Simergy Help contains a number of different resources to help you to get up to speed with Simergy, address questions, and view examples and suggested workflows.
The CHM file is the larger repository where a majority of the resources described below reside. The CHM file contains a substantial amount of information that ranges from the workspace descriptions for the Simergy interface to the different areas, categories and down to the field level. In addition, the EnergyPlus Input Output Reference, which contains over 2700 pages of documentation, is linked to the CHM as well. There is integration between these two Help Resources allowing you to use both effectively to answer questions about the Simergy interface and the EnergyPlus analysis engine. The degree of integration with the Simergy CHM file is like all other Help documentation, and it is a work-in-progress. Not every detailed field level description is incorporated, but at a minimum basic information is there.
See more detail about using the help file in the How To Use Help section
Note: If you run across areas and fields that do not have explanations please let us know by sending an e-mail to support@digitalalchemypro.com
The Guides are subsets of the Simergy CHM content that make more detailed information about certain topics readily available. They are provided in a CHM file format as well to enable easy navigation and to provide all the relevant links to the different Help Resources as well.
Walks users through the various workspaces in Simergy to introduce the structure of the program and an introduction to some of the features.
Walks users through configuring T24 analysis for checking a building model against the California Energy Code (Title 24 – 2013).
Walks users through configuring graphs and tables to look deeper into the results and output variables from a simulation.
The Daylighting Guide walks through the steps to incorporate Daylighting Controls into your BEM. Key topics include:
The Natural Ventilation Guide goes through a series of NatVent Design Scenarios to explain the capabilities and provide examples/tutorials that will assist you to set up and simulate your own Natural Ventilations models.
The sample file ASHRAE -7 VAV (referred to as System 7) installed with Simergy at C:\Users\Public\Simergy\Samples\Sample_Projects is "simulation ready". The sample file contains all the components and input values required, and is an example of a model containing a HVAC system type that contains multiple water loops in addition to the air loop. It is a sample file that new Simergy users as well as experienced EnergyPlus users will find beneficial to review and study. The System 7 Guide contains a breakdown of the different components of the sample file that are presented by going through each tab on the Simergy Interface. The Simergy Map also displays all of the Libraries and Templates Categories that are used within the sample file and they are mapped to the different interface tabs.
The "go to source" for getting familiar and addressing initial questions about EnergyPlus. The EnergyPlus Input Output Reference (IO Ref) contains comprehensive documentation of EnergyPlus down to the field level. In addition to the object and field level descriptions, it provides examples of input values and explanation of the output variables associated with each object. It is a vast wealth of information that is crucial to understanding what is under the hood of Simergy.
Both resources live in the same place, and the integration with Simergy Help is done currently in two ways:
As mentioned in "10 Things" Simergy doesn't require the user to specify nodes as is required in EnergyPlus. So don't be surprised when you are looking at the object descriptions in EnergyPlus and you discover the fields for the Simergy Component do not align with the ones for the EnergyPlus object completely. This is one reason why relevant descriptions from the IO Ref have been input directly into the Simergy Help, so that there is less potential for confusion.
Simergy Help will continue to be enhanced and the degree of integration with the IO Ref increased, so the ease of jumping across topics within each resource. In addition, other EnergyPlus documentation sources, such as the Engineering Reference, Output Details and Examples, Tips and Tricks Using EnergyPlus and others will be integrated with Simergy Help. To access the other EnergyPlus documentation pdfs, you can find them within the documentation folder where EnergyPlus has been installed on your computer.
Throughout the Simergy Help documentation examples have been introduced to walk you through how to do different things within Simergy. In addition there are links to examples within the EnergyPlus IO Ref.
A series of 6-12 min. video tutorials that cover different areas and approaches to using Simergy. The videos are currently available on the Simergy website on the Help and Support page . Short video tutorials will continue to be added to the series.
A starter set of common FAQs that provide insight and detailed explanations, examples and links to more information for a range of different feature areas within Simergy.
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