THERMAL ANALYSIS
Schedule Editor
This web app lets you create and edit annual hourly schedules. It features a sophisticated interactive daily profile editor and the ability to assign profiles to any day of the year, including virtual days such as the holiday and design-day types used by EnergyPlus. It can also import and export a range of formats including CSV, DIVA/DaySim, EnergyPlus (IDF/epJSON) and OpenStudio. You can even drag/drop existing EnergyPlus and OpenStudio input files and it will parse out just the schedule information.
ECOTECT and the Average Energy Year
When you perform solar and thermal calculations in Ecotect, it does not do these for any specific year, but rather a standard 'average' energy year. This is true of nearly all thermal and energy analysis tools. Even the weather files used for solar and energy analysis are usually averaged to better represent long-term conditions. This article explains the basic assumptions behind the 'average' energy year and why this approach is more appropriate than using any particular year.
The Thermal Effects of Solar Gain
In many building regulations and simplified analysis methods, solar effects on buildings are characterised only by the exposed aperture area and the average solar transmittance of the glazing used. However, the true impact of solar radiation on the internal conditions within a space are often much more complex than this simple relationship would suggest. To explain the problem, this article tracks solar radiation as it enters through a window and looks at the various factors that govern its resultant effects.
Making a Thermal Comparison
One of the first things many people say when introduced to analytical software is: "OK, but just how accurate is it?". The accuracy of analysis software is important, but in the case of a thermal analysis tool this is not a simple question to answer. This article discusses the many issues you must first consider before comparing measured thermal values against simulation results, not just in ECOTECT but in any thermal analysis tool. It also makes the case for concentrating on relative accuracy in simulation rather than absolute accuracy.
Thermal Modelling - the ECOTECT Way
For ECOTECT to properly 'understand' a thermal analysis model, it requires that you adhere to some specific conventions when constructing it. A lot of work has been done to ensure that you can effectively model most building situations and that the same model can be both analysed in ECOTECT and properly exported to other tools such as EnergyPlus and ESP-r. This article outlines the important elements you must remember when creating thermal models and explains a few shortcuts you can take when modelling multi-storey, multi-zone and earth-bermed buildings.