[Bldg-sim] Fwd: Re: Cost of climate file

Joe Huang via Bldg-sim bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org
Tue Nov 15 12:18:21 PST 2016


Yi,

I don't think Nathan was referring to climate.onebuilding.org when he questioned the value 
of free weather data on the Web. However, I think you're expressing a reverse bias (maybe 
I'm wrong) that the free stuff is more curated or quality controlled than the "commercial" 
stuff.   The quality of anything on the Web, including weather data, should be judged on 
their own merits, not their source or origin.

I don't think of the "free" weather as free, but rather subsidized, mostly by the 
government.  NREL did a fine job with the TMY2, TMY3, etc., but they had a rather large 
DOE contract to produce them.  But after the project was done and problems were found, 
NREL admitted to them in 2009, but the fix was not made until six years later by an 
outside volunteer (me).  I'm saying this not as criticism of NREL but to show that it's an 
imperfect world all around.

Joe

Joe Huang
White Box Technologies, Inc.
346 Rheem Blvd., Suite 205A
Moraga CA 94556
yjhuang at whiteboxtechnologies.com
http://weather.whiteboxtechnologies.com for simulation-ready weather data
(o) (925)388-0265
(c) (510)928-2683
"building energy simulations at your fingertips"

On 11/15/2016 3:54 AM, Dr Yi Zhang via Bldg-sim wrote:
>
> Considering how much of the web nowadays is built upon "free stuff", it is very 
> difficult to justify questioning the value of things you can get for free on the 
> internet just because someone said "a very wise man once said so". Taking 
> climate.onebuilding.org as an example, the arduous work Dru and Linda have put into 
> collecting, processing and quality checking everything is truly amazing! If you have 
> seen the folders still waiting to be processed in Dru's laptop, you will know what I am 
> talking about.
>
> Yi
>
> Dr Yi Zhang, PhD CEng MCIBSE MASHRAE
>
> Director
>
> Energy Simulation Solutions Ltd. (UK)
>
> T: +44 (0)7809 572863
>
> E: yi.zhang at ensims.com <mailto:yi.zhang at ensims.com>
>
> W: www.ensims.com <http://www.ensims.com>
>
> *From:*Bldg-sim [mailto:bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] *On Behalf Of *Nathan 
> Kegel via Bldg-sim
> *Sent:* 14 November 2016 20:47
> *To:* bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org
> *Subject:* Re: [Bldg-sim] Fwd: Re: Cost of climate file
>
> It seems like this topic comes up on here nearly every week.
>
> There are many sources of weather/climate data.  Some free, some not.  Some are very 
> questionable in their accuracy, others are not.
>
> As a very wise man once said, “Just because you can get something for free on the 
> internet doesn’t mean it’s worth it”.
>
> Can we create a mailing list rule that any time this topic comes up the server just 
> automatically replies with a series of links about where you can get weather data?  I’d 
> be happy to work with everyone on this list to compile the links and put together the 
> requisite disclaimers about knowing where the data comes from and ensuring you’ve 
> analysed it to ensure its validity prior to using it.
>
> In other words, haven’t we reached the point where weather/climate data ought to be a 
> “sticky” at the top of the mailing list?
>
> As far as sources go, IES have compiled (an incomplete) listing of both free and 
> for-purchase sources of weather data.  For those interested, here it is: 
> http://www.iesve.com/support/weatherfiles
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Nathan
>
> <http://www.iesve.com/>
>
> 	
>
> *Nathan Kegel*
> *Vice President IES Midwest*
>
> 	
>
> O:
>
> 	
>
> 763.276.9981
>
> M:
>
> 	
>
> 415.420.9314
>
> http://www.iesve.com <http://www.iesve.com/>
>
> Integrated Environmental Solutions Limited. Registered in Scotland No. SC151456
> Registered Office - Helix Building, West Of Scotland Science Park, Glasgow G20 0SP
>
> Email Disclaimer <http://www.iesve.com/disclaimer.html>
>
> *Latest News: IES VE was ranked as the #1 energy modeling tool for design engineers by 
> the **AIA 2030 Progress Report* 
> <http://www.architectmagazine.com/technology/a-reality-check-from-the-aia-2030-commitment-2015-progress-report_o>*.*
>
> *From:*Bldg-sim [mailto:bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] *On Behalf Of *Andrew 
> Corney via Bldg-sim
> *Sent:* Saturday, November 12, 2016 12:24 PM
> *To:* Nicholas Caton <Nicholas.Caton at schneider-electric.com 
> <mailto:Nicholas.Caton at schneider-electric.com>>
> *Cc:* bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org <mailto:bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org>
> *Subject:* Re: [Bldg-sim] Fwd: Re: Cost of climate file
>
> Hi Nick,
>
> Weather analytics do still provide weather files for the industry and Sefaira uses their 
> epw files for our EnergyPlus analysis where other information is not available.
>
> That said I echo your sentiments that Joe is great at responding to questions on this 
> forum and it's greatly appreciated by the industry.
>
> Best,
>
> Andrew
>
> --
>
> Andrew Corney
>
> Product Director
>
> Sefaira - Sustainability. Performance. Design.
>
> Mobile: +44 (0)7887 059 722 <tel:+44%20%280%297887%20059%20722>
>
> Skype: andrew.corney.sefaira
>
>
> On Nov 11, 2016, at 9:10 PM, Nicholas Caton via Bldg-sim <bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org 
> <mailto:bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org>> wrote:
>
>     As someone with zero financial interests in any of the mentioned weather service
>     companies, and as a consumer who has used these services (and also practiced a fair
>     bit of composing/vetting my own weather files from raw data):
>
>     I think it speaks volumes and is worth highlighting that one of the owners of these
>     service companies seems to contribute to/answer 99% of the questions posed about
>     weather data sources and how to manipulate them, both this in forum and elsewhere.
>
>     Thanks Joe, for your pro bono services to our community, as well as the paid ones!
>
>     I’m also comfortable recommending WBT’s services to new and experienced simulators
>     alike.
>
>     I should also insert Weather Analytics (a service I used to frequently recommend)
>     shifted into new management/markets in the last year or so, and I don’t believe they
>     service the “building energy simulation sector” any more in the way they used to. 
>     If anyone has experience to the contrary and has been able to do business with them
>     in recent months I’d be keen to hear about it!
>
>     ~Nick
>
>     <image001.png>
>
>     *Nick Caton, P.E., BEMP*
>
>     Senior Energy Engineer
>     Energy and Sustainability Services
>     Schneider Electric
>
>     	
>
>     D 913.564.6361
>     M 785.410.3317
>     E nicholas.caton at schneider-electric.com <mailto:nicholas.caton at schneider-electric.com>
>     F 913.564.6380
>
>     	
>
>     15200 Santa Fe Trail Drive
>     Suite 204
>     Lenexa, KS 66219
>     United States
>
>     <image002.png>
>
>     *From:*Bldg-sim [mailto:bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] *On Behalf Of *Joe
>     Huang via Bldg-sim
>     *Sent:* Wednesday, November 09, 2016 2:41 AM
>     *To:* bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org <mailto:bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org>
>     *Subject:* [Bldg-sim] Fwd: Re: Cost of climate file
>
>     There are two IWEC2 weather file for Zurich (CHE_ZUERICH-METEOSCHWEI_066600_IW2 and
>     CHE_ZURICH-KLOTEN_066700_IW2).
>
>     IWEC2 (International Weather for Energy Calculations) weather files were developed
>     in a 4-year ASHRAE project utilizing actual weather reports from thousands of stations
>
>     throughout the world going back 25 years, and covers locations outside of the United
>     States and Canada. The entire set of 3,012 IWEC2 weather files is
>
>     available on a DVD from ASHRAE (see link here
>     <https://www.ashrae.org/resources--publications/bookstore/iwec2> )
>
>     Individual IWEC2 weather files are available online from White BoxTechnologies, Inc.
>     in various formats (BINM for DOE-2, EPW for EnergyPlus,
>
>     etc.), as well as country sets or even the entire IWEC2 collection. For a complete
>     list of all IWEC2 stations, see here
>     <http://www.whiteboxtechnologies.com/IWEC2_locations.txt>. For a map view of the
>     IWEC2 stations in Google Maps,
>
>     see here <http://weather.whiteboxtechnologies.com/map-IWEC2>
>
>     Joe
>
>     Joe Huang
>
>     White Box Technologies, Inc.
>
>     346 Rheem Blvd., Suite 205A
>
>     Moraga CA 94556
>
>     yjhuang at whiteboxtechnologies.com <mailto:yjhuang at whiteboxtechnologies.com>
>
>     http://weather.whiteboxtechnologies.com for simulation-ready weather data
>
>     http://www.whiteboxtechnologies.com
>
>     (o) (925)388-0265
>
>     (c) (510)928-2683
>
>     "building energy simulations at your fingertips"
>
>     On 11/8/2016 4:42 PM, Vikram Sami via Bldg-sim wrote:
>
>         Hi,
>
>         I am looking for an EPW climate file for Zurich Switzerland. I also find that
>         every now and then we have the need for simulation climate files that aren’t
>         readily available in EPW format
>
>         I know there have been a few discussions on this site about services/software
>         programs that do this for you.
>
>         What does it cost? And what is the process for creating one of these files?
>
>         Thanks in advance
>
>         Vikram
>
>         Vikram Sami, AIA, BEMP, LEED AP BD+C
>
>         Director of Building Performance
>
>         **
>
>         *OLSON KUNDIG*
>
>         159 South Jackson Street, Suite 600, Seattle, WA 98104 USA
>
>         T +1 206-340-2545 olsonkundig.com <http://olsonkundig.com/>
>
>         Twitter / Instagram @olsonkundig
>
>         If you have received this confidential message in error, please immediately
>         notify the sender by reply email and delete all copies from your system.
>
>         _______________________________________________
>
>         Bldg-sim mailing list
>
>         http://lists.onebuilding.org/listinfo.cgi/bldg-sim-onebuilding.org
>
>         To unsubscribe from this mailing list send  a blank message to
>         BLDG-SIM-UNSUBSCRIBE at ONEBUILDING.ORG <mailto:BLDG-SIM-UNSUBSCRIBE at ONEBUILDING.ORG>
>
>
>     ______________________________________________________________________
>     This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
>     ______________________________________________________________________
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>     This message was scanned by Exchange Online Protection Services.
>
>     ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     Bldg-sim mailing list
>     http://lists.onebuilding.org/listinfo.cgi/bldg-sim-onebuilding.org
>     To unsubscribe from this mailing list send  a blank message to
>     BLDG-SIM-UNSUBSCRIBE at ONEBUILDING.ORG <mailto:BLDG-SIM-UNSUBSCRIBE at ONEBUILDING.ORG>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Bldg-sim mailing list
> http://lists.onebuilding.org/listinfo.cgi/bldg-sim-onebuilding.org
> To unsubscribe from this mailing list send  a blank message to BLDG-SIM-UNSUBSCRIBE at ONEBUILDING.ORG

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.onebuilding.org/pipermail/bldg-sim-onebuilding.org/attachments/20161115/1cbecea3/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/png
Size: 2563 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.onebuilding.org/pipermail/bldg-sim-onebuilding.org/attachments/20161115/1cbecea3/attachment-0003.png>


More information about the Bldg-sim mailing list