All non-residential building projects in the State of Washington as part of the permitting process need to submit Non-Residential Energy Compliance (NREC) forms. NREC forms are required for mechanical systems, building envelope, and lighting systems.
eQuest is a powerful tool for analyzing envelope options. The following example input screens shows a typical wall section; any material can be varied in composition or thickness, any number of materials can be added or subtracted. Similar screens exist allowing the variation of window, skylight, door & roof options:
For the baseline case and each comparative alternative, a lifecycle cost spreadsheet is generated, where comparative costs may be entered:
If comparative costs are entered, the lifecycle cost report will show the true lifecycle cost comparison of each alternative, including adjustments for energy price escalation based on current DOE projections and the time value of money.
If no comparative costs are entered as in the following example, the lifecycle cost report shows a "budget" number for each alternative based on projected energy savings:
