Energy
and
Design
PCs
Computers can help in lots of ways,
but don't spend $500 on energy
analysis to shave a few dollars off the
heating bill.
by Drew Gillett
Despite 15 years of effort by governments,
professional associations,
engineers, and researchers, there is
still no foolproof method to calculate
the energy requirements of any given
building.
Why? Buildings are complex systems
that interact in complex ways
with their occupants, energy systems,
and climates. Specifying all this input
data-if you can find it-for any
method of calculation, takes a great deal
of time, more than can usually be justified
on a single project. Furthermore,
more, few buildings are built precisely
as designed. Consequently, predictions
are often off by more than 50
percent of the building's actual