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<TITLE>Re: [Equest-users] Wiki for eQuest?</TITLE>
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<FONT FACE="Arial"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'>John — thanks for your comments. I see your messages on here a lot and you’re clearly someone who knows the program, so I value your viewpoint. If I get the wiki up and running (have had a few positive responses so far) I hope you’ll stop by to add the line about the martini. (I like mine shaken with ice.)<BR>
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I see increased interest in energy modeling services. In my area it’s being driven by LEED. Many engineers find their way to eQuest (possibly because it’s free) and it seems that the skills that make the best design engineers don’t always make the best energy modelers. I review the energy model templates uploaded for projects on which we consult and I see the same problems and frustrations from the design community. I’d like to make it a little bit easier for people to get good results out of eQuest. Managing the expectations of users would go a long way toward reducing frustration.<BR>
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Some actors in the industry are ramping up to support modeling. ASHRAE seems to have recognized the need: I recently sat for the BEMP exam at the winter conference. (It was tough!) Other actors. . .not so much. I checked with the software vendors at the conference and best I can tell no one is trying to develop THE standard software for Appendix G energy modeling. (AutoDesk would be a natural here, but they seem to be focused on Revit. Anything they develop would be an adjunct to that.)<BR>
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So that’s why I thought about the wiki. If I had had a resource like that when I first downloaded eQuest, I would have known what I was getting in to.<BR>
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Steve Samenski, PE, LEED AP<BR>
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On 2/14/10 12:53 AM, "John Aulbach" <<a href="jra_sac@yahoo.com">jra_sac@yahoo.com</a>> wrote:<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT><BLOCKQUOTE><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">A few comments on eQuest..<BR>
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1) The program is a bit like the card game bridge. You can play it straight, or you can play by the seat of your pants. I choose the latter.<BR>
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2) Don't expect eQuest to stir you a martini, fetch your morning paper, or be your slave. It works for 80% of whatever energy dynamics you need. Not 100%. Unless you are seeking a post doctoral thesis. Then try another program.<BR>
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3) We ALL have hit dead ends. The biggest nemesis seems to be USGBC. But then they seem to LOVE eQuest, as most of the assumption are easily found in the eQuest front end. Sure beats the DOE-2.1A days when we were unsure what SS-A was vs. SS-B. Explanations are much clearer now (even if we don't believe the results).<BR>
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4) If you want total honesty, Submeter the HELL out of an existing building for 6 months. THEN you will have ALL your answers. But WHO has the BUDGET or the TIME?<BR>
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Sir, keep asking your questions to BLDG-SIM. Just don't say "I am new to eQuest and I need to model the Taj Mahal to LEED Platinum, and I have a day to do it. Can you help?"<BR>
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Not unless you pay some of these EXCELLENT modelers for their time. Amazingly, most of us ACTUALLY work, and our bosses expect us to concentrate on THEIR needs. As we can answer, we do. But some of these questions TAKE TIME, which occassionally we do not have.<BR>
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So please hang in there..<BR>
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</FONT><FONT FACE="Tahoma, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><HR ALIGN=CENTER SIZE="1" WIDTH="100%"><B>From:</B> "Sundharam, Premnath" <<a href="psundharam@DLRGROUP.com">psundharam@DLRGROUP.com</a>><BR>
<B>To:</B> STEVE SAMENSKI <<a href="steve@thespinnakergroupinc.com">steve@thespinnakergroupinc.com</a>><BR>
<B>Cc:</B> <a href="equest-users@lists.onebuilding.org">equest-users@lists.onebuilding.org</a><BR>
<B>Sent:</B> Sat, February 13, 2010 4:28:22 PM<BR>
<B>Subject:</B> Re: [Equest-users] Wiki for eQuest?<BR>
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1. Wiki for equest is a fantastic idea<BR>
2. I would def. Contribute<BR>
3. Yes I will use it extensively<BR>
4. As far as I know equest resources on the web is not great. <BR>
Thanks for the initiative. <BR>
Prem <BR>
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Sent from my iPhone<BR>
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On Feb 13, 2010, at 3:06 PM, "STEVE SAMENSKI" <<a href="steve@thespinnakergroupinc.com">steve@thespinnakergroupinc.com</a>> wrote:<BR>
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</FONT></SPAN><BLOCKQUOTE><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'><FONT FACE="Arial">I’ve been using eQuest for over two years now and I still run into frequent dead-ends. The program is flexible but often inscrutable. Searching the mailing list archives only gets you so far.<BR>
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I’ve thought about starting up a wiki for eQuest. It’s easy enough to start a new page at Wikipedia. I’m curious what folks here think of the idea.<BR>
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1) Do you see a need for an eQuest wiki? (Definition for wki: A website or similar online resource which allows users to add and edit content collectively.)<BR>
2) Would you add your knowledge to an eQuest wiki?<BR>
3) Would you use an eQuest wiki?<BR>
4) Is there a resource for eQuest advice that I’ve overlooked? (I’ve taken one of the University of Wisconsin training courses, and I have all the DOE2 published dictionaries and PDF’s.)<BR>
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</SPAN></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Verdana, Helvetica, Arial"><FONT COLOR="#1F497D"><FONT SIZE="2"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:10pt'>Steve Samenski, PE, LEED AP</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"><SPAN STYLE='font-size:12pt'> <BR>
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