Knowledge base

BREEAM (1)

General (4)

• Is DesignBuilder approved for BREEAM ENE 01 calculations?
• Which BREEAM credits does DesignBuilder calculate?
• Is DesignBuilder "compliant" with CIBSE AM11 (BREEAM requirement)

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CFD (1)

General (7)

• Calculation of Age-of-Air and Local Air Change Effectiveness
• CFD convergence issues
• DesignBuilder crash when trying to show CFD slice

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Case Studies (1)

General (4)

• Comparison of Variable Air Volume (VAV), Passive Chilled Beam (PCB) & Under Floor Air Distribution (UFAD) Systems
• Cost Benefit Analysis of an Urban Neighbourhood Refurbishment Project
• Quantify Performance for a 20-Year Energy Performance Contract

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CIBSE TM52/59 Overheating and TM54 (3)

General (1)

• Air velocity for comfort calculations

Weather files (4)

• Adding TM59 weather templates
• London data sets/weather stations for Overheating calculations
• CIBSE Weather Data shows .stat file missing message

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TM54 (1)

• DesignBuilder CIBSE TM54 Modelling resources

Daylighting (1)

General (5)

• How to generate Spatial Daylight Autonomy for a Single Day
• Daylighting Tools in DesignBuilder v7
• Solar tubes in DesignBuilder Daylighting

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Data files, Template and Components (1)

General (11)

• DesignBuilder dsb file version compatibility
• Changes to Lighting Schedule Library in v7.1 and Later
• Can't find previously created construction (schedule, material etc)

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EnergyPlus Simulations (8)

General (9)

• Working with Large Models and Speeding up simulations
• Can HVAC systems be modelled?
• Designing for Future Climate

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Hourly Weather Data (8)

• Add a new custom weather file (EPW) to project
• Can I use custom hourly weather data?
• Why is the year always 2002 in the hourly weather data file supplied by DesignBuilder?

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IDF files (3)

• Exporting IDF files
• IDF files generated by DesignBuilder don't run in EP-Launch
• How to identify surfaces and zones in EnergyPlus IDF data

Outputs (5)

• Requesting additional outputs for your simulation
• How to view solar radiation incident on a surface
• Why don't I see the heat balance simulation results (walls, glazing, roof etc gains)

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Problems and Solutions (13)

• Component or template missing from lists
• Why is the maximum cooling load not the same as the sum of the internal and solar gains?
• Why is the maximum cooling load not the same as the sum of the internal and solar gains?

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Simulation issues (9)

• 'No data' after a simulation has successfully finished
• ** Severe ** [Material:NoMass][xxxxx][thermal_resistance] - "0.000100" - Expected number greater than or equal to 0.001000
• Abnormal Energyplus termination - please contact DesignBuilder Support

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Simulation Manager (2)

• JobServer not available
• Simulation Manager Troubleshooting

Top tips (1)

• Use Pixel Counting for Greater Speed, Flexibility and Accuracy

Hardware and OS (2)

Hardware (5)

• How to enable dedicated graphics card (GPU) for DesignBuilder
• Screen size resolution issues
• Can DesignBuilder make use of extra processors (e.g. 4 core)?

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Operating System (3)

• Does DesignBuilder run on Macs?
• Which operating systems does DesignBuilder support?
• Does DesignBuilder work with 64-bit Windows

HVAC (2)

Simple (6)

• Changes to heating/cooling setback temperature makes no difference to results
• Is DesignBuilder approved by CIBSE for plant sizing applications?
• Walk in cooler, freezer or cold room (Simple HVAC)

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Detailed (8)

• Demand Controlled Ventilation Modelling
• DX-Assisted Ventilation Unit
• Heat pumps and Geothermal Systems in DesignBuilder

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Installation (5)

General (6)

• Creating a silent install
• Delete user Data folder
• How can I use 2 different versions of DesignBuilder?

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Installation issues (4)

• Designbuilder main window is not visible
• Problems to run DesignBuilder MSI installer in Parallels
• Runtime error 70: Permission Denied

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Uninstallation issues (5)

• Completely remove DesignBuilder v3 from a computer
• Completely remove DesignBuilder v4 from a computer
• Installing/Uninstalling DesignBuilder gets Error Code: -5004 : 0x80070005

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Software issues (13)

• DesignBuilder crash while using drawing tools in MACs running BootCamp
• DesignBuilder didn't close down cleanly last time... Do you want to recover any lost data
• DesignBuilder doesn't open when laptop's screen is off

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Revision History (3)

• DesignBuilder v7.3 Revision History
• DesignBuilder v7.0 Revision History
• DesignBuilder v6.1 Revision History

LEED (1)

General (6)

• Which LEED v4 and v4.1 credits does DesignBuilder calculate?
• Space Areas in LEED summary and ABUPS
• Reporting VRF capacities, COP and other data

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Licenses (2)

Single user licenses (10)

• How to activate a single user Activation code
• How to deactivate a single user licence in DesignBuilder?
• Activating a single user *. lic license file

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Site licenses (8)

• Adding seats to existing site license
• Guidance to setup network license for multi-site access
• How to monitor seats usage in site licenses

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Modelling (1)

General (26)

• DesignBuilder geometry convention flexibility
• How to check the length of each thermal bridge
• Using Offset Snap to Draw Perimeter Zones

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Natural Ventilation (2)

Calculated (4)

• Error: Too many iterations in Airflow Network simulation
• How can I allow calculated natural ventilation when the outside air is warmer than inside
• Large horizontal openings and tall spaces

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General (1)

• Is DesignBuilder suitable for modelling natural ventilation?

Parametric, Optimisation and Sensitivity Analysis (1)

General (3)

• LCC Optimisation Results Not Reproduced Manually
• Customise Your Optimisation, Parametric Analysis and UA/SA Analyses with Custom Scripts
• Parametric Analysis Data Export

Sales (1)

General (7)

• DesignBuilder New Version Feature list
• Single-user versus Network licenses
• Getting Started after buying a Single-User licence

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SBEM and DSM (5)

BRUKL (11)

• Display Lighting on BRUKL
• Specifying Design Lighting
• BRUKL Ventilation Reporting

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EPC and Action Plans (13)

• SBEM 6.1.e Patch 04 (Scotland Section 63)
• SBEM 6.1.e Patch02 (Kaizen Certification)
• Why do some of the recommendations not appear in the Recommendations report?

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Expert (5)

• Lighting Controls
• 2021 (SBEM v6) Building Ratings
• Modelling individual zones to find optimum improvements

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Problems and Solutions (13)

• SBEM Applications and Versions
• Convert model geometry from DesignBuilder v7 to DesignBuilder v6
• DSM Weather Data for 2021 regulations

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Previous Releases (11)

• How to change NCM version from 5.6b to 6.1b?
• SBEM 6.1.e Patch01
• XML will not lodge due to Negative TER

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Support (1)

General (8)

• DesignBuilder dsb file version compatibility
• How to get the most from the DesignBuilder Support Desk
• Program Help for previous versions

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Top tips (1)

General (18)

• Using Offset Snap to Draw Perimeter Zones
• Why are Internal Partitions Not Accessible at Zone Level?
• Designing for Future Climate

View all 18