New Service Spotlight: Guardian’s SunGuard Building Energy Calculator

Guardian’s SunGuard Building Energy Calculator is now available to provide facility managers (fms) a comprehensive tool to evaluate commercial glazing options and their impact on energy use and design. The Building Energy Calculator allows for comparison of building energy costs for multiple glazing options in prototypical buildings based on multiple variables.

Users are asked to input data through a number of prompts including building type, fuel type and costs, daylighting controls, window orientation, and glazing options. Once the data has been entered, the calculation engine applies utility rates and specific weather data for 52 cities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico to generate energy cost and consumption data in tabular form and simple, easy to read bar chart graphics. The results highlight key advantages to using energy efficient glazings and their impact on monthly and annual costs as well as consumption under standard and peak demand conditions.

The calculator is simple to use, offers a variety of glazing options, and provides a basic and intuitive summary of energy costs so the benefits of particular products can be quickly determined and compared.

“With greater emphasis and interest in LEED and energy savings in commercial projects, the calculator will provide a quick and consistent way to understand the trade offs between various products. It does so using comparative estimates of energy costs and consumption rather than only comparing product technical data,” said Chris Dolan, director of commercial glass marketing.

Group 14 Engineering developed the calculator exclusively for Guardian using the DOE2 calculation engine created by J. Jeff Hirsch & Associates. “Group 14 designed a powerful analytical tool with a very simple user interface, and this tool provides us with a solid platform for future development,” said Dolan.