How to Size Baseboard in eQuest

Here's a nifty user expression to size baseboards based on BTU's per unit area -- in this example 30 BTUs per SF:

#LR("SPACE","AREA")*-30

Plug this into the 'Baseboards / Capacity' field for each zone with baseboards (rightclick to get the context menu, select 'Edit/View User Expression', etc.)

Brando

System Diagrams, Water Source Heat Pump

Standard ELCCA system diagrams:

1. Water Source Heatpump

(click for larger view)

2. Water Source Heatpump, with radiant heating option

(click for larger view)

(HEI Intranet users click here for source drawing, click here for report-quality PDFs)

System Diagrams, Groundsource Heatpump

Standard ELCCA system diagrams:

1. Groundsource Heatpump

(click for larger view)

2. Groundsource Heatpump, with radiant heating option

(click for larger view)

(HEI Intranet users click here for source drawing, click here for report-quality PDFs)

System Diagrams, Displacement Ventilation

Standard ELCCA system diagrams:

1. Displacement Ventilation, with heat recovery

(click for larger view)

HEI Intranet users click here for source drawing, click here for report-quality PDFs

System Diagrams, Natural Ventilation

Standard ELCCA system diagrams:

1. Natural Ventilation, with heat recovery

(click for larger view)

(HEI Intranet users click here for source drawing, click here for report-quality PDFs)

System Diagrams, Packaged Rooftops

Standard ELCCA system diagrams:

(HEI Intranet users click here for source drawing)

1. Natural Ventilation, with heat recovery

(click for larger view)

Load Calculation Standard Reports

eQuest HVAC Load Calculation Report Package

• 2D Keyed Diagrams: Screen-print 2-D diagrams to Adobe PDF and annotate
  
• Print the following reports from the baseline .sim file for the select mechanical alternative:
  
  
• BEPS - Building Energy Performance Summary. Summary of annual building energy consumption by end-use.
  
• BEPU - Building Utility Performance. Summary of annual building demand at energy generation source.
  
• LV-B - Summary of Spaces. Floor areas, equipment loads, occupants, and infiltration.
  
• For Each System:
  
• SS-A - System Loads Summary, Part 1. Peak heating and cooling loads by month for the select system.
  
• SS-B - System Loads Summary, Part 2.
  
• SS-B - Zone Loads Summary
• SV-A - System Design Parameters
  
• From eQuest Summary tabs
• Air-Side Summary Report
• Circulation Loop Summary

See also this post on standard input/output for energy reports...

Hargis Engineers Energy Calendar Events

Extracting Door Data from .SIM Files Using Awk

Topic: Door counts, areas & conductance losses from SIM files using Awk data extraction scripts.

Below is a simple door counting script using GNU Awk. More sophisticated data extraction routines are in progress -- thanks to all the good people at comp.lang.awk:

# DOOR_COUNT.AWK extracts the door count from the specified .SIM report using
# GNU Awk for Windows:
#
# http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/gawk.htm
#
# Note that GAWK.EXE must exist in the shell path. Thus after installation
# using the package installer, it is recommended that copies of GAWK.EXE,
# libconv2.dll, and libintl3.dll (found in C:\Program Files\GnuWin32\bin in
# default installations) be placed in the %WINDIR%\system32 directory.
#
# Save this program as DOOR_COUNT.AWK in the eQuest projects directory, e.g.
#
# C:\Program Files\eQuest [Rev]\Projects\DOOR_COUNT.AWK
#
# ...where [Rev] is the current eQuest revision.
#
# If not done so already, under the "My Computer\System Properties\Advanced"
# tab click the "Environment Variables" button and add the following system
# environment variable:
#
# Variable name: AWKPATH
# Variable value: C:\Program Files\eQuest [Rev]\Projects
#
# ...where [Rev] is the current eQuest revision. This will allow AWK to find
# the program library from any project directory
#
# CMD-line usage:
#
# gawk -f DOOR_COUNT.AWK SimFile.SIM
#
# ...where the data file SimFile.SIM must exist in the current directory.
#

/TOTAL    WINDOWS/{go=1}/^[[:digit:][:space:]]+$/\
&&go{Doors+=$3;go=0}END{print "Door Count = " Doors}

Architectural PFEC Questionnaire

Topic: Standard questions to the project architect from the ELCCA analyst to complete the PFEC form.

Notes:
1) In general, State of Washington publicly-funded projects require an ELCCA if the project exceeds 25,000 ft.² or 50% of the total value of the facility.

• Public school projects which exceed 25,000 ft.² but not 50% of the total value the facility are excepted, and may file a PFEC only.
  
• See complete requirements in the 2005 ELCCA Guidelines.

2) WSEC values shown below are from the 2006 Washington State Energy Code
3) ELCCA values shown below are from the 2005 ELCCA Guidelines.
4) Reconcile any changes with the Architectural ELCCA Questionnaire post


PFEC Form:

Note to the Analyst: The following questions found on the PFEC may be answered by the architectural drawings, the mechanical project manager, or may require the input from the architect. Upon project initiation, cut-and-paste the questions not answered by the drawings to the body of an e-mail to the mechanical project manager. Then E-mail any questions not answered by the mechanical project manager to the architect.

• Net usable square footage. Check for this number on the code sheet of the architectural drawings. Unless there is significant space for other tenants that is not part of the project, the gross square footage will be the same as the net square footage.
• Number of occupants. As with square footage, check for this number on the code sheet of the architectural drawings. If not known, estimate at 31 persons per nominal 1000 square-foot classroom, and 150 ft.² per person in administrative areas.
• Agency project number, if known. This is the number used by the school district to track the project, and may be listed on the lead sheets of the architectural drawings. If not known, leave blank.

Walls

• Are the walls constructed of wood or metal studs? (1)
• Are the wall insulation systems between-studs batt, external rigid, or a combination of both?
• For all combination systems, please provide sketch.
  
• Do all of the anticipated wall constructions meet minimum Washington State Energy Code (WSEC) values? For example, are there any uninsulated masonry walls that may need to be compensated for elsewhere?
• Net effective WSEC minimum values in Climate Zone 1 (Western Washington) are approximately R-17 for wood framed wall, R-10 for metal framed wall, and R-7 for masonry wall assemblies.
• Net effective WSEC minimum values in Climate Zone 2 (Eastern Washington) are approximately R-17 for wood framed wall, R-12 for metal framed wall, and R-9 for masonry wall assemblies.
• Will any of the anticipated wall constructions meet or exceed ELCCA prescriptive values?
• Net effective ELCCA prescriptive values are approximately R-12 for framed or 'light' wall, and R-10 for 'mass block' or masonry wall assemblies in both climate zones.
  
• Note that per the WSEC, all metal framed walls in Climate Zone 2 and all wood-framed walls in both climate zones meet and exceed ELCCA prescriptive values, respectively.

Roofs

• Is the roof construction of wood or metal joists? (2)
  
• Are the roof insulation systems between-joists batt, external rigid, or a combination of both?
• For all combination systems, please provide sketch.
• Do all of the anticipated roof constructions meet minimum WSEC values?
• WSEC minimum values in Climate Zone 1 are approximately R-22 for most commercial and institutional roofs.
• WSEC minimum values in Climate Zone 2 are approximately R-26 for most commercial and institutional roofs.
• Will any of the anticipated roof constructions meet or exceed ELCCA prescriptive values?
• ELCCA prescriptive values are approximately R-30 for roofs in both climate zones. An exception is listed for batt insulation applied on the underside of the roof deck between roof joists; in this case R-38 is required to compensate for the thermal conductance of the joists.

Glazing

• What are the approximate areas or percentages of vertical and horizontal glazing?
• Is the building anticipated to have greater than 30% glazing?
• Exceptions are listed for buildings with greater than 30% glazing, and those heated exclusively via electric resistance.
• Will all of the anticipated glazing assemblies meet minimum WSEC values?
• In both climate zones, most vertical glazing (windows & doors) are required to have a maximum 0.55 U-value and 0.45 maximum Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC).
• Most horizontal glazing (skylights) are required to have a maximum 0.70 U-value and 0.40 maximum SHGC.

Doors

• Opaque doors are required by the WSEC to have an R-value of approximately 2 (U-0.60 maximum) in both climate zones. Please advise if doors are not anticipated to meet these requirements.

Foundation

• Foundation perimeters are required by the WSEC to have an F-factor of 0.54 in both climate zones. Please advise if the foundation is not anticipated to have a minimum R-10 rigid applied either horizontally or vertically at the perimeter.
• F = 0.74 will be used as default in template

Notes:
(1) Wood studs are more commonly found in smaller, low-rise and residential buildings.
(2) TJI's are wood I-beam type joists

Envelope Strategies

Topic: Roof, wall and window strategies for cost-effectively exceeding WSEC and beating ELCCA prescriptive thermal performance criteria.

...develop table comparing App. G, WSEC and ELCCA envelope thermal performance values.

Outdoor Air Load Estimator

Topic: A nifty Java-based outdoor air load calculator, courtesy of ArchEnergy Inc.

Consider this calculator, which includes American and Canadian weather tables, for reality checking energy recovery numbers calculated by energy modeling programs. Following is a sample output report:

********************************************************************************************

Result summary for Calculation Number: 5
Location: BURLINGTON, Vermont
Elevation: 341 ft
Operating Hours: 0:00 o'clock until 0:00 o'clock
Hours of Operation: 24
Makeup Air Flow: 183000 cfm
Thermostat Setpoints: Heating = 68 F, Cooling = 72 F

Dehumidification was set to limit the Relative Humidity to: No Dehumidification

Heating was locked out during: --
Cooling was locked out during: --

The Lockout of Heating or Cooling systems resulted in...
Insufficient Heating during: --
Insufficient Cooling during: --

The Heating Design Load is: 18891.3 kBtu/h
The Cooling Design Load is: 4754.9 kBtu/h

Calculated Monthly loads:
Month Heating Load Cooling Load
January : 7,847,593 kBtu 0 kBtu
February : 7,329,964 kBtu 0 kBtu
March : 6,296,320 kBtu 0 kBtu
April : 3,911,545 kBtu 28,900 kBtu
May : 1,574,753 kBtu 97,140 kBtu
June : 889,352 kBtu 128,736 kBtu
July : 399,761 kBtu 382,194 kBtu
August : 532,923 kBtu 221,369 kBtu
September : 1,517,449 kBtu 33,329 kBtu
October : 2,836,548 kBtu 0 kBtu
November : 4,821,821 kBtu 0 kBtu
December : 6,956,354 kBtu 0 kBtu
Total_Year : 44,914,382 kBtu 891,668 kBtu

FAN ENERGY CALCULATIONS:
Supply Exhaust
Total Static Pressure: 3.5 inW 1.0 inW
Fan Type: Forward_Curved Forward_Curved
Fan Efficiency: 63.0 % 63.0 %
Motor Class: Standard Standard
Motor Efficiency: 91.0 % 89.0 %
Motor Output Power: 159.032 HP 45.438 HP
Moter Rated Input: 130.319 kW 38.071 kW
Motor Energy Consumption: 1141594 kWh 333499 kWh
********************************************************************************************

Set system runtimes matching equipment operational schedule to establish an upper bound for energy recovery savings. Here the building is operating at 7x24, and if the rough cost for a therm of natural gas and a kilowatt hour of electricity are $1.20 and $0.10 respectively, then an upper bound on heat recovery savings is:

• 1.20 $/therm * 44,914,382 kBTU / 100 kBTU per therm = $530,973 from gas, and
  
• $0.10 $/kWH * 1,141,594 kWH = $114,160 from electricity,
  
• for a total of $645,133 heating load cost with systems running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for one year at constant volume.

This number is the maximum theoretical value of the savings, however it cannot be approached without 1) consistent internal heat gains -- heat gains sufficient to keep the exhaust airstream temperature elevated effectively above the outdoor air temperature, and 2) significant fan motor energy expenditures.

What typically happens in laboratory-type buildings is that while there may be a consistent heat recovery demand, the heat available to recover varies widely with occupancy. And likely there will be a number of hours in a 7 x 24 year-round operation when the outside air approaches to within 5° of the exhaust air, rendering energy recovery essentially ineffective.

Have not counted heat recovery from a cooling standpoint, as the number of annual hours where the outside air exceeds the exhaust air by more than 5° F in this climate most likely won't be very compelling.

So for how many hours per year does the exhaust air temperature exceed the outside air and by how much, on the average? Just check that 'Outside & Exhaust Air Loads Report' in the SIM file...if it actually existed, it might tell you...;-) All of the information is calculated and carried in the program, and presumably is output to the SIM file directly and indirectly in various places.

Am hoping to figure a way to pull a report like the above-mentioned together one of these days...if anyone has an Awk-based outside air loads report, even a rudimentary one as a starting point, I'd be much obliged.

ELCCA Standard Systems

Topic: Standard HVAC systems used in typical Washington State schools analyzed in ELCCA reports

Mechanical Alternatives

Displacement Ventilation: Low-velocity floor diffusers, ceiling return for classrooms. Fan powered VAV for administrative areas, constant volume air handler for multipurpose room. Gas-fired instantaneous 95% efficient hot-water condensing boilers provide heating and domestic water needs. DDC controls.

Centralized Air Handlers & Zone Duct Coils: Constant volume centralized air handlers with zone duct heating coils for all areas. Gas-fired 80% efficient cast iron boiler. Gas-fired 80% efficient 100 gallon domestic hot-water heater. DDC controls.


High-Performance & Renewable Alternatives

Ground Loop Heat Pump: High-lift high-efficiency geothermal ground source heat pumps provide both heating and cooling for all areas. Gas-fired instantaneous 95% efficient hot-water condensing boilers provide domestic water needs. DDC controls. Code minimum ventilation. This is also the Renewable Alternative.

eQuest SIM File Data Extraction Using Awk

Topic: Extracting discrete data values using Gawk (GNU Awk)

Following are some (one, for now) potentially useful Gawk (using GNU Awk for Win32) scripts for extracting data from an eQuest/DOE2 output SIM file :

# Save this script to a file named BEPU.AWK in the directory # containing the simulation output files. # # BEPU.AWK extracts energy consumption totals from # the specified .SIM report using GNU Awk for Windows: # # http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/gawk.htm # # Note that GAWK.EXE must exist in the shell path. Thus after installation # using the package installer, it is recommended that a copy of GAWK.EXE # be placed in the %WINDIR%\system32 directory. # # Usage: # # gawk -f BEPU.AWK SimFile.SIM # # ...where the program file BEPU.AWK and data file SimFile.SIM must exist. # {if ($2 ~/BEPU/) {ipr = 1}} {if (ipr == 1) {if ($1 == "TOTAL") print $1" "$2" "$3" "$4 if ($2 == "PS-H") ipr = 0}}

At left is a simple Awk script to extract the energy consumption totals in kWH and therms from the specified SIM file. Run this script from a CMD prompt in the same directory as your .SIM files; be sure to copy GAWK.EXE to %WINDIR%\System32, where %WINDIR% is usually (but not always) C:\WINDOWS. Modified from an original script posted by Joe Huang in the BLDG-SIM archives. Thanks Joe! More fun with Awk and SED to come over the next few months, as time permits or workload demands.

Note that in this example, printing is turned on (ipr = 1) by flagging the desired report, and off (ipr = 0) by flagging the report following the desired report. Examine the contents of the SIM file or see this post to determine the actual report sequence -- its not the same as shown in the drop-down box in the SIM file viewer.

More Awk examples from elsewhere...

• Quick and Dirty Data Extraction in AWK from the Linux Journal
  

SED & eQuest SIM File Reports

Topic: Extracting individual reports from SIM files using SED

See this post for another SED vs. Awk comparative editorial. Following is my own take, after fiddling around with SED for a few hours in an attempt accomplish discrete value data extraction.

Next time: Discrete value data extraction using Awk!

SED = Sledgehammer

SED seems most useful for gross editing tasks -- i.e. global search-and-replacements or chunking out reports from the SIM file. SED is essentially batch application of regular expressions.

Lacking basic programming constructs, there are fundamental functionality limitations. But for the tasks it is capable performing, SED accomplishes them exceedingly well.

Awk = Sawzall

With built-in programming language constructs, Awk seems to be more suited for 'refined' tasks like discrete value data extraction, doing arithmetic on arrays and columns, or creating custom reports.

They both seem to be the right tool, just for different tasks. Following are some potentially useful SED examples (using GNU SED for Win32):

SED /HW-BOILER/!d SimFile.SIM	Outputs from SimFile.SIM all lines with HW-BOILER
SED /PS-E/,/PS-F/!d SimFile.SIM	Outputs the PS-E report contained in SimFile.SIM
@ECHO OFF SET SIMRPT=Energy Cost Summary SET SIMBGN=BEPS SET SIMEND=BEPU SED.EXE --version >NUL IF %ERRORLEVEL% GTR 0 GOTO USAGE IF EXIST %1.SIM GOTO NEXT GOTO USAGE :NEXT SED /%SIMBGN%/,/%SIMEND%/!d %1.SIM >%TEMP%\~SED.TMP IF /I "%2" EQU "/A" GOTO APPEND SED /%SIMEND%/d %TEMP%\~SED.TMP GOTO :EOF :APPEND SED /%SIMEND%/d %TEMP%\~SED.TMP >>%0.RPT GOTO :EOF :USAGE ECHO. ECHO The %SIMBGN%.CMD script extracts the "%SIMRPT%" section from ECHO the specified .SIM report using GNU SED for Windows: ECHO. ECHO http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/sed.htm ECHO. ECHO Note that SED.EXE must exist in the shell path. Thus after installation ECHO using the package installer, it is recommended that a copy of SED.EXE ECHO be placed in the %WINDIR%\system32 directory. ECHO. ECHO Usage: ECHO. ECHO %SIMBGN% SimFile [/A] ECHO. ECHO ...where SimFile is specified without the .SIM extension and must exist. ECHO If the optional /A parameter is supplied, the output will be appended to ECHO a file named %SIMBGN%.RPT so that a 'FOR' command may collect ECHO all %SIMBGN% reports into a single file for further processing. ECHO. ECHO Example: ECHO. ECHO FOR %%i in (*.SIM) DO %SIMBGN% "%%~ni" /A ECHO. ECHO CAUTION!!! The %SIMBGN%.RPT file must be deleted manually ECHO to be refreshed, else updates will simply be appended to it. ECHO. ECHO Released to public domain under General Public Licence (GPL) ECHO http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html ECHO Copyright 2007 by Brandon Nichols, PE ECHO.	The command script at left extracts the BEPS report from the specified .SIM file and echoes it to the screen by default. Copy the code, paste it to a blank Notepad window. Save the file as 'BEPS.CMD' (be sure to change the drop-down in the Notepad file-save dialog from '*.txt' to 'All Files') to the eQuest reports directory, or to a designated script directory in the command path. Assure that GNU SED.EXE may also be found in the command path -- see the installation tip under 'USAGE' in the script. Type 'BEPS SimFile' at the CMD prompt, where SimFile is specified WITHOUT the .SIM extension. Now for some real fun type 'BEPS' at the CMD prompt and hit return, then copy/paste the 'FOR' example displayed on the 'Usage' screen to the CMD prompt and hit return. Written to disk will be each BEPS report from all simulations in a directory into a text file named BEPS.RPT for output or further processing. To create your own report extractor, simply change the three 'SET' values at the top of the file and save it under a new name. For instance changing values of SIMRPT to Summary of Utility Rates, SIMBGN to BEPU, and SIMEND to PS-H creates a BEPU extractor.

When creating a new report extractor, examine the contents of the SIM file or see this post to determine the actual report order -- its not the same as shown in the drop-down box in the SIM file viewer.

Perhaps not immediately obvious, but a 'System Report Extractor' for a report within the SIM file 'system repeat block' will extract each instance of the report for all systems! For example, copy the script above to Notepad and change the values of SIMRPT to 'System Utility Energy Use', SIMBGN to 'SS-H', and SIMEND to 'SS-I' and save to SS-H.CMD (be sure to change the drop-down in the Notepad file-save dialog from '*.txt' to 'All Files') in same directory where the SIM files are located. Thus created is an SS-H extractor that extracts all System Utility Energy Use reports for every system from the specified SIM file!.

Type 'SS-H SimFile' (without the .SIM extension) at the command line to test the output. Note that SimFile must exist in the same directory as the script and GNU SED.EXE must be in the command search path. If the above conditions have been met and your syntax is correct, then all SS-H reports will be echoed sequentially to the screen.

Now type just 'SS-H' at the command line and hit return. Then copy/paste the 'FOR' example from the usage screen to the command line and hit return. Congratulations, you have just created the text file SS-H.RPT, containing each System Utility Energy Use report for every system from all SIM files in the current directory!

eQuest SIM File Reports

Topic: A listing of the reports in the order found in the DOE2 .SIM output file

LV-M	DOE-2.2 Units Conversion Table
LV-N	Building Coordinate Geometry
LV-A	General Project Parameters
LV-B	Summary of Spaces
LV-C	Details of Space
LV-D	Details of Exterior Surfaces
LV-E	Details of Underground Surfaces
LV-F	Details of Interior Surfaces
LV-G	Details of Schedules
LV-H	Details of Windows
LV-I	Details of Constructions
LV-J	Details of Building Shades
LS-A	Space Peak Loads Summary
LS-B	Space Peak Loads Components
LS-C	Building Peak Load Components
LS-D	Building Monthly Loads Summary
LS-E	Space Monthly Load Components
LS-F	Building Monthly Load Components
LS-K	Space Input Fuels Summary
LS-K	Building Input Fuels Summary
LS-L	Management and Solar Summary
SV-A	System Design Parameters
SS-D	Building HVAC Load Summary
SS-E	Building HVAC Load Hours
SS-M	Building HVAC Fan Elec Energy
SS-A	System Loads Summary	Begin system repeat
SS-B	System Load Summary Zones	block
SS-C	System Load Hours	|
SS-H	System Utility Energy Use	|
SS-I	Sensible/Latent Summary	|
SS-J	Peak Heating and Cooling	|
SS-K	Space Temperature Summary	This group of
SS-R	Zone Performance Summary	reports is repeated
SS-L	Fan Electric Energy Use	once for each system
SS-N	Relative Humidity Summary	|
SS-P	Heating Performance Summary	|
SS-P	Cooling Performance Summary	|
SS-G	Zone Loads Summary	|
SS-F	Zone Demand Summary	End system repeat
SS-O	Space Temperature Summary	block
PV-A	Plant Design Parameters
PS-A	Plant Energy Utilization
PS-B	Utility and Fuel Use Summary
PS-C	Equipment Loads and Energy Use
PS-D	Circulation Loop Loads
PS-E	Energy End-Use Summary for all Electric Meters
PS-E	Energy End-Use Summary for all Fuel Meters
PS-F	Energy End-Use Summary for Meters
BEPS	Building Energy Performance
BEPU	Building Utility Performance
PS-H	Loads and Energy Usage for Plant
HOURLY REPORT	Hourly Report for Energy End-Usage
EV-A	Life-Cycle Costing Parameters
ES-A	Annual Costs and Savings
ES-B	Life-Cycle Non-Energy Costs
ES-C	Life-Cycle Investment Savings
ES-D	Energy Cost Summary
ES-E	Summary of Utility Rates
ES-F	Block Charges and Ratchets

MultiEdit & Regular Expressions

Topic: Using the MultiEdit text editor and regular expressions to clean up DOE2 .inp files generated by the eQuest wizard.

MultiEdit

There are a number of adequate text editors out there -- many of them are free. My favorite text editor is not free, but IMHO MultiEdit stands a professional cut above the freeware pack. A partial list of features that makes it particularly suitable to working with DOE2 files is as follows:

• Multiple tabbed windows, allowing rapid file switching
  
• Remembered windows, from the last time the program was open
• Multiple sessions. Most useful if you wear additional hats like 'CAD Guru' or 'Systems Integrator' -- each named session recalls a group of files in exactly the same window state as when last worked upon.
  
• Split windows, permitting two different parts of the same file to be edited
  
• Line numbers and a handy 'go to line number' function
  
• Scrolling side-by-side on-screen file comparisons, highlighting the location and nature of differences between files
• An undo buffer that will take you back to the beginning of an editing session, even after a massively botched search and replacement.
• Backup files saved in a common directory on the local hard drive, off-network. This has saved many hours of rework more than once in my brief career so far with eQuest.
  
• ...more features to be listed as time permits
• And last but not least, search and replacements using 'regular expressions'

Regular Expression Examples

Regular expressions enable powerful search and replacements in a single operation that would otherwise require many operations using 'literal' search and replace strings. The syntax is necessarily cryptic for utilitarian compactness; however comprehensive free learning resources are just a google away, such as this tutorial site.
Expect a bit of a learning curve, but once you've accomplished a search and replacement in a single line that would've taken a dozen or more literal iterations, there's no going back.

Further, regular expression syntax is applicable to scripting utilities such as Perl and SED, meaning that once your approach to search and replacements has become standardized, it can be batched and run without ever opening the input files -- when I get to this point with .inp and .sim files I'll be sure to post some examples.

First and foremost, make backup files religiously when working with eQuest in general, and in particular do not fail to do so before tackling a relatively risky editing task such as this -- it's always easier (and better for your social life) to restart from the last waypoint than to rebuild a disaster.

Schedules

REMINDER: Make sure you change the type of "Regular Expression" from Perl to Unix on the "Search and Replace" Option tab.

Following are MultiEdit search and replace strings using regular expressions applicable to DOE2 schedules; be sure to uncheck the radio button entitled 'Search All Windows' (refer to screenshot below) until you're sure you know what you're doing.

• System Fan Schedules: Replace all auto-generated system fan schedules with a single fan schedule named 'EMS Fan Sch'
• Search String: (")S.* Fan Sch
• Replace String: \0EMS Fan Sch
• System Cooling Schedules: Replace all auto-generated system cooling schedules with a single cooling schedule named 'EMS Cool Sch'
• Search String: (")S.* Cool Sch
• Replace String: \0EMS Cool Sch
• System Heating Schedules: Replace all auto-generated system heating schedules with a single heating schedule named 'EMS Heat Sch'
• Search String: (")S.* Heat Sch
• Replace String: \0EMS Heat Sch
• Infiltration Schedules: Replace all auto-generated perimeter infiltration schedules with a single infiltration schedule named 'EMS P-Inf Sch'
• Search String: (")Z.* P-Inf Sch
• Replace String: \0EMS P-Inf Sch
• Infiltration Schedules: Replace all auto-generated core infiltration schedules with a single infiltration schedule named 'EMS C-Inf Sch'
• Search String: (")Z.* C-Inf Sch
• Replace String: \0EMS C-Inf Sch
• Building Occupancy Schedules: Replace all auto-generated building occupancy schedules with a single building occupancy schedule named 'EMS Occup Sch'
• Search String: (")E.* Bldg Occup Sch
• Replace String: \0EMS Occup Sch
• Building Office Equipment Schedules: Replace all auto-generated office equipment schedules with a single office equipment schedule named 'EMS OffEq Sch'
• Search String: (")E.* Bldg OffEq Sch
• Replace String: \0EMS OffEq Sch
• Building Inside Lighting Schedules: Replace all auto-generated inside lighting schedules with a single inside lighting schedule named 'EMS InsLt Sch'
• Search String: (")E.* Bldg InsLt Sch
• Replace String: \0EMS InsLt Sch
• Building Cooking Schedules: Replace all auto-generated cooking schedules with a single cooking schedule named 'EMS Cook Sch'
• Search String: (")E.* Bldg Cook Sch
• Replace String: \0EMS Cook Sch
• Exterior Lighting Schedules (same as literal): Replace the string 'Ext Lighting Sch' with the string 'EMS Ext Lighting Sch'
• Search String: "Ext Lighting Sch
• Replace String: "EMS Ext Lighting Sch
• Domestic Hot Water Schedules (same as literal): Replace the string 'DHW Eqp NRes Sch' with the string 'EMS DHW Eqp NRes Sch'
• Search String: "DHW Eqp NRes Sch
• Replace String: "EMS DHW Eqp NRes Sch

It should go without saying that the schedules named by the replacement strings need to exist in the .inp file -- see this post for an outline procedure to copy schedules from one project to another. Be aware that the search and replacements described above should be done only after swapping-out the .inp file's daily, weekly and annual schedule sections.

Envelope

Following are MultiEdit search and replace strings using regular expressions applicable to DOE2 envelope components; be sure to uncheck the radio button entitled 'Search All Windows' (refer to screenshot below) until you're sure you know what you're doing.

• Exterior Walls: Replace all auto-generated exterior wall constructions with a single construction named 'Exterior Wall Construction'
• Search String: = "E.{1,4} EWall Construction"
• Replace String: = "Exterior Wall Construction"
• Roofs: Replace all auto-generated roof constructions with a single construction named 'Exterior Roof Construction'
• Search String: = "E.{1,4} Roof Construction"
• Replace String: = "Exterior Roof Construction"
• Windows: Replace auto-generated 'Window Type #1 GT' glass types in all shells with a single glass type named 'Exterior Glass Type #1'
• Search String: = "E.{1,4} Window Type \#1 GT"
• Replace String: = "Exterior Glass Type \#1"
  
• Window Frames & Spacers: Eliminate frames and install insulated spacers on all 'Exterior Glass Type' permutations
• Search String: ("Exterior Glass Type \#.*$).*FRAME-WIDTH =.*$
• Replace String: \0$ SPACER-TYPE = INSULATED

Systems, Loops & Equipment

The following MultiEdit search and replace strings using regular expressions are applicable to DOE2 systems, loops and equipment; be sure to uncheck the radio button entitled 'Search All Windows' (refer to screenshot below) until you're sure you know what you're doing.

• Hot Water Loop: Replace assignments to the HW-LOOP keyword with 'Hot Water Loop'; note leading space to prevent matching the DHW-LOOP keyword.
  
• Search String: ( HW-LOOP *= ).*$
• Replace String: \0"Hot Water Loop"

A very handy tool for learning regular expressions is RegExBuddy, available from the author's site for a nominal fee. MultiEdit also includes some regular expression help built into the search and replace dialog box; click the left-arrows to the right of the search and replace fields when the regular expression radio button is selected:

(click on the image to see a larger version)

Next time...regular expression fun with SED and SIM files!

Note: a reasonable set of extensions for the MultiEdit 'Add Files Wizard' is as follows:
AWK SED INP TXT DOC PD2 BDL PRD SIM CSV PDH DAT CMD DAT

Process Loads:

This is the link for the process loads Btu/(People x Hr) for different kind of building

ASHRAE 90.1-2004 Overview

Equipment Efficiencies
Table 6.8 .1A Air Conditioners and Condensing Units (Efficiencies)
Table 6.8 .1E & F Furnaces and Boilers

Lighting Power Densities
Table 9.4 .5 Building Exteriors
Table 9.5.1 Using the Building Area Method
Table 9.6.1 Using the Space by Space Method

Appendix A

Appendix B.

(HEI intranet links above)

Heat Pump Parametrics

Topic: Calculating heat pump parametrics using DOE/ORNL's nifty online tool to justify modeling assumptions

Note that residential heat pump EER and SEER ratings are obtained from a certification test performed with the supply blower fan working against a 0.10, 0.15 or 0.20 inches of external static pressure, for 2 ton and less, 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 ton, and 4 ton and larger units respectively, per Table 2 on page 59149 of this DOE test procedure document.

One interesting thing to note is that the test tolerance is 0.05 inches of static, so a manufacturer wishing to maximize the performance rating of a given heat pump may utilize external static conditions of 0.05, 0.10 and a 0.15 respectively for the given size ranges in the test procedure.

Even more interesting (see footnotes below) is that commercial heat pumps connected to ducts aren't allowed to count supply fan energy in their EER/COP/SEER/HSPF calculations, according to ANSI/ARI/ASHRAE ISO Standard 13256-1:1998.

Thus for most low-cfm heat pump applications, the impact of the test-condition supply fan energy can be conservatively ignored. That is, not subtracted-out from the relevant performance equation in order to calculate a new EER, SEER, COP or HSPF.

Which is not to say that supply fan energy should be ignored, only that it needs to be modeled separately at actual design conditions. Supply fans for commercial heat pumps usually run continuously, and can easily be modeled as such in eQuest -- just be sure to select 'Indoor Fan Mode' as 'Continuous' on the 'Flow Parameters' panel of the system 'Fans' tab.

(click on the image to see a larger version)

If challenged to subtract-out supply fan energy by LEED or energy rebate reviewers, refer to ANSI/ARI/ASHRAE ISO Standard 13256-1:1998 Water-Source Heat Pumps - Testing and Rating for Performance - Part 1: Water-to-Air and Brine-to-Air Heat Pump. Minor excerpts reprinted below.

Footnotes courtesy of Xiaobing Liu:

1. The fan power included in the EER/COP calculation may not be the same as the fan actual demand when the heat pump runs. For water-source heat pumps, ANSI/ARI/ASHRAE ISO Standard 13256-1:1998 (Water-source heat pumps - testing and rating for performance - Part 1: Water-to-air and brine-to-air heat pump) states following requirements for fan power input in COP/EER calculations

4.1.2 Power input of fans for heat pumps without duct connection

In the case of heat pumps which are not designed for duct connection and which are equipped with an integral fan, all power consumed by the fans shall be included in the effective power input to the heat pump.

4.1.3 Power input of fans for heat pumps with duct connection

4.1.3.2 If a fan is an integral part of a heat pump, only the portion of the fan power required to overcome the internal resistance shall be included in the effective power input to the heat pump. The fraction which is to be excluded from the total power consumed by the fan shall be calculated using the following formula: φfa = q x Δp / η

where

φfa is the fan power adjustment, in watts;

η = 0.3 × 103 by convention;

Δp is the measured external static pressure difference, in pascals;

q is the nominal airflow rate, in litres per second.

This value shall be subtracted from the heating capacity and added to the cooling capacity.

2. The reason for this is that, in a particular heat pump installation, depending on the air flow and external static pressure of the duct work, the fan power is different, which is unknown when the heat pump is tested in the lab. So, to isolate from the unknown effect of the external duct work, only the portion of the fan power required to overcome the internal resistance shall be included in the effective power input to the heat pump if the heat pump is designed for duct connection. Therefore, the fan power in the real operating condition should be specified in the simulation to more accurately predict the fan energy consumption.

PFEC Standard Submittal Package

Topic: Standard documents and backup eQuest reports for a PFEC Submittal package.

• Cover Letter (Word)
• PFEC Form (Excel)
• Monthly Energy Consumption by Enduse (eQuest Report)
• Monthly Utility Bills -- All Rates (eQuest Report)
• eQuest Energy Model View (screencapture via MSPaint)

Example Document (HEI intranet link)