Our Products
Digital Alchemy is globally recognized as experts in Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Building Energy Modeling (BEM). Our experience spans four decades at industry leading companies, and delivering new and innovative projects, products, and consulting. Simergy is our solution for simulation and analysis of building models. BIM Binder is our solution for BIM handover from design and construction to building owners. Please browse the details below and let us know what you think.
SimergyTM
Simergy is an innovative BIM-based product that enables building architects, engineers, contractors, and owners to simulate, analyze, and optimize the performance of their building designs before they are built. It is used by industry leading companies to optimize building energy efficiency, daylighting, and comfort. It is also used to assess compliance to standards like the California Building Energy code.
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BIM Handover TM
BIM Handover is an innovative BIM-based product that enables building designers and contractors to handover an information-rich model of a building to the building owners – for use in building operations. Designers add basic information about products they specify (e.g. equipment). Contractors then add more detailed (as built) information like installation manuals, operating manuals, product parts distributors.
What our Customers say?
"Simergy has the potential to transform the building design process. This robust EnergyPlus graphical user interface will enable energy models to be developed in a fraction of the time and the integrated results analysis capabilities provide Quality Assurance review of the results for rapid troubleshooting. In addition, we feel Simergy will make energy modeling more cost-effective allowing every project the opportunity to inform design through performance-based decisions."
Teresa Rainey, SOM- - Director of High Performance Design - - PE, LEED AP BD+C, BSCP
"HOK has been an industry partner and active participant in the process of developing Simergy. Evidence based design and early performance analysis are essential to our design process. The ability to test multiple high-performance alternates early in the process, use quick drag & drop options, and provide clear data visualization will be a welcome addition to our early design modeling toolbox. We look forward to using Simergy on our projects."
Zorana Bosnic, HOK - - Vice President | Sustainable Design Director - - RIBA, LEED AP BD+C
"We find the market is demanding more from energy modeling tools than ever before. We need a tool that can directly model complex mechanical systems while effectively using it early in design to inform critical decisions. Simergy reduces the number of modeling workarounds we use with conventional modeling software for our high-performance building design systems. Using the power of the EnergyPlus engine Simergy provides the quality results we need while enhancing our energy modeling process from concept into operation."
Suzanne Robinson, R.G. Vanderweil Engineers -- Director of Sustainability -- PE, LEED AP BD+C
Featured Projects
Digital Alchemy is proud of the users of our software products. These pages feature descriptions of customer projects in which Simergy and BIM Binder have been used to deliver high quality results that delight their clients. We hope these inspire you to use our software products to achieve the same level of client satisfaction.
Case Studies
We are often asked if our software products support unusual systems or building components. In the following pages, we feature several projects in which such new and innovative systems have been used. Project models for these samples are available to our professional customers. We hope that these will inspire the use of the systems in more buildings, being developed by our customers.
News
Q1 - 2023
News
- Simergy 5 SR1, SR2, SR3 released
improvements include
o Creating/editing CHP generators
o Performing Daylighting simulations
o Creating/editing Skylight arrays
o Creating/editing Gable roofs
o Selecting thermal zone with thermostat for HVAC equipment
o Editing Systems in Building Systems Creator (TM)
o Creating/editing Material Layer Sets
o Creating/editing building story groups (master & clones)
o Placement of Site power demand & generation eqmt. on roof
o Copying building stories
... o User selection of Climate Zone (CZ) for custom weather files
o User selection/placement/layer visibility with DWG/DXF drawings
o Use of drawing aids: 'Ortho' and various 'Snap Types'
o Deleting building stories
o Switching between workspaces (DWG reload performance)
o User Undo and Redo of changes to the building models
o Recent Projects' images/links in the StartUp canvas
o Startup & File Menu workflows
o Recent Projects images/links in startup canvas
o Close Project workflow
o Cross Workspace workflows
o Undo/Redo workflows
o Model cleanup after delete of objects/groups/systems
o Project/Design Alternative workflows
o Project Name and default filename
o Project team definition
o Building Site workflows
o Create/edit of Site power generation objects
o Create/edit of Site power demand objects
o Building Model workflows
o Create/edit of buildings, sections, zones, and stories
o Copy/clone building story
o Building story multiplier (master/clone stories)
o Manually editing Zone Groups (there are 6 types)
o Changing Constructions template > update building model
o Create/edit of 'Material Layers Sets' in MLS Editor
o Create/edit of glazing and solar shading
o Custom Interiors
o Daylighting, Skylighting, Natural Ventilation
o DWG 'Model Over' UI and layer selection save/restore
o Creating skylight arrays
o Create/edit of roofs
o Separate create/edit slab openings & skylights
o Plan view ruler improvements
o Building Systems workflows
o Configuring Systems templates
o Diagramming of custom systems
o Simulation workflows
o Generating space boundaries for simulation
o Simulation warnings - summary report
o Results Visualization 'New from Template' workflow
o Import/Export workflows
o SaveAs/Open models in SimXML format
o Simergy License workflows
o License expiration & renewal
Read more
Q4 - 2022
News
- Simergy 5 -- Release to Web
o Unique Features
o Building Model Creator™
o Building Systems Creator™
o Intelligent Defaults from Libraries, and Templates
o Model Validation Framework
o High quality BIM to BEM workflow
o Industry leading simulation results visualization
o Key Enhancements
o Improved simulation performance (up to 8x)
o More flexible model creation
... o Object tables – review data for all instances of a chosen object type
o Improved handling of imported models
o Cross-Workspace improvements
o Review tables of multi-object Property collections for:
o Spatial containers = Project, Site, Building, Building stories, Spaces, and Zones
o Building Systems = HVAC equipment in Zones, Water loops, Air Loops, etc.
o Expanded model validation rule sets (building and systems models)
o Building Model
o Modeling with Building Story multipliers (master and clone stories)
o Which significantly reduces simulation times for buildings with repeating stories
o Improved freeform geometry creation/editing (Stories and Spaces)
o 2-click/3-click plan shape or trace creation/editing of geometry
o Add or subtract any number of shapes to create the geometric shape
o Sloped roofs for freeform buildings
o Eliminated the artificial “Roof Story” (roofs are now assemblies in the story below)
o Curtain walls as a new glazing configuration
o Improved Space boundary generation (faster and using less data)
o Improved Material Layer Set Editor
o Building Systems
o New HVAC Sizing Overview workspace
o Support for creating demand-side components in series or in parallel
o Support for creating heat recovery chillers & water heaters (2 water loops on the supply side)
o Improved support for radiant surfaces/assemblies
o Expanded cross-loop connection options
o Expanded templates for Service Hot Water loops
o Equipment Performance Curve diagramming
o Simulation
o Dramatically reduced simulation times (up to 8x faster, depending on the model )
o Download of OpenStudio Energy Efficiency Measures from the DOE server
o Improved Radiance daylighting simulation
o Help/Documentation/Examples/Training/Website Related
o Updated Online Training courses with expanded instructions and reference models
o (Both US and SI unit versions)
o Expanded case studies on website
o Expanded Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Pages - Contributions to EnergyPlus 22-2 completed
- Contributions to OpenStudio 3.5 completed
Read more
Q3 - 2022
News
Simergy 4 -- SR4 & SR5
improvements include:
- Performance (speed) improvement in a download of weather data
- Improved Radiance simulation options
- Support for "Reseed" of slabs
- 4K monitor improvements
- Improved surface splitting for EnergyPlus concave surface limitations
Issue Resolutions include:
...
- F-factor slabs - simulation issues
- Improved surface splitting where convex surfaces are required (shadow casting)
- Solar obstruction representations in 2D/3D
- Improved seeding for spaces and slabs
- Improved Glazing constuctions
- Improved Simergy version update process
- "Remake Building Story"
- "Move external wall reference lines"
- HW tanks
- Schedule validation
- Design Alternative names
- Incorrect schedules in Zone loads templates
Read more