting development of EnergyPlus,
a new-generation building energy simulation program that combines the best
features of DOE-2 and BLAST and adds other calculation capabilities.
EnergyPlus is being developed by the University of Illinois, Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory, the U.S. Army Construction Engineering
Research Laboratory, Oklahoma State University and others.  EnergyPlus
version 1.0 will be available in January 2001.

If you are a user of DOE-2, BLAST or ENERGY-10 we'd like your advice on
what features not already in these programs you would like to see in
future versions of EnergyPlus. (EnergyPlus will be of interest to
ENERGY-10 users since it is planned to replace ENERGY-10's calculation
engine with EnergyPlus).

We'd also like to know how you're currently using DOE-2, BLAST or ENERGY-10.
The information you provide will help in our planning and program-design
efforts to assure that the EnergyPlus engine meets your simulation needs.

So please take a few minutes to fill out the following questionnaire.  We
would appreciate your response even if you participated in a similar (DOE-2)
survey done in 1995.  Please mail, fax or e-mail your completed
questionnaire by December 15, 1999 to:

Kathy Ellington
Simulation Research Group
MS 90-3147
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Berkeley CA 94720

Fax: 510-486-4089
E-mail: kathy at srge.lbl.gov

For your convenience, a PDF version of this questionnaire is available
on the Web at http://gundog.lbl.gov under "EnergyPlus > User Survey"

QUESTIONNAIRE

Name (optional)
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Organization
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Address
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Email
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Type of organization (A/E, energy consultancy, university, government, etc.)

Size of organization (number of employees)

Your profession (architect, HVAC engineer, energy consultant, researcher, etc.)

Program that you are using (DOE-2, BLAST or ENERGY-10)

  (If you are using more than one of these Programs please fill out
   a separate questionnaire for each.)

Version of Program

Purpose for using Program
  Required by client             yes  no
  Required by energy standard    yes  no
  Speed up design                yes  no
  Provide confidence in design   yes  no
  Size HVAC equipment            yes  no
  Choose among HVAC equipment alternatives  yes  no
  Evaluate building envelope alternatives   yes  no
  Reduce energy use and/or cost  yes  no
  Evaluate complex strategies    yes  no
  Increase company's competitiveness        yes  no
  Other

Why you chose the Program (accuracy?  ease of use?  well known?)

Years using Program

Earliest stage of design process that you use the Program (Schematic design, Design development, After design is finished)


Principal things you like about the Program


Principal things you dislike about the Program or frustrations in using the program


Type of buildings analyzed (office, retail, school, residential, etc.)


Number of buildings and total floor area analyzed with program in LAST TWO YEARS
New buildings:                  Number ________  Floor area ______________
Existing buildings (retrofits)  Number ________  Floor area ______________

Number of buildings and total floor area analyzed with program TO DATE
New buildings                   Number ________  Floor area ______________
Existing buildings (retrofits)  Number ________  Floor area ______________

Estimated range of predicted percent energy savings from using Program
(e.g., 10-20%)


Names of some buildings on which you used the Program


Calculation features not in the Program that you'd like to see in EnergyPlus


Recommendations for improving usability of the Program


Other building energy and design tools you use


Other comments and suggestions


I want to become an EnergyPlus beta tester         YES        NO


I want to become an EnergyPlus program developer   YES        NO


I want to receive the free quarterly newsletter,   YES        NO
"Building Energy Simulation User News"
(requires full name and mailing address).

Note:
We will post the results of the survey to the Simulation Resarch Group
website (http://gundog.lbl.gov) during the first quarter of 1999.
Results will also appear in the Spring issue of our newsletter.

PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS SURVEY DIRECTLY; instead, print it
off and fax us the results or save it to a file, complete it and email
it to KLEllington at lbl.gov.  Thank you.


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