DesignBuilder DSM for UK Certification Training

DesignBuilder’s DSM interface can be used by appropriately qualified and accredited energy assessors to certify Level 3, 4, and 5 buildings in England, Wales, and Scotland. The DSM training is a “top-up” course covering all the essential information relating to the DesignBuilder DSM UK Certification interface when in “DSM mode”. This training is available as both a 1-day live online course and as on-demand online training.

DSM training course content:

This DSM training builds on the knowledge gained on the DesignBuilder SBEM for UK Certification course and covers the essential information required to quickly and efficiently produce accurate DSM EPCs and BRUKL documents. The English version is used for this training, with differences in approved versions for other countries summarised in the DSM user manual. During the training you will model a building from beginning to end, covering the essential information at each part of the modelling process. The DSM training course includes:

• Introduction to the DSM interface and user manual.
• DSM’s main advantages over SBEM, such as more accurate modelling of geometry, daylighting, PV, solar gain, shading, and climate.
• Key differences between the SBEM and DSM UK certification interfaces.
• Generating outputs from the same model using either SBEM, DSM, or EnergyPlus for more detailed analysis.
• Using one model for multiple analysis types, including for example assessing whether SBEM or DSM gives the best rating for MEES, simulations for BREEAM credits, or generating TM52 or TM59 outputs for overheating analysis.
• QA and data-checking, producing and lodging output documents.
• During the day you will create a DSM model “from scratch”, review the main inputs specific to DSM and run EPC and BRUKL calculations.

The course is open to members of any accreditation scheme and will qualify for 7 hours of CPD.

Please note that the weather files used in this training are free, but you must use the correct CIBSE weather files when producing DSM EPCs and BRUKL documents.

This training is available as both a live online 1-day course and on-demand online training. The on-demand training includes the same content, and can be completed when convenient for you. It can be accessed as many times as you need for a full year, long after you may have forgotten some important details covered in a live one-day training course. The on-demand version is interactive and stops at key points to ask questions about important information in each session. You will receive the same course completion certificate for your CPD records, regardless of whether you choose the live or on-demand version of this training.

Please note that the on-demand training and software licences are separate. You don’t need a DesignBuilder software licence to view the training, but you would need it to follow the training in the software. If you require a 30-day DesignBuilder training licence to enable you to practise and consolidate your learning using the course materials before taking the exam, please contact sales@designbuilder.co.uk.

DSM training pre-requisites

Prior to attending the DSM training course you must either have previously completed the 1-day DesignBuilder SBEM course, or you must have sufficient experience using DesignBuilder to certify UK buildings and be intimately familiar with the DesignBuilder SBEM training manual. Without that foundation you will not have sufficient knowledge to attend the DSM training. If you have not attended the DesignBuilder SBEM for UK Certification introduction course, but have certified a minimum of 10 buildings using DesignBuilder SBEM and are intimately familiar with the DesignBuilder SBEM Manual, then we will allow you to “self-certify”. Please do not book yourself on the DSM training without this knowledge, as it will be detrimental to you and to the other delegates and trainers (if you are doing the live one-day course).

DesignBuilder DSM Exam

All Governments (and accreditation schemes) require assessors to prove their competence via a software exam before DSM software can be used to certify a building. Our DSM training is an essential requirement prior to taking the DesignBuilder DSM exam. The DesignBuilder DSM exam tests a candidate’s knowledge only on the DSM interface (not Regulations and NDEPC Conventions) and should be straightforward for suitably experienced DesignBuilder SBEM users who have completed the DSM training.

The open-book exam is 3 hours long and has two parts. The first part involves answering questions on essential information relating to the DesignBuilder DSM interface (covered in the training and DSM user manual), and the second part involves modelling a building with NOS Level 5 features and producing and interpreting DSM EPC and BRUKL outputs. The training material and DSM manual can be used during all parts of the exam.

Please note that the exam must be booked separately. On successful completion of the DSM exam, candidates will be provided with a certificate that the assessor can send to their accreditation scheme to demonstrate their competence using DesignBuilder’s DSM software.

Please contact sales@designbuilder.co.uk to arrange a live online DSM exam, or an exam at our Stroud office.

To continue using DesignBuilder DSM after your 30-day training license expires, the minimum licenses required would be DesignBuilder’s Certification and Simulation modules. We also offer a DSM-specific package licence, which includes the Visualisation module for improved QA-checking and to generate high-quality rendered images of your model for client reports etc.