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TREAT Changes and Improvements

TREAT is constantly being improved to expand the program's capabilities and make it easier to use. Below is a list of changes and improvements made for each version since 2.5.50.

3.0.27

  • Microsoft Vista compatibility, download instructions here (PDF 97KB).
  • Model Inspector warnings for Base Building and Exported Package included in XML
  • Hot Water Gallons Savings added to package report in XML
  • Number of Utility Bills in the XML
  • Expanded True-up data in the XML
  • Images on NY Home Performance Report changed to conform with NY licensing
  • PSD Business Reports integrated NY Workscope Upload
  • Enhanced PSD Business Reports functionality including:
    1. Sorting
    2. MS Excel or other spreadsheet copy and paste
    3. Restech Improvement Summary
    4. Automatic refresh on Template folder (no more open and closing)
    5. Merging with Word XML which resolves formatting and image compression issues.
  • Stability and Bug Fixes.

3.0.19

  • Business Reports Tool A free tool to create your own customer focused reports that incorporate the building information from TREAT and merge it with your company information in a template. A great way to create proposals with your company logo, name and address without having to enter it every time. Create the template once and use it for all your customers.
  • Custom Window Properties Ever want to look at a window in a new building and use the U-value and SHGC right off the sticker? Now you can with the Custom Window Properties button in the window screen of TREAT 3.0.19!
  • Recommended Improvements Report Ability to display a report that provides a side-by-side comparison of Recommended Improvement Packages; a great way to show customers the Good/Better/Best scenario on a single page. Access this feature on the form from the Reports menu.
  • Splash Screens Experienced users may notice a look and feel difference as all the contact information was recently updated.

3.0.7

  • A rotation tool was added to help evaluate energy benefits of changing building exposures for new construction. The feature may be accessed from Tools->Rotate Building menu item.
  • Multiple minor improvements to user interface and New Building Wizard.

For a full list of TREAT 3.0.0 Capabilities, visit the TREAT 3.0 Announcement.

2.6.80

New capabilities

  • User can assign percentage of total heating input energy consumed by secondary heating system in projects with two heat plants. In the previous TREAT versions the only supported control logic was to operate secondary heat plant when capacity of primary heat plant was not sufficient to satisfy building heating load. (The new fixed allocation logic is not supported by Home Energy Rating module, where capacity-based allocation is always used).
  • Capability to adjust manufacturer specified efficiency of heat pumps and air conditioners to account for the climate of the site. The feature is turned on by default and may be disabled by un-checking 'Account for climate impact on HSPF and SEER' checkbox on Advanced window of Weather/Defaults screen.
  • Seasonal window shading may now be specified on Other Inputs area of Weather/Defaults screen. Window SHGC (shading factor) is reduced by 20% during the cooling season if 'Use window shades in summer' box is checked.
  • Copy Package button is added to Packages screen to allow copying packages.
  • Expanded limit for window types (increased to 500).

Reporting

  • Added fuel cost to NY Home Performance Report.
  • Model Inspector now includes bar-chart showing building/package monthly energy usage by fuel (if calculated).

Quality Assurance

  • Added warning for unusually low R-value for surfaces in conditioned spaces to Model Inspector. Warning is shown if such surfaces have R-value less than 4.
  • Added warning for single pane windows in conditioned spaces to Model Inspector.
  • Show model inspector each time after calculations are completed. The feature is turned on by default and may be turned on/off from Project Group > Options menu, General tab or from within Model Inspector.

Usability

  • User now has an option to enter total cost if improvement for improvement types that previously allowed only unit cost input.
  • Surface Exposure and Adjacent To fields on Surfaces screen are no longer reset when surface construction of existing surface is edited.
  • Text of warnings and tool tips in model inspector is revised to be more user-friendly.
  • Tooltips are added to many TREAT inputs.
  • Records in Surface Library are sorted by R-value.
  • Records in Appliance Library are sorted by appliance type field.

Home Energy Rating

  • Home Energy Rating Results window is expanded to conform to new reporting requirements that will be in effect from January 2005.
  • Climate-adjusted efficiency is now used for heat pumps and air conditioners.
  • Seasonal shading capability is added to rated and reference home models.

XML file changes:

  • Added <BuildingPerformance> section inside <ExistingBuilding> tags to NYSERDA XML file. The section includes the value of <HeatingSlopeBtuPerFDaySqFt>
  • Added <BillingAnalysis> section to TreatTracker XML. The section contains <AnalysisPeriod> section that is generated for each analysis period that is compared to the package being uploaded and for the base building.
  • Significantly expanded <HERSResults> section required per new RESNET reporting requirements in effect January 2005.
  • Expanded <SurfaceSummary> section that lists existing surfaces to include surface R-value and information on whether parent space is heated or not.

Library changes

  • Various timber frame constructions are added to surface library.
  • HDD65 values changed for Colorado Springs CO, Fort Worth TX to match new HERS test inputs.

Included in the update:

  • New TREAT.exe
  • New Sunrel.exe
  • Updated manual
  • Updated long term weather library
  • Updated surface library

2.6.51

  • Capability to create project templates that can be re-used as the starting point for new projects. Project Group Templates are PGT files which are identical to other TREAT project group (TPG) files. As a result, template files may be edited, copied or deleted. Users may also create their own Template projects to represent commonly occurring buildings in their region. For complete details, refer to Section 3.5 and Section 10 in the Treat Manual.
  • Eight additional California weather zones.
  • Improved interacted savings algorithm to calculate separate interaction penalty for each fuel / end use combination. Previously the single penalty was calculated for each end use, with no breakdown for fuels.
  • Improved algorithm that allocates energy usage between primary and secondary heating systems. The new algorithm produces more consistent improvement and package savings for buildings with dual heating fuels. The change may affect results for projects with dual heating fuels.
  • 20 new surfaces added to the surface library, including structural insulated panels and insulated concrete forms.
  • Surfaces and Windows can be sorted by any column heading.
  • Updated User’s Manual.
  • Various minor improvements and fixes.

2.6.30

  • New version of the calculation engine, Sunrel, including improvements to the infiltration and natural ventilation algorithms. Sunrel is provided by our partners at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), with special thanks to Michael Deru.
  • New domestic hot water (DHW) module. Features include:
    • Easier usage adjustment through optional direct input of hot water demand.
    • Flexible recirculation control.
    • Recirculation pump power consumption is linked to hot water consumption.
    • Storage tanks.
    • Two new improvement types: storage tank insulation and recirculation pump control.
    • New DHW heater library that includes commercial water heaters.
    • Improved algorithms
  • Project that was "Saved As" becomes the current active project.
  • Ability to delete multiple utility bills.
  • Ability to copy records on the Surfaces and Windows screens. Copying and pasting may be accessed through the Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V shortcuts.
  • Some optimization of results invalidation when improvement names, etc, are changed to avoid unnecessary calculation runs.
  • Daily weather data hot link to automatically connect to the daily weather download website.
  • Ability to copy customer information from Project Description input to Customer input.
  • Modified filter on the Surface Library screen to avoid mix-up for insulation types "None" and "Air".
  • Annual energy usage of the improved building, in dollars and MMBtu, is shown on the Improvements and Packages screens, in addition to annual energy savings.
  • Ability to open the billing data import utility from the Utility Bills screen.
  • Improved verification of heat plant efficiency inputs.
  • Added California Zone 4 to the weather data sites.
  • Automatic email registration. A button on the Registration screen will automatically create an email message with all the information needed to register.
  • Numerous improvements to algorithms including but not limited to the following:
    • Increased stability of TREAT.
    • Simplified troubleshooting of registration, especially when system time was changed.
    • Automatic verification of calculation results for infiltration and natural ventilation. Guidance to users on simple changes that should be made to the project input in order to improve the accuracy of results for buildings with complex geometry and space configurations.
    • Optimized natural ventilation calculations.

2.6

  • Transportable data files allow users to easily exchange TREAT project files. Each file is known as a TPG file (TREAT Project Group) and has a .TPG extension. Each TPG may contain one or more projects. A TPG is a single file that is small enough to easily attach to an email or store on a floppy disk. Windows Explorer may be used to copy, paste, and open a TPG file.
  • The capability to calculate a Home Energy Rating score is now available to all users. This feature is on the Tools menu. The Home Energy Rating Report continues to be available in custom editions of TREAT on the Custom Reports menu.
  • A Lifestyle Savings calculator, accessed from the Improvements or Packages screen, calculates savings that can be achieved with little or no cost by occupants changing their behavior, for example replacing furnace filters regularly. The Occupant Lifestyle Savings Report, on the Reports screen, shows the results of implementing such lifestyle savings measures.
  • The new Weatherization Report shows the recommended financial investment for a building.
  • Heating and Cooling Seasons can be modeled on the Weather/Defaults screen. Billing and model heating energy usage during the months that are not part of a heating season is equal to zero, even if there is non-zero heating load during these months. The same rule applies to cooling. This allows users to model the common behavior of occupants who, for example, do not turn heating on until October, and who turn heating off on May 1.
  • Natural Ventilation can be modeled for free cooling during non-heating months, on the Spaces Advanced screen. This feature allows modeling the effect of opening the windows when the outdoor temperature is below 68F and the space temperature is above 70F.
  • Interacted Savings and Savings-to-Investment Ratio (SIR) are shown for each improvement when they are calculated as part of an improvement package on the Package Wizard screen. The savings and SIR are shown individually for each improvement as implemented with the others. The improvements are sorted within the package from highest to lowest SIR. Please note that this calculation of SIR for each improvement within packages is different than prior versions of TREAT.
  • Library upgrades to the Surfaces, Glazing, Frame, Heating, Cooling, Appliance, Lighting, Visual Inspection, Measurements and Daily Weather Libraries provide more choices for creating building models. New items include glass block windows, EnergyStar dishwashers, EnergyStar heat pumps, storm windows, and more surfaces with high-density foam insulation.
  • We implemented a variety of improvements to the calculation algorithms and the graphical user interface.

2.5.50

  • The user can assign custom names to surfaces. Input is done in the Name field in the Advanced window on the Surfaces screen. The corresponding filter is added to the Improvement Wizard Step 2 – Surface Insulation screen.
  • Inflation Rate equal to zero is now allowed in the Edit Financial Information window.
  • Improvement Code has been added to the Edit Workscope screen of the Improvement Wizard. This input may be used to store additional information about improvement type for reporting and record keeping purposes.
  • Model heating and cooling energy consumption may be adjusted for part load if Account for Part Load System Efficiency check box is checked in the Advanced Building Defaults window accessible through the Advanced button on the Weather/Defaults screen.
  • Various new appliances have been added to the Appliance library, including EnergyStar dehumidifiers and clothes washers.
  • On the Visual Inspection screen more choices of Inspection Type are available.
  • On the Measurements screen more choices of Location and Measurement Type are available.
  • A mechanism has been developed that allows agencies to modify the following information in existing installations of TREAT:
    • default values used for financial inputs including inflation, loan interest rate, loan term and bank rate.
    • default types, units and range of values for measurements recorded on Measurements screen.
    • default inspection type and observation options for items recorded on Visual Inspection screen.
  • Various new verifications are included in the Model Inspector.
  • The Home Energy Rating feature is now part of the standard TREAT edition available to all TREAT users.
  • Various improvements to algorithms and correction of bugs identified during in-house testing or reported by users. An updated version of the TREAT manual will also be installed on your computer, it may also be downloaded separately here. Refer to the manual for complete information about the new features.