Functional?

I realize that you are beta testing this software however, I have not in my 30+ year career spent as much time going absolutely no where as I did attempting to use this product.
There is not a way I could find that allows me to input the data required for the proper calculation of heat load or loss. The tracing feature is neat from a techie standpoint but getting the thing to actually come up with the appropriate measurements for the home was nearly impossible to accomplish. Needs to be able to magnify further to be able to make accurate adjustments when tracing - if the home in question has a basement footprint of 27'x35' then 39'x25 is not close enough and attempting to zero in is frustrating. It seemed to confuse the program immensely and I had no way to tell it that the reason the basement and first floor are 945 sq. ft. and the second floor is 1543 sq. ft. is because the Second Floor Master Bedroom is over the unconditioned Garage space. Found no real way to insert the information for windows/doors etc. that would be needed. Every time I tried to change an incorrect field and made the error of hitting the backspace, which is what someone does when filling in forms the program would take this as a back command and then all is lost and it is back to start. Either I need to learn how to use a computer again or this product is not close to ready for use in this industry. Seldom do I get something for nothing and feel that I was overcharged. VERY FRUSTRATED!

Brian Markstahler October 23, 2015 19:14

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2 comments

Hi Brian,

There are two ways to perform a load calculation using the program. The first way is to obtain the dimensions of the home using the tracing feature. Different homes have varying degrees of zoom capabilities and will therefore have varying degrees of accuracy. However, in my experience the difference is usually 1ft, not 12ft as you are indicating. Note there is a overhang drop down on step 1 that allows you to account for gutters and other overhangs when making your trace. For example if you have a home that is 52X32 and you select a 12" overhang it will reduce the size of the home to 50x30.

Once you are satisfied with your traces you can proceed to step 2. Here you need to click on the blue system header and drill down into the zone -> room. The program creates a room for each trace you made in step 1. Once you expand the room section you will see all of your walls, windows, floors, etc. All of the inputs are completely editable.

The second option is to skip the tracing step all together and manually add your rooms and building components in step 2.

I suggest checking out some of our youtube videos here for more information https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6c4tEhUWN6Yy6odPFrfIrg

If you still continue to have difficulties please create a help ticket and we will try to assist.

Best Regards

Bill

Cool Calc Support October 26, 2015 19:02 0 votes

I have actually developed map drawing tools like this, and I agree that the zoom isn't nearly close enough - very frustrating, especially since I know it's possible. Allowing a closer zoom would be very helpful, as this automated much of the window/door/wall entry.

Brian Richins September 25, 2016 03:35 0 votes