Updates

BERS Pro Plus

BERS Pro is thermal simulation software that can be used to show that the physical envelope of a proposed dwelling complies with the energy efficiency requirements of the Building Code of Australia, BCA.

BERS Pro Plus is the new version of BERS Pro that includes all the data entry required to calculate the total energy consumption of the house including heating, cooling, hot water, appliances, cooking, cleaning etc. Outputs include a breakup by energy source as well as the carbon footprint of the household.

The BCA simply requires the calculated theoretical energy needed to be added to the building (heating) plus the energy needed to be taken out of the building (cooling) per square metre of conditioned floor area, to be converted to a star rating. This figure has an arbitrary "area adjustment factor" applied to it to bias the rating more towards smaller houses. This combined energy per square metre does not take into account the efficiency of the energy delivery system nor the size of the house. The problem with this approach is that it's possible to have a large house with a high (good) star rating requiring much more heating and cooling energy than a small house with a much poorer star rating. It also provides exactly the same rating for two identical houses in the same climate even though one may have a much more efficient heating and cooling delivery system than the other. Similarly the same rating would apply even if one of the houses uses fuel sources with much lower carbon emissions than the other. 

In addition to calculating the current star rating required under the BCA, BERS Pro Plus uses the area of the house and the efficiency of the delivery system to calculate the electric, gas and/or wood energy that is used by the house to maintain comfort. It also allows all the other appliances in the house to be modelled so that the total fuel energy can be calculated. It then converts this total energy into the annual carbon-dioxide released into the atmosphere by the household. This is a more comprehensive metric to use than current BCA star rating when comparing the energy efficiency of two houses.

BERS Pro Plus supersedes BERS Pro and includes all the previous capabilities and analysis that provide building envelope star ratings. Three versions of the CHENATH calculation engine are included.

The first, CHENATH213 is the old engine containing the ventilation bug that the NatHERS administrator still uses for accreditation. The second, CHENATH220 has had the ventilation bug fixed 2 years ago, and is the engine that the program defaults to. There is very little difference in the results from this engine but it won't hang like the faulty version. The third, CHENATH223 is the engine developed by CSIRO for Solar Logic that replaces the standard internal heating load used for regulatory purposes with the heating load due to the actual appliances that the user models. Only the first and second engine will output a star rating. The third engine is provided to allow assessors to do energy audits, but cannot and must not be used to provide the star rating required by the BCA.

6/06/2010

27/08/2010

data file must be downloaded to make it work.

An updated Trial1_2.BER that has some appliances modelled is also included for checking purposes.

1. Download the BERSProPlus.ZIP file. Expand the ZIP file.
2. Replace BERS41/cadtry.exe
3. Add CHENATH213.exe, CHENATH220.exe, and CHENATH223.exe to the BERS41 directory.
4. Add Energy.dat to the BERS41/schedule directory.
5. Add Trial1_2.BER to the BERS41/House directory
   

BERS Pro - superceded by BERS Pro Plus

8/02/2010

cadtry.zip

Updates the cadtry.exe file.

Use in conjuction with the ACCURATEENGINE.exe update

Fixes a modelling problem for zones with more than one opening between them.

1. Download the ZIP file. Expand the ZIP file.
2. Replace BERS41/cadtry.exe

8/02/2010

AccuRateEngine.exe

Updates the AccuRateEngine.exe file. This is the thermal simulation engine.

A compilation problem that potentially could cause the engine to not simulate or stop simulating has been fixed.

Use in conjuction with the Cadtry.exe update

1. Download the file onto the desktop.
2. Replace BERS41/AccuRateEngine.exe

8/02/2010

Check your software updates

The following check may help to determine if some of the earlier data files still need to be updated.

This test is not meant to determine if you have the latest cadtry.exe update or that you have all of the correct files.

You must still check the download dates of all the files on this web page to see if you have the latest versions.

Download the BER file  Trial1_1.BER onto your desktop.

Run BERS Pro and open the file Trial_1.BER on the desktop.

Simulate Trial_1.BER.

The simulation results have been slightly affected by the change of the version released on 8/02/2010.

Area adjusted results:  C  8.9 MJ/m²   H   9.8 MJ/m²      Star rating 8.5. 

Actual results               C  9.4 MJ/m²   H 10.4 MJ/m²

If the results are very different then you must check the download dates to see if you have the latest versions of all the database and data files.

A new CD with your licence file and all the updates can be purchased from Solar Logic for $66 including GST.

2/7/2009

PC.TXT

ClimPC.txt

Updates the association between post codes and climate files.

Post codes affected are 2339 2340 2341 2342 2344 2345 2346 2347 2380 2381 2382 3004 3027 3086 3433 3515 3520 3586 3725 3785.

1. Download both files.
2. Replace BERS41/DATA/PC.TXT
3. Replace BERS41/DATA/ClimPC.txt

2/7/2009

Database Updates.zip

Updates the databases of very early versions of BERS Pro where the BERS41 directory lives in the C: directory.

Ignore this update if your BERS41 directory lives in the program files directory

These updates were posted for some time but then removed from the website.

It has become apparent that several assessors had not been updating regularly at the time and did not download all these updates. Consequently different simulation results are obtained because of the mismatched data sets.

1. Download the ZIP file. Expand the ZIP file.
2. Replace BERS41/data/FloorCovering.DB
3. Replace BERS41/data/FloorCovering.MB
4. Replace BERS41/data/IntWallmaterial.DB
5. Replace BERS41/data/IntWallmaterial.MB
6. Replace BERS41/data/Wallmaterial.DB
7. Replace BERS41/data/Wallmaterial.MB
8. Replace BERS41/data/Windowstyle.DB
9. Replace BERS41/data/Windowstyle.MB
10. Remove any files with a PX extension.

26/2/2008

grid.bmp

bestfit.dat

 Adds two additional files used with the tools items.

1. Click on each file and Save Target As.......
2. Copy Grid.bmp into the BERS41 directory
3. Copy Bestfit.dat into the BERS41 directory

8/8/2007

stars.txt

Updated star band file. Makes it a bit easier to achieve the star rating.

1. Click on stars.txt and Save Target As.......
2. Replace BERS41/Data/stars/stars.txt.

3/8/2007

berswindows.zip

All opaque windows are now OK.

1. Download the ZIP file.  Expand the ZIP file
2. Replace BERS41/Data/WindowData/BERSwindows.txt.
3. Replace BERS41/Data/WindowData/BERSwindows.bwg.