Scenario Modeling
Our latest innovation allows raters to help their builders better understand how factors like mechanical systems and building design changes affect a builder’s portfolio, ensuring that they can make the best, most informed decisions.
What is Scenario Modeling?
Scenario Modeling is a premium add-on to Ekotrope RATER that was developed with raters in order to solve the problem of trying to understand the performance and compliance impact that shifting variables can have on their builder’s projects. Rather than analyzing the impact of each variable and design change on an individual energy model, Scenario Modeling allows raters to easily evaluate how all building design changes will impact home performance, HERS Index, code compliance, and rebate incentives in just a few clicks. Raters can ensure they are assessing the impact of all permutations and offering a more comprehensive and valuable analysis to their builders.
The Problem and the Opportunity
The residential new construction industry is constantly shifting, and builders look to raters for their expertise on how to navigate the complexities of this ecosystem. As our industry pushes for more stringent efficiency standards, this puts pressure on raters to perform more complex analyses that are tedious, time consuming, and often still not robust enough to ensure a comprehensive understanding of all shifting variables.
Scenario Modeling not only relieves this pressure, it flips the problem on its head, turning what’s known as a hassle into an asset. Ekotrope, as well as current users of the tool, see Scenario Modeling as a way to expand the services raters can provide to their clients, opening up pathways for new revenue streams and closer partnerships.
The Scenario Modeling Tool
Scenario Modeling allows you to perform complex analyses so that you can prepare your builders for new codes and standards, help them earn incentives and rebates, work around supply shortages, and optimize their building plans across their entire portfolios.
Scenario Modeling allows you to analyze hundreds of design changes determine what changes will have the biggest impact while maintaining costs and meeting your builder’s goals - pictured in Figure 1.
After selecting your design changes, you can group them into scenarios - pictured in Figure 2.
Upon selecting your design changes and grouping them into scenarios, you can select how you would like your scenarios to be evaluated by selecting the relevant energy codes, tax rebates, and building standards you’d like to account for - pictured in Figure 3.
Before finalizing for submission, you can review your results to ensure accuracy - pictured in Figure 4. After submitting, a comprehensive report detailing the cumulative and individual impact of each design change arrives, enabling you to quickly understand the best methods to achieve your client’s goals.
Figure 1: Design Changes Selection
Figure 2: Scenario Grouping
Figure 3: Results Configuration
Figure 4: Review and Submit
How It Works
Partner with Ekotrope to Utilize the Tool
Your clients require complex analyses of a variety of design changes that take up a lot of time and money. To mitigate these issues, you can partner with Ekotrope to utilize our Scenario Modeling tool measures to support.
Select the Projects and Design Changes
Pick the energy models to analyze, select design changes to be considered, and how each design change should be evaluated. Evaluate all specification changes for hundreds of energy models at once, in just a click of a button.
Receive a Comprehensive Report
Scenario Modeling runs each selected permutation, determines the impact of each, and generates a report that details incentive opportunities, critical thresholds, and more- all in just minutes, not days.
Save Money, Time, and Reduce Errors
With Scenario Modeling, you will quickly understand the most effective pathways for achieving your energy goals, enabling you to provide the best and most accurate information to your clients.
Watch to Learn More
Check out this quick video that summarizes the problems our Scenario Modeling tool can solve as well as the opportunities it can provide. If you have any further questions or would like to chat with one of our engineers about how you can get Scenario Modeling for your business, reach out to us at scenariomodeling@ekotrope.com.