Tutorials

In the following videos you can see a detailed overview of Sketchbox and a step-by-step case study. You can also view the videos as a YouTube playlist.

Detailed overview

Introduction

The introduction video covers creating an account, logging in, and the basic features of the interface including saving, exporting, and uploading projects.

Project tab

The project tab is where you define the basic details of the project, including the applicable energy code and the holistic financial and emissions parameters.

Design tab

On the design tab you specify the basic project geometry, the envelope details, and the basics of the HVAC system.

Schedules tab

Here you can define the timing of schedules for heating, cooling, occupancy, etc, as well as how each schedule affects load fractions.

Baseline tab

The baseline tab is used to define specific parameters of the various building components, such as wall U-value, heating efficiency, lighting power density, etc.

Measures tab

On the measures tab you can define energy conservation measures, or changes to the base building design, in order to understand what the energy, cost, and emissions impacts would be of specific changes.

Results tab

Finally, the results tab runs the energy model and gives an overview of the energy use and cost of the building, as well as the impacts of any measures you defined.

Case study

In the following videos we walk through a case study of the Sun Prairie Public Library which is currently in the design stages of an expansion project

TIP

The document that is referenced in the videos is available here (pdf).

Part 1

In part one of the tutorial, we'll talk about the basics of the project, and complete the project and design tabs.

Part 2

In part two we complete the schedules and baseline tabs.

Part 3

The last video covers measures and results.