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cove.tool

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    cove.tool Seeks to Stop Climate Change One Building at a Time. With energy codes updating across America, many developers are rightly worried about the rising costs associated with compliance. The ultimate goal of these codes is to reach net-zero-energy buildings by 2030. Simply carrying on in business as usual fashion is a recipe for dramatic increases in cost per square foot. The AEC industry in general relies heavily on the belief that what worked on the last project will work for this one. Most architects and engineers comply with the new energy codes by specifying the most expensive systems, wall types, windows and control options. However, new processes and advanced algorithms are giving owners the ability to optimize for first costs to make better decisions on energy. That new way of working is to adopt a big data approach with all the options on the table, using rigorous metrics to ensure that the right decisions are being made. Design objectives such as program, construction cost, environmental performance and aesthetics are key factors in an architectural design. Conceptual design decisions about a building’s orientation, massing, materials, components and systems largely determine life-cycle costs of a building. However, with multiple objectives and constraints, the number of decisions quickly spirals out of control. In many cases, limited time and budget restricts the set of design options that can be tested during conceptual design. This leads to design solutions with poor initial and life-cycle performance. Thus, owners need the power of computation and big data to find low cost solutions that still comply with the code. It will not be possible to build any building without simulation within the next five years. As the level of complexity increases, the number of variables considered for analysis should also increase.

    Expertise Required: 

    Beginner to Advanced

    Audience: 

    Architects, Engineers

    Input: 

    Easy to Use Web Interface

    Output: 

    5 MINUTES

    Get an Accurate Energy Model

    Instead of relying on experience or prior projects, run hundreds of full building, heat balance simulations to unlock millions of dollars in savings. Our interactive graph lets you see the whole picture with true optimization.

    CASE STUDY

    2 MINUTES

    Understand the Climate and Share Results

    Get a clear understanding of the climate that you are building in and how to best leverage passive strategies. Once all the passive strategies have been explored, move into the world of active and renewable optimization.

    EXAMPLE REPORT

    ON GOING

    Update your Model as the Design Updates

    We all know that the design of a building is constantly changing, especially during the early phases. Update your automated cove.tool energy model as your design changes to keep track of the building performance with each design decision.

    START YOUR PROJECT

     

    Strengths: 

    ARCHITECTURE 2030
    Manage energy reporting in real time from one dashboard and upload results automatically to the DDx Dashboard.

    LEED
    You can instantly get your preliminary LEED points for the EAc2 credit.

    TEAM INTEGRATION
    You can extend your floating license to invite your team members to collaborate with you on your project.

    SHARE RESULTS
    Use the interactive results tab to aid in decision making and share a custom made PDF report with clients.

    VALIDATED RESULTS
    Every input behind the scenes is validated using the ASHRAE 140 methodology.

    SAVE MONEY
    Use cost optimization to unlock millions of dollars in the project and be high performance.

    REVIT PLUG-IN
    Work with your existing model and import geometry to get rapid feedback as the design progresses.

    RHINO/GRASSHOPPER PLUG-IN
    Use an energy model connection that keeps pace with the parametric workflow.

     

    Country: 
    United States
    Major Capabilities: 
    Whole Building Energy Simulation
    Parametrics and Optimization
    Energy Conservation Measures
    Weather Data and Climate Analysis
    Building Energy Benchmarking
    Building Type: 
    Commercial
    Residential
    Multi Family
    Industrial
    Urban Scale
    Keywords: 
    EnergyPlus
    LEED
    OpenStudio
    Language: 
    English
    Platform: 
    Linux
    Windows
    Mac OS X
    Web/Saas
    Pricing: 
    Free for Non-Commercial/Academic Use
    Free To Try
    Help and Support: 
    Free Email Support
    Free Chat/IM Support
    Free Phone Support
    Subscription Email Support
    Subscription Chat/IM Support
    Subscription Phone Support
    Last Software Update: 
    08 May 2020
    Last Entry Update: 
    02 June 2021
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