[EnergyPlus_Support] EnergyPlus Version 1.2.1 Now Available

[Drury.Crawley@xxxxxxxxxx]

Dear EnergyPlus_Support@yahoogroups,

The newest version of EnergyPlus (1.2.1) was released on October 1, 2004
and is now available in versions for both the Windows and Linux operating
systems.  You can download EnergyPlus at no cost from the EnergyPlus web
site: www.energyplus.gov  .

What's New in EnergyPlus Version 1.2.1
A few of the new features are listed below?see
www.energyplus.gov/features.html for a complete list of new features added
in this and previous versions:
·     Multi-sided polygons
·     Daylighting (skylight light wells, daylighting through interior
windows, translucent Glass)
·     Significant decrease in execution time for COMIS
·     Utility rate calculations
·     Ventilation load report
·     IDFEditor updates include ability to open multiple IDF files and
copy/paste objects between files
·     EP-Launch updates include ability to select a group of simulations to
run and maintaining a history of simulations
·     More than 2,000 pages of documentation
·     And speed improvements throughout.

Update on User Interfaces?
A number of graphical user interfaces for EnergyPlus are under development.
Three (DesignBuilder, EP-QUICK, EPlusInterface) are currently available in
development (beta) versions while the fourth (E+IEQ) is planned for 2005.
Watch this web page (www.energyplus.gov/ep_interfaces.html ) for up-to-date
information on these and other interfaces.

A number of utilities and tools for creating, editing, and running input
files come with EnergyPlus, including IDF Editor, EP-Launch, IFCtoIDF, and
HVAC-Diagram (see www.energyplus.gov/ep_utilities.html ). Third party tools
for creating, editing, and displaying EnergyPlus input files are also
available, including DrawBDL, EcoTect, Green Building Studio, EzDrawPlus,
TSe+, and EzPlus-Parm.  See www.energyplus.gov/third_party_tools.html for
more information.

What's going on in V1.2.1?
      Will there be any considerable difference between version 1.2.1 and
1.2.0?
      Yes.... and no. There are a number of new features and bug fixes.

      How about IDF and IDD? Do they remain unchanged?
      There will be some changes in the IDD and reflected in IDFs.
      Particularly for any new features, there will be new objects.

      Is version 1.2.1 backward compatible? Can I run a v1.2.0 file in v
1.2.1?
      For the most part, the answer is yes. Some report variables have
      changed names. To be sure, you can execute the transition program
      that will "transition" IDFs from V1.2.0 to V1.2.1. You can also view
      the ObjectStatus spreadsheet in the root folder of the installed
      version. This file has detailed explanations of changes to the
      objects.

EnergyPlus Weather Data
Weather data for more than 680 locations worldwide are available on the
EnergyPlus web site:       www.energyplus.gov/weatherdata.html.  If you
have other weather data that you'd be willing to share with other
EnergyPlus users, please contact the EnergyPlus team.

Building Energy Simulation User News
Want to keep up to date on EnergyPlus? Subscribe to the bi-monthly
electronic newsletter for users of EnergyPlus, DOE-2, BLAST, Genopt, SPARK,
Energy-10, and Building Design Advisor.   See
simulationresearch.lbl.gov/un.html

BLDG-SIM
Join the free e-mail list for users of all building energy simulation
programs. Ask other knowledgeable simulation program users your
questions--about EnergyPlus and other simulation programs. See
www.gard.com/ml/bldg-sim.htm for information on joining this email list.

Thanks!

The EnergyPlus Team





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