[Bldg-sim] DesignBuilder

[Marcus]

I've used DesignBuilder for a few years, with a bit of experience with
Trace. I have a mixed experience with DB, difficult to recommend outright,
but worth a trial.

When DesignBuilder works, it works great. However there are many instances
where it is unclear how to model something or interpret results. It's much
more complex, and the effort in learning how to overcome a problem will
typically occur exactly when I have a deadline. The

Maybe this is due to the newer version, but on the plus side the gbXML
import for geometry went smoothly for me. I just finished a project last
week where I drew geometry in Revit, added spaces and zones, client
reviewed internal gains on my A0 printouts, and imported geometry into DB.
The zone and construction parameters didn't transfer, so this was done in
DB templates by naming the zones in Revit with their space types. The
internal DB geometry editor is also nice, but it can be cumbersome for
complex buildings, especially if you need to change zoning later. So if you
have experience in Revit I would recommend gbXML route instead.

I used DB to analyze the effects of automatically controlled shading, and
was optimizing the angle of external blind slats and reporting results on
an hourly basis, very detailed with nice results. However for the final
cooling loads I still used Trace! (Trace also imports gbXML)

And I concur with Mike - please leave the CFD to CFD experts.

[image: Inline image 2]

 [image: Inline image 1]

Cheers,

Marcus
-- 
Marcus Jones,  M.Sc., LEED®AP BD+C
*Freelance energy consultant*
*Vienna, Austria*


On Mon, Oct 27, 2014 at 12:08 AM, Michael Smith <msmith at northrop.com.au>
wrote:

> Hi Shane,
>
>
>
> We use DesignBuilder for our energy models, and find it quite user
> friendly. Although I may just be used to it.
>
>
>
> In regards to Revit importing, we don’t do it based on the advice of the
> support guys, as the general feeling at the moment is that its more effort
> to clean up a Revit model than to just build a new simplified one for the
> energy model.
>
>
>
> The CFD capability is quite new, and in my opinion still very basic. For
> anything beyond simple analysis I would look at other, CFD specific
> software. The meshing tools and boundary condition options are quite
> limited.
>
>
>
> And again for optimization, after having a play with it we determined it
> didn’t provide us the value for the cost. But that would again depend on
> the user.
>
>
>
> The HVAC is good, but like many software options doesn’t utilise the ePlus
> capability to do VRV. This is a bit of a limitation.
>
>
>
> In terms of energy models however we still use it and rate it quite well.
> Relatively simple to change things, setup templates for quick model setup
> etc.
>
>
>
> All in all definitely worth downloading the trial and spending some time
> on it to see if you like it.
>
>
>
> Cheers,
>
> Mike
>
>
>
> [image: Description: Description: Description:
> http://www.northrop.com.au/logo_email.gif]
>
> *Michael Smith*
> Building Simulation Engineer
> *Northrop Consulting Engineers Pty Ltd*
> T: 02 6285 1822
> M: 0450 140 132
>
> www.northrop.com.au
>
>
>
> *Northrop Sustainability, providing Sustainability Advice across the Built
> Environment – Buildings, Infrastructure, Precincts and Policy*
>
> *Please note that I will be on leave from Monday 22rd September until
> Monday 27th October.*
>
>
>
> [image: cid:image002.png at 01CFAFC3.A4615740]
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Bldg-sim [mailto:bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] *On
> Behalf Of *Shane Wells
> *Sent:* Saturday, 25 October 2014 12:42 AM
> *To:* bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org
> *Subject:* [Bldg-sim] DesignBuilder
>
>
>
> Does anyone have experience with both Trane Trace and DesignBuilder?
>
>
>
> I am researching the advantages my firm will gain from DesignBuilder. The
> 3D, Revit compatibility, Daylighting, Optimization and CFD are very
> appealing and I can see how these would allow us to help client’s in new
> ways. DesignBuilder seems to be relatively new as a full-fledged EnergyPlus
> interface. I am having trouble finding 3rd party reviews or comparisons of
> this software. Really just having trouble finding anything bad about it at
> all except for bloggers complaining about it not being as user friendly as
> they thought(I can’t imagine it being any worse than Trace). I am also
> skeptical about its ability to transfer geometry from Revit - Especially
> since generally our Revit models are not full BIM models.
>
>
>
> A little background:
>
> I work for a full service A&E firm. We are primarily a “production” firm
> and work with a lot of Commercial – Retail building. We are looking to
> expand what we do with our energy services. We currently run all of our
> HVAC loads, LEED and Code compliance models with Trane Trace. We use Revit
> for almost all of our projects.
>
>
>
> Thanks everyone!
>
>
>
> *Shane Wells *
>
> *Mechanical Intern II*
>
>
>
>
>
> t 479.273.7780 ext 320
>
> f 888.520.9685
>
>
>
> shane.wells at hfa-ae.com
>
> www.hfa-ae.com
>
>
>
>
>
> 1705 S. Walton Blvd  Suite 3  Bentonville, Arkansas  72712
>
>
>
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-- 
Marcus Jones,  M.Sc., LEED®AP BD+C
*Freelance energy consultant*
*Vienna, Austria*
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