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Re: I LIKE TRNSYS



Edward,

Thank you for your comments. I have included some answers in the text below. Many TRNSYS users have expressed similar concerns and some frustration about some aspects of TRNSYS 15 and we are trying to improve that for TRNSYS 16. I am sure you will have other comments/complaints about TRNSYS 16 after it's released but you should never hesitate to express them in a constructive way, as you did.

I take this opportunity to remind all users that they are welcome to share their examples / tutorials with others. Many TRNSYS users are teachers and I am sure some of you have created such material for students or colleagues starting to use TRNSYS. If you want to share such material, please contact me directly and I will make it available on the website.

Concerning the manuals, they will be reorganized in TRNSYS 16 but I am afraid the sum of them will still amount to a "thick manual" (or a big .PDF file, which is more environmentally friendly). But we are trying to make the TRNSYS experience less scary for beginners.

Dear TRNSYS users,

When I decided to order TNRNSYS some months ago, it was because I wanted to
save time developing my own "radiation processor", "data reader", "control",
and most importantly "building" model.

When TRNSYS 15.3 arrived what I found was that the REFERENCE manual is as THICK
as the previous version 14 ordered by my former colleague.

It turns out that the "radiation processor" and "data reader" save my time
considerably. Unfortunately, I also needed to develop my own collector and
thermal storage models because the TYPES available in TNRSYS do not suit my
work. And I had to struggle hard to develop my DLLs so that they were
recoqnized by TRNSYS.

Besides the standard library, many component libraries are available for TRNSYS. A good starting point to look for components is:
http://sel.me.wisc.edu/trnsys/trnlib/library.htm
You can also send emails to this list to check if the component you need is available.


When I started familiarising myself with TYPE 19 (single zone model) I learned
that I would have difficulty when I deal with more than one zones building. And
last week Michael suggested to swicth to TYPE 56 in response to an enquiry from
Pietro. I therefore "swicthed" to TYPE 56. Will Type 19 still appear in next
TNRSYS version ?

Yes, but Type 56 is the preferred way of simulating buildings (single- or multi-zone) because of its visual interface and its continuous development.



What I experienced is similar to Pietro's. I have in front of me a PREBID Version 4.0 manual and a section 4.8.8.2.3 from THICK REFERENCE MANUAL. These do not help me much. Four pages example given in PREBID Ver. 4.0 manual is too short for me. For example, I still have difficulties in entering or defining my own layers or wall types, instead of using the built-in wall types or layers. I found for example that once I defined MYLAYER01 or MYWALL1 I cannot delete it from the list.

That is very true, but that will not be the case anymore in TRNSYS 16.

Then I looked at Section 4.8.8.2.3 of THICK MANUAL. The only information I
found useful there is the first one and a half pages (pp 4.8.8.2.3-1 and
4.8.8.2.3-2). The list starting from page 4.8.8.2.3.2 to 4.8.8.2.3-13 does not
help increase my understanding. These are the results of running the PREBID !
What I need is HOW TO CREATE SUCH RESULTS. And that means a more detailed
explanation of EXAMPLES.

TRNSYS 16 has a new wizard to create building projects (a development version has been showed during the last users days). This should make the whole process of creating projects (mainly building projects) from scratch easier.


And while I'm now patiently (impatiently) trying to learn more about PREBID, I
have already some "worries" in my mind as to the "connections" of components in
IISBiAt to utilise information I generate from PREBID, a problem similar to C H
Choong's.

Two weeks ago a colleague came asking whether I knew any TRNSYS course in
Australia. Perhaps I also need to attend a TRNSYS course, given my "slowness"
in grasping the information provided in the THICK MANUAL.

Upcoming TRNSYS courses are listed at:
http://sel.me.wisc.edu/trnsys/announcements
As I said before, a course is probably the less frustrating way of learning how to use TRNSYS, so I encourage you to attend one if you can (I know at least two advanced users who would not mind teaching a course in Australia ;-) ). But many people have become (very) advanced users without ever attending a course.


But I think what's most important in the future version of TRNSYS is more
READABLE, UNDERSTANDABLE manual, with more detailed information on the EXAMPLES
or CASE STUDIES written for beginner like me. And addressing some other
problems often experienced by TRNSYS users (beginners like me especially). For
example every time I edit my project (add or delete a component) I need to
check the order of components, otherwise I give me some trouble when running
the project.

Again, we tried to improve the situation regarding that problem for the next version:
- Equations can be added in any order (no need to order them)
- The TRNSYS Studio (next generation of IISiBat) will optimize the
component order for you, e.g. placing the data readers before the
solar radiation processors


Best of luck in your TRNSYS simulations!

Michaël Kummert

--
_________________________________________________________

Michaël Kummert

Solar Energy Laboratory - University of Wisconsin-Madison
1303 Engr Res Bldg, 1500 Engineering Drive
Madison, WI 53706

Tel: +1 (608) 263-1589
Fax: +1 (608) 262-8464
E-mail: kummert@xxxxxxxxxxxxx

SEL Web Site: http://sel.me.wisc.edu
TRNSYS Web Site: http://sel.me.wisc.edu/trnsys