[BLDG-SIM] getting the whole design team into the performance assessment game.

Konstantinos Papamichael K_Papamichael at lbl.gov
Wed Feb 12 17:56:38 PST 2003


You may also want to try the Building Design Advisor (BDA) software,
available at http://gaia.lbl.gov/bda.  The BDA software is designed for the
very early, schematic phases of building design.  The current version
supports the integrated use of three simulation tools: DElight
(daylighting), ECM (electric lighting) and DOE-2.1E.

Konstantinos Papamichael, Ph.D., Staff Scientist
Building Technologies Department
Environmental Energy Technologies Division
ERNEST ORLANDO LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY
1 CYCLOTRON ROAD BLDG90R3111, BERKELEY CA 94720-8134
Phone: (510) 486-6854, Fax: (510) 486-4089, E-mail: K_Papamichael at lbl.gov


-----Original Message-----
From: postman at gard.com [mailto:postman at gard.com] On Behalf Of Murray Milne
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2003 5:03 PM
To: BLDG-SIM at gard.com
Subject: [BLDG-SIM] getting the whole design team into the performance
assessment game.

To reply to Monjur M Mourshed:

As an architect, I agree with your comments. Because so many of the 
decisions that determine a building's energy performance are made at the 
very beginning of the design process, architects need a 'day-one' tool.  I 
think it is possible to design much more intuitive interfaces to 
sophisticated calculation algorithms.

For example, we have just released an "architect friendly" energy 
simulation tool. It emphasized the building envelope, windows, shading, 
orientation, etc., allowing you to draw in a floor plan and click and drag 
windows onto each elevation. But behind this interface is an 8760 hour heat 
balance engine that was validated against DOE2 and Blast etc. using the 
ASHRAE Standard 140-2001. Currently it works only for single zone buildings 
up to 120'x120', and the HVAC system definition is very generic. It is 
intended for residential ratepayers of Southern California Edison, but the 
web site shows how to use it for other climates and other building types. 
It is free from www.aud.ucla.edu/heed  so you can take a look to see if 
this is closer to the kind of intuitive tool that you think architects need.

Murray Milne, UCLA

  wrote:
>Quick note to clarify some points in Dr. Hand's reply
>
>[Dr. Hand]
>I have been following the dialog on getting Architects interested in and
>competent with simulation.
>
>My View:
>In my opinion, Architects (being one myself) are more than interested to
>use Energy Simulation tools provided that they are available and they
>can be used intuitively. To perform basic simulations that is required
>in early stages (before HVAC comes to the scene), architects are well
>equipped with required knowledge and concepts.
>
>[Dr. Hand]
>We do this via supported technology deployments which put computers
>with relevant simulation software and simulation staff into design
>practices (from one-man-bands to multi-national practices).
>
>My View:
>I appreciate very much these attempts at mitigating industry drawbacks
>by advocating ad-hoc concepts like STD. But it seems, we as a whole
>industry failing recurrently to understand one important fact: we need a
>tool that doesn't need another specialist to explain and run. Architects
>want a tool that can be used without asking BSE (Building Services
>Engineer) what a particular parameter means; simulation can be run
>without leaving CAD tool and the same for result visualization. For
>detailed HVAC design assistance from specialists will be sought out, but
>for basic understanding of the building's performance is it worth to ask
>BSE's help?
>
>I do understand that Architects (in Academia) need to conduct research
>on how Energy Simulation tools can be used and adopted to the design
>process and they also need to sort out interface issues.
>
>All the technology is available (to do what architects want) right now.
>Nobody seems to take an initiative to develop reliable commercial
>software. From my experience in using different Energy Simulation tools
>I can tell, you need to know how the software works than what you want
>to do. That may be ok for academic purposes as like mine but it is not
>feasible for a practising architect.
>
>70's to 00's: that's 3 decades -> Energy Conservation and Sustainability
>is being emphasized. How far did we achieve except for a few buildings
>in magazines?
>
>Regards
>
>Monjur Mourshed
>http://www.ecaad.com/monjur
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: postman at gard.com [mailto:postman at gard.com] On Behalf Of Jon Hand
>Sent: 12 February 2003 20:08
>To: BLDG-SIM at gard.com
>Subject: [BLDG-SIM] getting the whole design team into the performance
>assessment game.
>
>
>I have been following the dialog on getting Architects interested in and
>competent with simulation. Members of the list might like to see another
>way design professionals in Europe are exploring simulation by visiting
>the Scottish Energy Systems Group site <http://www.sesg.strath.ac.uk>.
>SESG is the Scottish affiliate of IBPSA.
>
>We do this via supported technology deployments which put computers
>with relevant simulation software and simulation staff into design
>practices (from one-man-bands to multi-national practices) so that
>practitioners can better evaluate simulation and/or increase their
>skills in simulation in the context of actual projects.
>
>Last year we managed dozens of deployments for our members, provided
>training for even more practitioners on a range of simulation tools.
>Not only is simulation is getting used, vendors are selling quite
>a bit of software. If you are interested, the web page has instructions
>for getting the SESG newsletter.
>
>-Jon Hand, SESG
>
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