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Spend more time designing and less time modelling. An easy-to-use interface to accurately quantify performance in the fastest available workflow.

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Fast, accurate modelling throughout the whole design process gives you confidence in your designs from concept to completion.

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D1S7: Openings Model Data

How to specify the performance of openings (focused on glazing), different methods of specifying and editing opening dimensions, copying openings, and fast methods to apply selected opening and shading data to selected facades.

  1. Openings tab and templates
  2. Façade options (%WWR etc.)
  3. Window cills, reveals, frames and dividers
  4. Overview of shading options
  5. Glazing library
  6. Creating and editing glazing
  7. Glazing simplifications
  8. Drawing openings onto surfaces
  9. Customised surfaces
  10. Cloning openings at surface and building levels
  11. Editing the dimensions of existing openings
  12. Using the load data from template tool to apply different glazing and shading types to facades with different orientations etc.
  13. Reviewing glazing performance using a cooling design calculation

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  • "I have watched the steady progression of DesignBuilder for the last 10 years or so, and having seen recent improvements in DesignBuilder’s HVAC and LEED modeling I decided to attend their training. I was both surprised and pleased to find how easy to use DesignBuilder is compared to the other similar tools I’ve tried, especially given the power and flexibility offered by the underlying EnergyPlus, Radiance and CFD engines. I’m really pleased that after a week’s training I feel ready to produce accurate results and outputs for loads and sizing calculations and energy analysis. The ability to also undertake fully-integrated daylighting and CFD analysis from the same model you use for loads and thermal simulations is also a very big plus point."
    David Ellis PE, Virginia 22102, USA
  • " We have had a very positive experience with DesignBuilder this semester as it was the first year we shifted from our previous simulation software to DesignBuilder. Our students seem to spend less time on learning the software and more on actually understanding the results and being able to analyse them."
    Dr Shahaboddin Resalati - Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Architecture and Building Physics Architectural Engineering Group, School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University, UK
  • " The graphical user interface of DesignBuilder is comprehensive and intuitive, allowing us to model complex buildings simply and quickly. The data management structure (data hierarchy and inheritance) allows us to assign model data quickly and accurately, improving our efficiency. The power and flexibility of EnergyPlus, the underlying simulation engine, enables us to model a building in fine detail where required so that we can accurately analyse its performance. This is particularly helpful when calibrating the model with actual energy consumption to obtain a reliable close match when assessing potential improvements and energy conservation measures."
    Alessandro Righi, architect and researcher at IUAV - Laboratory technical physics
  • " We utilised DesignBuilder software to carry out detailed natural ventilation assessments on buildings at our UK gas plants in order to demonstrate compliance with hazardous area regulations. First of all I would like to praise the initial support received from DesignBuilder staff, who were extremely knowledgeable and provided a welcoming point of contact for support and advice. Having used the majority of the alternative building simulation software packages on the market, I found without a doubt DesignBuilder the most user friendly and enjoyable to use. The modelling program itself is fantastically simple allowing even complex buildings to be developed quickly and easily. The user interface of the calculation part of the software is well thought out and the results outputs are graphical and concise. Within a few hours I had got to grips with the software and obtained the results I desired. It has allowed Shell to present compliance to regulating authorities, who were also impressed with the visualisation displays and graphical outputs. I fully endorse DesignBuilder, and in particular how easy it was to learn and use compared to similar building simulation software on the market. "
    Iain Begg, Senior HVAC Engineer, Shell Projects and Technology Group, Aberdeen, Scotland
  • " DesignBuilder’s clear, well-structured layout and intuitive help system makes it a much simpler tool to learn and use, and compared to other simulation packages the creation of professional-looking geometry is much easier. The ease of use extends to other areas of the program such as thermal bridging analysis and setting up HVAC systems, and the capability to easily model adjacent ground conditions is very useful. A very important aspect of our work is optimisation, and DesignBuilder seems to be the only software that currently provides this functionality. We are encouraged that the development team have taken some of our functionality and user efficiency suggestions on board for the next release. We are already using DesignBuilder for research, and for the above reasons we think it is a tool that our students will find easier to use so we will be using it for teaching next academic year. "
    Professor Ljubomir Jankovic, Birmingham School of Architecture, Birmingham City University
  • " We decided to go out and measure some natural light levels in buildings that we have access to.... One building was our own office, and the other was a green building we worked on which will be tenanted in 2 weeks so we had a chance to take readings in the same environment for which we simulated. I am happy to say that the DesignBuilder results are very close to what we measured... What impresses me is that if we measure a value of 250 lux at 3m from the facade, DB returns similar values. This means that if we say that 40% of a building's usable area will have lux levels of 250 or above, then the measured results correlate with that. ... It certainly makes us confident in the results we give to clients."
    Warren Gray, Mechanical Engineer, Solid Green Consulting
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    Dr Manfred J. Zapka, University of Hawaii
  • " Gold stars all round .... Many thanks again for the high quality of customer service I receive from all at DesignBuilder, it is quite refreshing and a credit to your company."
    Mark O’Neill, DM Hall LLP, Glasgow, Scotland
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News & Updates

Webinar: Streamline Your ASHRAE 90.1 and LEED Workflow, 20th Nov 2024
DesignBuilder v7.3 is released!
DesignBuilder Climate Analytics is released
DesignBuilder v7.0.2.006 qualifies for US DOE 179D commercial building tax deductions

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