IES vs. Energy Plus Plugins
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Does anyone have a comparison of features or know the benefits or disadvantages of the energy analysis tools that work as plug-ins for SketchUp?
There seems to be learning curves with both programs and I would prefer to only have to learn once, although it never seems to work that way in the end.
Thanks for any advice,
Mark -
The E+ plugin is tricky to use. It's really still beta and a little unpredictable. As such it needs a lot of patience. It lacks a couple of critical features IMO, in particular the ability to copy E+ zones with data attached. As a result, if you have a model with lots of otherwise identical areas, you are in for a torrid time, and entry of your E+ data will be a little time-consuming. That said, I am reliably informed by people that know a lot about this stuff, that it is the most advanced and complex analytical engine for energy evaluation. Apparently it can do things that no other evaluation tools can. This is the 'daddy' but needs some time spent to get the best out of it. Peter Ellis, who I think is in charge of the project, is a good guy and responds to e-mail. They need help developing the tool, and when it evolves, it will be awesome. And free.
I haven't used IES, but have heard only good things about the SketchUp IES plugin, and only bad things about IES without it
It's also expensive. -
Thanks for your recommendations.
It might be best to hold off until the E+ is fully developed. I'll be following it. In the mean time I'll probably stick with the code recognized tools that don't involve SketchUp.
Thanks again,
Mark
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