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Support Desk Policy

Posted by Andy Tindale on 13-Feb-23 02:53 PM

How to obtain support. DesignBuilder support is provided through our web based Support Desk.
Telephone support. Telephone support is not provided. If you call the sales office asking for urgent support you will be referred to the Support Desk because this is the most efficient way to ensure that the most appropriate DesignBuilder Engineer answers your question, giving you the fastest response time. Although not part of DesignBuilder's standard support offering, an online session or call can be arranged at extra cost where necessary.
Support allocation. New licenses come with support included.
Turnaround times. The Support Desk aims to answer simple questions on the same working day that the request arrives, especially if the "Critical" priority flag is used. Some questions take longer to answer though. Examples of support issues that may take longer include questions on numeric simulation results involving complex models, especially those with Detailed HVAC. Unless we are particularly busy most general questions will be answered within 2 working days of receipt of the question.
Previous versions. DesignBuilder provides support for v7 and v6 but not older versions of the software.
Licensing and installation issues. Licensing and installation issues are supported for all valid license holders.
UK Certification. Customers using the SBEM and DSM software must have attended a DesignBuilder 1-day SBEM training course (or equivalent) before being eligible for receiving software support.
Students. DesignBuilder Software does not commit to timescales for student support requests - they will be actioned if and when it is possible and no guarantee is provided that questions will be answered at all. Students wishing to learn details of algorithms used in the simulations are referred to the EnergyPlus "Engineering Reference" Guide:

pdf - https://www.energyplus.net/documentation

Scripts and EMS. The Support Desk is not generally able to offer a service for debugging or advising on the possible cause of errors in scripts such as EMS programs. The EnergyPlus EMS application guide (see above for link to EnergyPlus documentation downloads) provides a section on debugging EMS programs which is a good starting point for tracking down problems. If you need help with developing EMS programs please ask the Support Desk about our consultancy service.
Support Desk purpose. The main purpose of the DesignBuilder Support Desk is to help customers with particular problems they are facing in using the software. It is not intended as a mechanism for obtaining basic training. If you need help in learning the software please visit our training web page.