Green Building

ENERGY_CONCEPT TM ©

Energy Efficiency Estimator

To be released as Free Shareware - beta

The User enters all plan's takeoff quanties from civil & site work, the foundation, floor, up through walls, roof framing, insulation, roofing, windows/doors, finishes, drywall, painting, ceramic tile, appliances, plumbing, ducts & HVAC and, electrical. Sonoran Software™, LLC's Energy Efficiency Estimator ENERGY_CONCEPT™© automatically takes fenestration data of the windows & doors, wall length and height quantities, from the UNIT_FRAMER™ Unit Quantity estimator, which is included in the program. Masonry exterior wall and window/door schedule quantities from Block.Buster.Takeoff™© and or FRAMER_TAKEOFF™ © may also be entered if the user has purchased these programs. Once all project costs, CSI scope and trades are takenoff and entered, calculated and extended, a conceptual estimate is produced. Lacking blue prints, the plans, the User may enter this data from a building which has already been built and calculate the same final analysis as a building in the planning stages.

Now ENERGY_CONCEPT™© steps ahead of any other conceptual estimator. The geographic weather qualities of the site location are then found by using one of the 42,000 USPS Zip Codes, covering the entire 50 states of the USA, which are now included and functioning. ENERGY_CONCEPT™© calculates the project's average weather and extreme weather from Heat Zones, established by the AHS (American Horticultural Society) listed by Zip Code, which are now included and functioning. If the project is located in an atypical Ecozone (within a Zip Code) with aborational Heat Zones, a custom Heat Zone may be created specifically for the project, which are now included and functioning. Accurate ENERGY_CONCEPT™© projections require accurate Heat Zone/Environmental data be entered. Six different grades of energy efficient design and quality levels are calculated and extended, a conceptual estimate with six energy efficiency choices is produced, which are now included and functioning. Next, loan data is entered. ENERGY_CONCEPT™© then amortizes the monthly payment for the payoff periods for each of the six different energy takeoff designs. And for any CSI scope line item in the Schedule of Values, which are now included and functioning. The cost per kilowatt hour for the site location is found by Zip Code, then extracted from a database of all electrical power plants in the USA, from the US DOE (United States Department of Energy) and entered, which are now included and functioning. An estimated monthly electric bill is projected, extracted from a database of all electrical power plants' electrical energy prices in the USA, from the US DOE (United States Department of Energy) and entered, which are now included and functioning. Costs per kilowatt hour are easily updated. Then a break even date is projected. These six different design estimates may be compared and analyzed for an affordable cost effective energy savings. Individual building elements, e.g. the window package may be amortized, breaking out the monthly cost and calculating a break even (pay off) date, which are now included and functioning. A module for "Owner's power back to the grid" will be included. This will decrease pay off periods for specific energy efficient installations such as solar panels. And, calculate credits from "power to the grid" toward mortgage payoff after the energy efficient installations have been paid off. Thereby shortening the term of the building mortgage. The "Active" quantity of CO2 lbs/KW hr is also calculated for the project, or existing building, from the area's electric utility service against the US DOE (United States Department of Energy) yearly data of the quantity of CO2 lbs/KW hr produced by the servicing power plant, which are now included and functioning. This is a conceptual estimator which produces conceptual planning data. There is no guarantee implied that the estimate will produce the actual performance of the building, especially with the changing climate at hand.

When completed, Sonoran Software™, LLC will release the ENERGY_CONCEPT™© license, free of fees, to the general public as Free Shareware in an effort to encourage Energy Efficient Green Building. The program runs now. Additional modules are at 85% completion. E-mail us to register for this exciting new program.

Sonoran Software™, llc

E-mail: sales@sonoran-software.com