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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Sketchup is still "free." (At least the
version that I am using is.) They now call it Sketchup Make and
there is a free and a fee version. As an frontend to
OpenStudio/EnergyPlus the free version is just fine. All you
really need (or want) to do is run the EnergyPlus plugin. In
fact, if you get fancy and attempt to save your file as a sketchup
file you will run into lots of terrible problems. <br>
<br>
A hint, if you intend to try OpenStudio/EnergyPlus for a spin
using the Sketchup interface, DO NOT open, save or do anything
else with the Sketchup "File" menus for those actions. The OS
plugin has buttons that take care of those functions. I spent
weeks building models that would look great and work, only to have
them "explode" and fly into disjointed pieces at unexpected
times. That happened because I thought that the Sketchup file
management tools worked - they don't. Since I weaned myself off
of accidentally using the "File" drop-down menu that problem went
away. It was a hard habit to get away from since we are so used
to using those Windows menu items for "Save", "Open", "Save As"
etc. <br>
<br>
Another hint has to do with the way that the Sketchup plugin and
OpenStudio share files. They both use the same file (*.osm)
which is neat because they are always identical. However, they
don't always update the file before switching back and forth
between the programs. If you have both programs open at the same
time (and you will do this) you need to remember to save the file
before switching, and then to open the file again once in the
other application. The reason is that the applications
(OpenStudio for example) don't actually use that file when
running, they use a temporary files. If you don't manually open
the newly changed file from Sketchup OS will use that temporary
file rather then the newly modified one. The programmers included
a built in a pop-up window to prompt for this when going from OS
to Sketchup, but not the other way around. You can use the OS
button in Sketchup Plugin to launch the OS application, but if you
already have OS open it creates another version. Pretty soon you
end up with lots of versions open - not a good thing.<br>
<br>
Good luck with OS. I find it to be powerful and useful, but
extremely difficult to use because of a lack of descriptions of
the various fields. Unlike eQuest, the field names just sit there
and dare you to figure out what they might be asking for - there
are lots of information hidden away in the voluminous manuals and
things - all written for use in the "native" EP+ front end. You
are left to guess at what might be appropriate in the OpenStudio
application and plugin. Another problem for me is their plethora
of default values for lots of things that are named in ways that
don't make any sense to me (they are just references to various
sections of a bunch of standards). I finally gave up using those
and made my own constructions and things that I know about. I
just deleted all of their defaults and started from scratch. It
worked much better for me that way. <br>
<br>
It is an interesting tool, but very much still a research project.
<br>
<br>
Charlie <br>
<br>
<br>
On 3/29/2014 8:14 AM, Bruce Easterbrook wrote:<br>
</div>
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I'm a little disappointed to hear Sketchup is no longer free. I
was planning on doing some experimenting/learning with energy plus
and from what I know sketchup was an integral part of the new
graphical front end for that program. It doesn't do the energy
efficiency movement much good if the free analysis engines require
$5,000 to $10,000 in associated software to use them. This is
fine for the power users because they have this software already
and use it extensively throughout their normal business. Google
has made some other moves in this area by buying Nest and shutting
down another free monitoring/control system they had in their
stable. It does make it tough for the little guy to need a $4,000
AutoCad seat to get a basic 2D DWG footprint to start an eQuest
analysis. Then M$ comes along with a new OS and with a little
collusion your $4,000 program is obsolete. Luckily DWG is no
longer proprietary. DraftSight is a free 2D DWG program released
by Dassault. Now they aren't entirely benevolent either as it is
a lead in to their SolidWorks 3D but don't look a gift horse in
the mouth. It is great, stable and supported with free updates.
There is a version that runs on Linux. It will give you a free
DWG footprint to get started in the eQuest wizards and keep you
out of the proprietary software wars.<br>
I suppose I should conclude this with 4 pages of legal boilerplate
identifying all the trademarks mentioned, legal disclaimers,
economic disclaimers, etc, etc, etc. That stuff makes my head
hurt. I need to get back to engineering and trying to make our
planet a safer, better place. So basically, a free tip in the
running battle of conflicting business models. BTW support ends
for XP April 8, 2014.<br>
Bruce Easterbrook P.Eng.<br>
Abode Engineering<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 28/03/2014 2:44 PM, Chris Baker
wrote:<br>
</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">I have not
used equest until about 2 weeks ago but I’ve experimented
with some of the other platforms and equest is by far the
most reasonable to work with.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">The older
release of version 3.65 was a little buggy but those have
since been worked out from what I’ve seen so far.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">But I will
say that it depends on what your existing design files are
(Autocad or Revit). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">If you have
your project already drawn up in revit there is a revit
add-on that you can install for energy plus that will
recognize windows, zones, building shell, etc.. (you have
to specify each with the add-on). You then export a file
to energy plus and continue the energy modeling process.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">There is also
an add-on for “Sketchup” that does the same thing. If you
already have a 3d model in revit, sketchup is
unnecessary. If you have a 3d model in Autocad, you can
export that to sketchup, then use the sketchup add-on to
specify the shell, zones, windows and doors, you would
then use the add-on to create the file for energy plus. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Sketchup
(which is by google) would require you to draw the
building in 3d from scratch if you don’t have a 3d model
drawn yet.. I wasn’t happy with that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Plus,
sketchup is no longer FREE as it was in the past. The
newest version of the Sketchup allows you to install and
use the energy plus add-on. However, Sketchup now has a
brief trial period after which you are required to pay a
few hundred dollars to purchase the software (which you
would likely only use once for the purpose of exporting to
energy plus). I didn’t like that either!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Thus, If you
have a 3d model or BIM drawn up in Autocad, energy plus is
probably the easiest way to go. Otherwise, eQuest is
probably the best alternative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">eQuest is
very straightforward and easy to use. It does have its
quirks! But any issues I’ve had were quickly resolved
through this usergroup. And this is my first time doing
the energy modeling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Chris Baker<br>
CCI CAD Drafter<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Fort
Wainwright, Alaska<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF
1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:equest-users-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org">equest-users-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org</a>
[<a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-freetext"
href="mailto:equest-users-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org">mailto:equest-users-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Demba Ndiaye<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, March 27, 2014 2:42 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated"
href="mailto:equest-users@lists.onebuilding.org">equest-users@lists.onebuilding.org</a>;
Building Sim Forum<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Equest-users] eQUEST v3.65 build
7163 released Mar 18 2014<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Our team has
so far resisted to make the switch to the new version
eQuest 3.65.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">For those
experiencing this new version, do you think that it is
sturdy and stable enough? Any irritating issue you see?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D">Thanks, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;color:#C30000">Demba Ndiaye</span></b><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;color:#C30000"> |</span><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;color:#C00000"> </span><b><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;color:#7F7F7F"> Senior Energy
Analyst/Mechanical Engineer<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:sierra.nguyen@setty.com">demba.ndiaye@setty.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:10.5pt;color:#7F7F7F">Voice:
703-691-2115<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div style="border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF
1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in">
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:equest-users-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org">equest-users-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org</a>
[<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:equest-users-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org">mailto:equest-users-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>Brian Fountain<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, March 27, 2014 11:42 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:equest-users@lists.onebuilding.org">equest-users@lists.onebuilding.org</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Equest-users] eQUEST v3.65 build 7163
released Mar 18 2014 - fixes hourly report viewer<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">I was visiting
doe2.com this morning (as you do from time to time -- you
know) and found that there was a relatively recent release
of a new v 3.65 build. From the “what’s new” document:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">eQUEST v3.65<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">build 7163 – public
release ~ 18 March 2014 – w/ DOE-2.2 v48r <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Fixes:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">• Fixed issues with
the simulation detailed results viewer application
(D2SimViewer.exe) that <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">prevented the viewing
of hourly results in some instances (all appeared as zero
values) when <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">the correct results
were located on the simulation output file (the .sim
file).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">• Fixed issues with
the installation procedure sometimes failing in cases
where the installation is <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">directed to a drive
mounted from a network location.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Since I just sent this
to the whole mailing list, you may wish to <i>wait for a
few days</i> before downloading the new build. I don’t
want to cause an unexpected flood of download requests on
the doe2.com site.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">If others notice a new
eQUEST release, please post a note here. I tend to miss
them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Cheers,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-CA">Brian<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<br>
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