After login, the tool displays the Buildings page with a view of buildings that have been entered, listed in tables for each of the available tools in Asset Score. New users logging in for the first time initially will see a Welcome page with instructions, and a blank work space after selecting Asset Score.
- Click the green Add a Building button to begin a building project.
- Enter the Building Name, Year Completed, Total Floor Area, and Location, as defined below:
Building Name* – The building name will act as an identifier that will appear on other pages in your project, and on the energy asset score report
Year Completed – Year in which construction was completed, OR year of last major retrofit.
Total Floor Area – The sum of the floor areas of all the spaces within the building with no deductions for floor penetrations other than atria. It is measured from the exterior faces of exterior walls or from the centerline of walls separating buildings but it excludes covered walkways, open roofed-over areas, porches and similar spaces, pipe trenches, exterior terraces or steps, roof overhangs, parking garages, surface parking, and similar features (source = ASHRAE Terminology). Asset Score allows for inclusion of mechanically ventilated parking garages. Note: This input is for reference only. This value may be different than the calculated value the tool uses for scoring which is based on the geometry dimensions entered when creating building blocks.
Location – Building address. Enter an address that includes a US state and zip code. Asset Score models building locations based on zip codes associated with the weather in designated climate zones. If the building is located outside of the United States, select a city and state with a comparable climate zone. Note: Only the zip code is used for modeling purposes; the complete address will be displayed on the energy asset score report for user documentation.
Assessment Type – Radio buttons for Real or Test buildings. These fields are for reference only – used for statistics and troubleshooting by Asset Score staff, and by users to help track buildings for analysis. Selected entries will not appear on the energy asset score report. This field will be set to 'Test' by default for duplicate buildings.
Options – Checkbox options to choose to display options to edit input fields that would ordinarily be hidden:
Display Advanced System Parameters – Checking this box will display system parameter inputs that use standard assumptions in the Asset Score model. These fields can be overridden if known; otherwise the standard assumptions will be used.
Generate a verified Total HVAC System Performance Ratio – Checking this box, sets a subset of Asset Score inputs as 'Required'. These inputs would then need to be provided to score the building. A whole building HVAC system Total System Performance Ratio (TSPR) will be calculated and used for the HVAC system evaluation ranking in the asset score report.
Note – Add notes to your building file for future reference. Content may be viewed and/or edited online from the Edit link on the Building Information page, but will not appear on the energy asset score report.
- Click the "Create Building" button and proceed to enter building assets.
- Enter the building's use type(s), envelope and assembly (roofs, skylights, windows, walls, floors) components; its major energy systems (HVAC, lighting, hot water systems), and operations (setpoints and operating schedule). When creating a building for the first time, the tool will prompt you through the creation of an asset inventory of your building's features. Enter the requested data for each component, and select the "Next" button to advance.
Note: While you are not required to enter all of the building component inputs at this time, you will likely save time if you identify the building's features BEFORE creating the 3-D image of the building with building blocks. After a building has been created, building components may be added or modified via the asset score toolbar icons at the top of the page.
- Create a 3-D image of the building by adding blocks. After entering Operations, you will be prompted to advance to the Building Project Workspacewhere you can create a 3-D image of the building by adding blocks.
* Data entry in Asset Score text fields is limited to the Windows-1252 character set (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows-1252). Foreign language Unicode characters are not supported in the tool.