Support

FAQ

General TRNSYS Questions

  • What is TRNSYS?
  • TRNSYS (pronounced: 'tran-sis') is a software package for energy simulation of solar processes, building analysis, thermal energy, and more. The software has been commercially available for over 40 years.

  • What is included in the TRNSYS software package?
  • The TRNSYS software package consists of the Simulation Studio, the graphical front-end for TRNSYS, TRNBuild, the interface for the TRNSYS building model, TypeStudio, the dedicated Fortran environment for developing new TRNSYS content, TRNEdit, and TRNSYS3D. More information about these is located at the Features section of the website.

General TESS Libraries Questions

Pricing/Ordering Questions

  • What is the cost of TRNSYS?
  • The TRNSYS prices and TESS Libraries price lists/order forms are available at the Pricing & Order section of the website.

  • Are there maintenance costs?
  • There are no annual maintenance fees. The TRNSYS license is permanent. Approximately once a year we release an minor version update (18.00 18.01, 18.02, etc.) that is freely available to anyone owning the corresponding major version (18.x). Approximately once every five years we release a new major version. These are paid updates. However, the replaced major version will continue to function and we officially provide technical support on the replaced major version until one year after the release of the new major version. For example v18.0 was released in April 2017. V17.x will be supported until April 2018.

  • Is Technical Support included with the software purchase?
  • Yes, TESS Technical Support is provided free of charge to all TESS customers.

  • What payment methods are accepted?
  • TESS accepts payment by check, wire transfer, and we now accept credit cards only via a PayPal invoice that is sent to an email address (5% payment discount does not apply with payment via PayPal).

  • When can I obtain the software?
  • We can send the software when we receive payment. Under certain circumstances we can send the software on receipt of a purchase order and invoice after delivery.

  • How do I obtain the software?
  • Upon receiving an officially approved purchase order (PO) or payment, TESS Technical Support will send the instructions to download and install the software package.

Other Questions

  • Do I need a fortran compiler to use TRNSYS?
  • No, you do not need a fortran compiler to use TRNSYS. For the advanced users who wish to create their own TRNSYS components to use in their simulation, a fortran compiler is provided in the package.

  • What operating system is required to use TRNSYS?
  • As of right now, only the Windows operating system (XP/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8/Windows 10) can be used to run TRNSYS.

  • What are the system requirements for running TRNSYS?
  • There are no specific requirements for RAM or graphics card. At least 16GB of RAM is recommended. In general, most any Windows PC or laptop purchased in the past 5-7 years should be more than capable of running TRNSYS. That said, simulations will run noticeably faster if you have more RAM, a faster CPU, and a faster graphics card. If you want to run a lot of simulations in parallel then it is advantageous to have a machine that has multiple processing cores.

  • How much disk space does TRNSYS require?
  • TRNSYS requires about 1GB of disk space. If you install the entire package of add-on weather data then you might need as much as another 1GB of disk space.