PC Screening Tools for Commercial Building Technologies

The Customer Systems Division at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) is developing materials to enhance the adoption of advanced electric technologies. Among in these materials are a number of software programs. COMTECH and CooLAiD are two of these programs, which allow technical and non- technical analysts to answer questions about advanced end?use technologies, energy impacts, and utility bills for individual customers. These programs require information about customer energy-use patterns, utility rates, equipment cost and performance and operating strategy. The provide estimates of utility bills, energy use, peak demand and equipment costs. The strengths of these programs are summarized as follows. They have all the features we have come to expect from good PC software. They are visual and interactive. Graphics are available throughout the program to illustrate input data and calculation results. Finally, they execute quickly, which allows users to conduct what-if analyses easily. This paper describes the features and uses of these programs.