[Equest-users] Advanced Level Equest Classes

[Chris Jones]

Thanks Nick!
Re the catwalk - they are open to the 
atrium.  The one reason to model them is because 
they have light fixtures associated.  Including 
the floor areas of the catwalks increases the 
baseline lighting to capture the lighting of the catwalks.

The atrium is not open to the rest of the 
building except by door.  Between the perimeter 
spaces and the atrium is glazing.

The other question I have is what do you do when 
the floor plans are submitted in PDF - how do you 
import the floor plans into equest?  Or do you 
have to enter all the vertices manually?

Thanks again for taking time to respond.



At 04:04 PM 14/01/2011, Nick Caton wrote:
>Hi Chris,
>
>Some running thoughts you might consider – all 
>this in concert might get the job done, in any case it’s what I’d try first:
>-          Varying “floorplates”/zoning for each 
>floor means you need unique shells per floor, 
>which means you can’t use any of the 
>“open-to-above/below” approaches to making an 
>atrium with the wizards.  That simplifies the 
>discussion somewhat: you’ll need to define this atrium somehow “manually.”
>-          I would draw out the “catwalk 
>corridors” (assuming they’re covered and 
>separately conditioned) on their respective 
>shell-floors.  If they’re open to the atrium I’d ignore them entirely.
>-          I would finish everything up in the 
>wizards, and upon entering detailed mode delete 
>every created space/zone that’s part of the 
>“atrium,” excepting the top level’s, which 
>should include any roof/skylight surfaces and be 
>retained.  Delete any child surfaces associated 
>with these atrium zones excepting any interior 
>partitions to the perimeter zones – if those 
>exist, move the interior partitions to be a 
>child component of the appropriate perimeter 
>zone first before deleting the atrium zone.  You 
>might be above to avoid this scenario in the 
>wizards by defining the atrium zones LAST at the 
>custom zone definition dialogs for each shell
 not sure but worth a shot.
>-          I would modify the space geometries 
>(volume) and its internal loads (# of people 
>should account for the catwalks if they’re open) 
>to match the full volume of the atrium
>-          Assign a SUM system as a placeholder 
>to the atrium – goal being to have all its loads 
>handled by the systems serving the perimeter spaces
>-          I would use the 2D view of each shell 
>to modify all internal walls “open” to the 
>atrium  in the actual design to be of type 
>“AIR,” and to simultaneously ensure their parent 
>space is associated to the large, common atrium 
>space.  I think this will correctly tie the 
>atrium’s internal loads to the others thermally
 
>this is why we took care to keep those and not 
>delete them along with the wizard-generated atrium spaces.
>-          I would use the “DIRECT” option for 
>the HVAC systems’ return air path, rather than 
>the plenum/duct options – I think this will 
>indirectly ensure the heat gains/losses of any 
>atrium skylights/roofs and the collective 
>internal heat gains in the atrium find their way into the return air stream
>
>I can’t say 100% whether this is all you’d need 
>to do, but it’s a game plan I would start 
>with.  To make a comment regarding 
>accuracy:  It’s probably fair to say eQuest, 
>which doesn’t model complex CFD on an hourly 
>basis, may not be as accurate in any end-case as 
>some more costly software options may be for a 
>large atrium as you’re describing.  This 
>approach should be sufficient however for 
>getting into the right ballpark, provided those 
>“think” items above hold true (you might want to hold off for others’ input).
>
>
>Best of luck – sounds like an interesting project to say the least =)!
>
>~Nick
>
>
>PS:  I’ve never been compensated for my advice 
>on these lists, and I’m not about to start 
>asking, but neither have I taken on any 
>liability or promise of availability as a formal 
>instructor...  That said, I wouldn’t go home and 
>cry myself to sleep if someone found anything 
>valuable enough to compensate ^_^.
>
>cid:489575314 at 22072009-0ABB
>
>
>NICK CATON, E.I.T.
>PROJECT ENGINEER
>Smith & Boucher Engineers
>25501 west valley parkway
>olathe ks 66061
>direct 913 344.0036
>fax 913 345.0617
><www.smithboucher.htm>www.smithboucher.com
>
>From: equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org 
>[mailto:equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of Chris Jones
>Sent: Friday, January 14, 2011 1:21 PM
>To: equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org
>Subject: Re: [Equest-users] Advanced Level Equest Classes
>
>The topic I consider advanced is modelling 
>different floor plate shapes on each floor - 
>with a multi-storey atrium in the middle.  The 
>atrium has corridor catwalks for crossing from 
>one side of the building to another.  Supply air 
>is transferred into the atrium from the 
>surrounding spaces - the atrium is a return air 
>plenum for multiple air handlers.
>
>I would gladly pay for a step by step tutorial 
>on setting up the geometry for such a building.
>
>
>
>
>I’ve been in discussions with those who make a 
>business of eQuest/DOE2 instruction regarding 
>this issue
 I think a major reason we don’t see 
>many ‘advanced’ classes is: it would be very 
>hard to develop a rubric/syllabus for an 
>‘advanced’ group of learners as it would seem 
>there aren’t many ‘advanced’ topics that aren’t 
>extremely system/project-specific (therefore 
>seemingly of little interest to a group of learners at large).
>
>One exception that comes to mind that would 
>probably be of common interest might be the 
>evaluation and creation of chiller & heatpump 
>performance curves – that skillset is frankly 
>tough to self-learn (it took me a long while and multiple projects)

>
>As an aside:  I might also cite a real-world 
>experience where a local rep for Carrier hosted 
>an event that included discussion/instruction 
>for a single, narrow ‘advanced’ eQuest topic: 
>geothermal well-field design using 
>eQuest/DOE2.  The room was packed*!  I hope more 
>equipment reps in time will recognize the value 
>and potential draw when advanced eQuest topic 
>instruction is offered, even if only for a very narrow sort of system/topic.
>
>If you really would like formal, ‘advanced’ 
>instruction, you might be best-advised to come 
>up with a list of topics you want 
>instruction/guidance on (make your own personal 
>rubric), and share that list either publicly on 
>the lists or directly with those who offer 
>training services – you may be able to then 
>filter out who is able and is willing to teach 
>you some or all of your desired instruction individually, and at what cost.
>
>~Nick
>
>* I would be remiss to not mention Anthony 
>Hardman (frequent contributor to these lists) 
>provided that instruction, and it was excellent.
>
>
>
>Chris Jones
>14 Oneida Avenue
>Toronto, ON M5J 2E3.
>Tel.  416-203-7465
>Fax. 416-946-1005
>


Chris Jones
14 Oneida Avenue
Toronto, ON M5J 2E3.
Tel.  416-203-7465
Fax. 416-946-1005

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