The Alternative Energy Design Toolkit consists of a collection of mathematical models, a software infrastructure called DOME, and this Web site. The models are mathematical representations of fundamental elements of renewable energy technologies. The key enabler of the toolkit, DOME, which stands for Distributed Object-based Modeling Environment, is a simulation modeling environment that supports an emergent, decentralized approach in integrated design processes. The last component of the toolkit is this Web site, which holds Web forums and detailed descriptions of the models in the toolkit. The concepts of DOME are discussed in the earlier section, while the concepts of the model collection and this Web site are provided in the upcoming pages in this section.

The main goal of the Alternative Energy Design Toolkit is to provide a widely accessible, easy to use, flexible, yet powerful modeling environment for assisting collaborated and integrated design that associates with renewable energy technologies, while also promoting knowledge sharing among users. This goal is achieved with help from all three components of the toolkit collectively. The goal also reflects the important characteristics and capabilities that were recognized in a survey of existing renewable energy design tools.

 

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