BUILDING TECHNOLOGY

ENERGY MODELING AND PYTHON

This page is for collecting tech-resources related to building modeling and object oriented programming (OOP)-modeling integration.

Papers/Seminars that I think worth a reading/listening are also listed.

Tech-resources

EnergyPlus | Simulation tutorial
Notes:

  • Open EP-lanuch.exe, Inputs to EnergyPlus are input data files (IDF) and weather file (epw). Weather file can be downloaded from climate_onebuilding. “CTRL+L” can shrink IDF class list to existing ones.
  • Tried Mac version, is a lite version and can’t revise IDF files.
  • Geometry model can be drawn directly (i.e., set original point and type vertex coordinates), but really troublesome. Thermal zones are first defined, following constructions and materials. Internal gains mainly include occupant, equipment and lighting, can edit schedule of them by adding new objs, then link to designated zones.
  • Infiltration is not intentional, air renovation and HVAC is intentional. Ideal loads are not consuming electricity but district thermal energy. Infitration is in Zone Airflow, should be set as opposite of HVAC schedule.
  • Set output variables finally, can set output table style from J to KWh. RDD file has all possible output variables.

Comments: powerful lightweight yet high fidelity simulation engine, better to utilize its efficiency in integrative control (e.g., serve as RL env). Better to combine with 3D modeling tools and more user-friendly interface to accelerate modeling speed (actually OpenStudio + SketchUp plugins is exactly for this).

EnergyPlus-python | Plugin and co-simulation tutorial and Chinese one. Libraries are eppy and offical explanation.
Notes:

  • There is a pyenergyplus.plugin in the EP folder.
  • Class MyControlSystem(EnergyPlusPlugin).

Hygrothermal simulation | Simulation tutorial
Notes:

  • There is a pyenergyplus.plugin in the EP folder.
  • Class MyControlSystem(EnergyPlusPlugin).

Papers/Seminars

Jul 2021 | IBPSA-Python Programming for Energy Modelers by Clayton Miller.
Notes: python is great in enhancing the ability from data processing to time-series forecasting, till the sophisticated control.