Hi Shane,
When I migrated over to Open Buildings and started using the Open Buildings Energy Simulator in January, you mentioned at the time that the Hevacomp Pipe Sizing and Duct Sizing Software would be integrated into Open Buildings at some point this year. Some 10 months on would you advise what stage this is now at please.
Sean
Hi Sean,
Yes indeed, thanks for raising this. The development team have been busy in this regard and these capabilities are scheduled for release with Update 10.
Prior to that, for your information Update 9 is now in the final stages of development and will deliver important fixes and various new capabilities including:
1. Completely new Roof Setup module with ability to:Add false ceilingsSet up roofs and include/exclude specific roomsOption to include any roof overhangs as Shading Elements
2. Room data loss issues resolved.
3. Simplified HVAC System optionPresently creating a new custom HVAC System in HVAC Manager relies heavily on user expertise in Energyplus. The new Simplified HVAC option gives a user-friendly version where the software automatically creates the relevant Energyplus components, depending on the options selected.
4. PartL features:New recommendation report menuNew dropdown option for PartL Northern Ireland New dropdown option for PartL Republic of Ireland
There were many other background matters addressed also. Meanwhile if you have any questions or issues just let us know.
Shane Regan | Principle Building Performance Support EngineerHevacomp to OpenBuildings - A complete guide for every user | Bentley Communities
Thank you for your response. When will Update 9 be released?
Secondly, my electrical colleague has now created an account and had a meeting with three of your colleagues last week about Electrical Open Building/Hevacomp. Whilst he had an interesting meeting there doesn't seem to be an update for Electrical as he is saying that Hevacomp Electrical doesn't do what he wants it to do? What improvements are being made on Hevacomp Electrical?
Thirdly, with regard to Energy Simulator, I ran both CIBSE Heat Loss Calcs and ASHRAE Heat Loss Calcs on Friday as a comparison and in the main the heat loss calcs using ASHRAE were twice that of CIBSE. Can you explain why there is such a difference?
Work on update 9 has been completed and it is undergoing security checks prior to release. From experience the timeframe for such is unpredictable however I expect it to be this quarter. On the electrical front for now the situation remains the same and Hevacomp Electrical continues to be available for electrical calculations.
In relation to CIBSE vs ASHRAE - results differences are always to be expected across different calculations not only because of the differing calculation methodologies of each, but also as each also takes differing inputs from your project data. This often makes it difficult to directly compare.
It would be near impossible to hazard a guess as to the main source of the differences in your instance without seeing the project so I will log a Service Request for you now so you can send it over. I will email you shortly with an upload link.