For Carl, Wherever he may be:
I have used Solar 5.4 extensively and found it to be a valuable
design and comparative analysis tool. If you are planning to rely
on the energy projections at all or make predictions about energy
savings, obtain TMY data for your climate and run the 365 day
calculations. The 12 day (using an average day for each month)
calulation does not provide a reliable method for evaluating clear
vs. overcast sky conditions. One additional thing to be aware of
is an aparant bug in calculation of cost of heating fuel . As I
recall Solar 5.3 calculated cost of heating fuel as it contributes
to the total energy costs at $1.00 per therm no matter what the
rate is set at. I had sent a note to UCLA (Murray Milne) to let
them know. When I received my copy of Solar 5.4, the problem was
still there. They may well have corrected it by now. Still Solar
5.4 is an easy to use and surprisingly powerful tool. Once you
get familiar with the 3D plots you really wish other energy tools
would allow display of data in this way.
_____________________________________
Loren E. Abraham, AIA, IDSA
President - DTI/ERG
912 St Charles Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22901
Vc: 804 296 4197 Pg: 804 963 1511 Fax: 804 971 3729
© 1997 Daybreak Technologies Inc. / Environmental Research Group
> >I've found it tremendously useful for figuring out the relative
> >payback for different types of improvements, like better
windows
> >versus wall or attic insulation.
> >
> >It's from UCLA and can be had from:
> >www.aud.ucla.edu/energy-design-tools/
> >
> >/carl
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