Straw Bale Construction/Resources/Software

Useful Software
Thermal modeling Drawing
 * ESP-r "ESP-r is an integrated modelling tool for the simulation of the thermal, visual and acoustic performance of buildings and the assessment of the energy use and gaseous emissions associated with the environmental control systems and constructional materials. In undertaking its assessments, the system is equipped to model heat, air, moisture and electrical power flows at user determined resolution. The system is designed for the Unix operating system, with supported implementations for Solaris and Linux, and is made available at no cost under an Open Source licence." ESP-r is OpenSource free software and will run on Linux, OSX and Windows using Cygwin (for advanced nerds).
 * TRACE 700 "Trane's TRACE 700 software - the latest version of Trane Air Conditioning Economics - brings the algorithms recommended by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) to the familiar Windows operating environment. Use it to assess the energy and economic impacts of building-related selections such as architectural features, comfort-system design, HVAC equipment selections, operating schedules, and financial options." (Building Energy Software Tools Directory)
 * Energy 10 "ENERGY-10™ software analyzes—and illustrates—the energy and cost savings that can be achieved by applying up to a dozen sustainable design strategies. Hourly energy simulations quantify, assess, and clearly depict the benefits of: Daylighting, Passive solar heating and cooling, Natural ventilation, Well-insulated building envelopes, High-performance windows, High-performance lighting systems, High-performance mechanical equipment, And more...". ENERGY-10™ is commercial software. The program can be purchased cheaper at an educational rate, taking a coarse on line through the Solar Energy Institute could make it possible to get the educational rate.
 * HOT2000 "HOT2000TM is a low-rise residential energy analysis and design software. Up-to-date heat loss or gain and system performance models provide an accurate way of evaluating building designs. This evaluation takes into account the thermal effectiveness of the building and its components, the passive solar heating owing to the location of the building and the operation and performance of the building's ventilation, heating and cooling systems." (Free with registration)
 * QCad