General Information

Modified on Mon, 09 Jan 2023 at 11:48 AM

This article contains information about high-level details that apply to the building or unit as a whole.

Reference the following descriptions for input-specific guidance.

Name	The name for Ekotrope to display in the Favorite Designs list and elsewhere. It does not affect the results of energy calculations, but does appear on printed reports.
Floors on or Above Grade	The number of on or above-grade conditioned floors, including walk-out basements. "1" should be entered for a single-story dwelling, "2" for a two-story dwelling, etc. Attics should not be included unless they are intentionally conditioned and finished as living space. For apartments, enter the number of floors for each unit, not for the whole building. The number of floors must be less than or equal to four. Any dwellings with more than four floors on or above grade are not within Ekotrope's modeling scope.
Number of Bedrooms	The number of rooms that have the possibility of being used as a bedroom (e.g., a room which may be used either as a den or a bedroom should appear in this entry as a bedroom). Enter the total number of bedrooms if the dwelling is multi-family. RESNET 2006 Standards describe a bedroom as: a room or space 70 square feet or greater, with egress window and closet, used or intended to be used for sleeping. A "den", "library", "home office" with a closet, egress window, and 70 square feet or greater or other similar rooms shall count as a bedroom, but living rooms and foyers shall not.
Conditioned Floor Area	The floor area of the Conditioned Space Volume within a building, minus the floor area of attics, floor cavities, crawlspaces, and basements below air sealed and insulated floors. For more detailed guidance on what qualifies, reference ANSI/RESNET 380, the definition of Conditioned Floor Area.
Infiltration Volume	Infiltration Volume as defined by ANSI/RESNET 380 (page 4). This value is used in the conversion of infiltration rate to and from Air Changes per Hour (ACH). Roughly speaking, this should include all volume within the primary air barrier. For example, include conditioned crawl spaces, ignore unconditioned attics. Dropped ceilings should be ignored -- the expected ceiling height should be used instead. If 100% of the conditioned space is finished and heated to thermostat setpoints, Infiltration Volume can be calculated by multiplying the conditioned floor area (previous input) by the average ceiling height (in the conditioned/finished space).
Residence Type	This choice will impact: 1. Appliance usage and consumption assumptions made by Ekotrope or its implemented standards where appropriate. 2. The 2018 ERI path. For 2018 ERI, it matters whether the building is covered by IRC or not. The 2018 IRC scope (R101.2) includes 'detached one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses not more than three stories above grade' and defines townhouses as 'a single-family dwelling unit constructed in a group of three or more attached units in which each unit extends from foundation to roof and with a yard or public way on not less than two sides' (from Chapter 2: Definitions). According to RESNET Standards, the Multi-family/Duplex, whole building options should not be used to model individual units of a HERS rated building.
Floor Number	The floor level in a multifamily building of the front entrance to this unit. Use 0 for basement or sub-ground level, 1 for ground level, 2 for 2nd floor, etc.
Total Units in Building	If the design describes a multi-family building or a unit within a multi-family building, enter the total number of units in the building here. This field impacts the results similarly to Residence Type. This field will always be 1 for single-family homes.
Unconditioned, Attached Garage?	If the design includes an unconditioned garage, check this box. This will affect the estimated electricity usage of the building as per RESNET Standards.
Electric Vehicle Ready Space	Please read full article here