Tutorial 1_Getting Started on EnergyPlus_20120618_0

A Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial 1 by Dr. Vishal Garg Aviruch Bhatia RathishArumugam

Center for IT in Building Science IIIT Hyderabad India

Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1

Contents 1.

Objective .................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................ ........................................................................ 3

2.

Overview .................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................ ........................................................................ 3

3.

Installation .............................................................. ..................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................... 3

4.

The problem ............................................................ ................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................... 4

5.

Start IDF editor ........................................................ .............................................................................................................................. ........................................................................ .. 5

6.

Add Version ............................................................. .................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................... 6

7.

Simulation Control ............................................................. .......................................................................................................................... ............................................................. 6

8.

Building Object ........................................................ .............................................................................................................................. ........................................................................ .. 7

9.

Timestep .................................................................. ........................................................................................................................................ ........................................................................ 8

10.

RunPeriod............................................................ ................................................................................................................................... ......................................................................... 8

11.

Material Regular ............................................................ ......................................................................................................................... ............................................................. 9

12.

Construction ........................................................ .............................................................................................................................. ...................................................................... 11

13.

Global Geometry Rules .............................................................. ............................................................................................................. ............................................... 11

14.

Zone ..................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................... 13

15.

Wall:Exterior ................................................................... ............................................................................................................................. .......................................................... 14

16.

Roof ...................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................... ..................................................................... 16

17.

Floor: Adiabatic .............................................................. ......................................................................................................................... ........................................................... 18

18.

Schedule Type ................................................................. ........................................................................................................................... .......................................................... 19

19.

Schedule Compact .......................................................... .................................................................................................................... .......................................................... 20

20.

HVAC Template Thermostat .................................................................... ..................................................................................................... ................................. 22

21.

HVAC Template Zone: Ideal Loads Air System ............................................................... .......................................................................... ........... 22

22.

Output Table: Summary Report ............................................................ ................................................................................................ .................................... 23

23.

Output Control: Table: Style .................................................................... ..................................................................................................... ................................. 24

24.

Start EP launch ............................................................... .......................................................................................................................... ........................................................... 24

25.

Select the IDF file ............................................................ ...................................................................................................................... .......................................................... 25

26.

View 3D of the model ................................................................... ............................................................................................................... ............................................ 25

27.

During Simulation Run ............................................................... .............................................................................................................. ............................................... 26

28.

Run Status ........................................................... ................................................................................................................................. ...................................................................... 27

29.

Output data ..................................................................... ............................................................................................................................... .......................................................... 27

Centre for IT in Building Science, IIIT, Hyderabad, India

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1. Objective This tutorial introduces EnergyPlus in simple steps. The tutorial uses a simple building example to explain the basics of how to use EnergyPlus, give input and read the output of EnergyPlus. The emphasis is on a very simple square single zone model without any internal gains and uses IdealLoadAirSystem for cooling and heating. Most of the information is referred from the Energy plus documentation. You can access Energy Plus documentation from the following link http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus/energyplus_documentation.cfm

2. Overview About EnergyPlus:(from http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus/)EnergyPlus, DOE’s fully integrated building; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); and renewables simulation program is one of the most robust simulation tools available in the world today. It models building heating, cooling, lighting, ventilating, and other energy flows, as well as water. The program includes many innovative simulation capabilities, such as time steps of less than an hour, modular systems and plant integrated with heat balance based zone simulation, multizone air flow, thermal comfort, water use, natural ventilation, and photovoltaic systems.

EnergyPlus is a stand-alone simulation program without a 'user friendly' graphical interface. EnergyPlus reads input and writes output as text files. Many graphical user interfaces for EnergyPlus are available or under development.CYPE-Building Services , Demand Response QuickAssessmentTool, DesignBuilder , Easy energyPlus, EFEN, AECOsim, Hevacomp, MC4 Suite, and SMART ENERGY are now available. Software tools that were specifically designed to create Energyplus input file includ eEasy EnergyPlus, ECOTECT, EP Geo, EP Sys, EP-Quick , IFCtoIDF, ESP-r , Green Building Studio, and IHIT. You can give input to EnergyPlus by either making the input file (*.idf) in a simple test editor (such as TextEdit or notepad) or by using a simple user interface ( IDF Editor) which comes with EnergyPlus installation. This tutorial uses IDF editor for creati ng the input file. The tutorial assumes that the reader knows the basics of energy simulation.

3. Installation How to install EnergyPlus?

Download and install EnergyPlus from:http://www.eere.energy.gov . If you find any difficulty in download and installation of EnergyPlus, you can write it to EnergyPlus help desk at http://energyplus.helpserve.com/.


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 Other software that you will need to install : A text editor such as WordPad or Notepad to edit input files A spreadsheet program such as OpenOfficeCalc, MS Excel etc. to view CSV formatted output files A web browser to view HTML formatted output files A 3-D DXF viewer such as Autodesk Designreview(http://usa.autodesk.com/design-review/) Adobe Acrobat Reader ( http://get.adobe.com/reader/) to view the PDF files Assumptions in this tutorial: Operating System: Windows 7 EnergyPlus Version: Version 7.1.0(released on 25/05/2012) Tips on using this tutorial:

It is recommended that you install E+ and follow the steps given in the tutorial. For more information on any step please refer to the E+ documentation that comes with the installation. There are many screenshots that are used in this tutorial.

4. The problem We will simulate a simple single zone square model with following parameters: Dimension of the building – (5m X 5m X 3m) No windows, doors or any openings Single zone with no partitions Surface Construction: To simplify the problem it is assumed that all the surfaces (walls, roof and floor) are made of concrete and plaster with the following properties: Name Roughness Thickness {m} Conductivity {W/m-K} Density {kg/m3} Specific Heat {J/kg-K} Absorptance:Thermal Absorptance:Solar Absorptance:Visible

Concrete MediumRough 0.10 0.81 977.00 830.00 0.90 0.65 0.65

Plaster MediumRough 0.015 0.160 600.00 1000.00 0.90 0.50 0.50

Windows: None Internal Load: None Heating and cooling system: IdealLoadAirSystem


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 Heating setpoint 20°C, Cooling setpoint 24 °C Environment

Location: San Francisco, USA

5. Start IDF editor You can create or edit EnergyPlus input data files (IDF), with IDF Editor. You can access it with following path. Click: Start > All programmes> EnergyPlus V7-1 Programms>IDFEditor

Click on IDF Editor to Start

Any EnergyPlus object may be viewed and edited using a spreadsheet-like grid. For inputs with several options, a list is provided. When a numeric input has a range of valid values,


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 those values are displayed. It also automatically provides a list of object names when an object needs to be linked to another. By displaying all objects of the same kind next to each other in a grid, it is easy to see how inputs are different across the building. The IDF Editor outputs an EnergyPlus input file with proper syntax and comments to help the user understand the input values. In addition, the IDF Editor converts standard inch-pound units into SI units compatible with EnergyPlus. The IDF Editor does not check inputs for validity, although some numeric fields are highlighted if out of range.

6. Add Version Click 'Version' in the 'Class List' on the top left of the IDF editor and then click 'New Obj' from the tool bar on the top. 'Obj1' will appear in the first line of the bottom window. Enter '7.1' in the 'Version Identifier ' Field of 'Obj1' as shown in the figure below:

Step 3: Add version of Step 2: Click

EnergyPlus – 7.1

on New Obj

Step 1: Click on Version

"The Version object allows you to enter the proper version that your IDF was created for. This is checked against the current version of EnergyPlus and a severe error issued (nonterminating) if it does not match the current version string." Save your fi l e: You can save your file with any name. In this tutorial the file is names as

'tutorial.idf'. Keep saving your work frequently as IDF editor does not save file automatically.

7. SimulationControl The input for Simulation Control allows the user to specify what kind of calculations a given EnergyPlus simulation will perform. For instance the user may want to perform one or more of the sizing calculations but not proceed to a annual weather file simulation. Or the user


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 might have all flow rates and equipment sizes already specified and desire an annual weather without any preceding sizing calculations. When using HVACTemplate:Zone:IdealLoadsAirSystem, there is no sizing required. HVACTemplate:Zone:IdealLoadsAirSystem provides an unlimited amount of heating and cooling as the zone requires. When modeling other types of HVAC equipment, then you must activate the necessary sizing calculations.

These all are default values, not required to change for this exercise Click on Simulation control and add new obj

8. Building Object The Building object describes parameters that are used during the simulation of the building. Click the 'Building' Object in 'Simulation Parameters' Class and then click 'New Obj' . Fill the data as shown below:

Enter field Name as “MYBUILDING” and give North Axis value is 0 deg. Other field values retain as default.

Click on Building and add new Obj

Field: Building Name Building name is specified for output convenience. Field: North Axis The Building North Axis is specified relative to true North.


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This syntax simplifies building geometry specification by designating onewall of the building as the building’s north pointing axis. The building model North axis ismeasured from true (compass) North. Surface facing angles are then specified relative to the building north axis. The North Axis entry illustrates specification of the building north axis.

9. Timestep The Timestep object specifies the "basic" time step for the simulation. The value entered here is usually known as the Zone Timestep. This is used in the Zone Heat Balance Model calculation as the driving time step for heat transfer and load calculations. The value entered here is the number of time steps to use within an hour. Longer length time steps have lower values for Number of Timesteps per Hour. For example a value of 6 entered here directs the program to use a zone time step of 10 minutes and a value of 60 means a 1 minute time step. The user’s choice for Number of Timesteps per Hour must be evenly divisible into 60; theNumber in hour: normal validity 4 to 60.

Click on Timestep and add new Obj

Retain default value for this field

10.

RunPeriod

The RunPeriod object describes the elements necessary to run simulation with use of a weather file. Multiple run periods may be input. TheRunPeriod object allows the user to override the use of both the Daylight Saving Period (i.e. use or ignore) and holidays that are embedded within the weather file. F ield: Name


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 This optional field allows the RunPeriod to be named for output reporting. F ield: Begin M onth

This numeric field should contain the starting month number (1=January, 2=February, etc.)for the annual run period desired. F ield: B egin Day of M onth

This numeric field should contain the starting day of the starting month (must be valid formonth) for the annual run period desired. F ield: End M onth

This numeric field should contain the ending month number (1=January, 2=February, etc.) forthe annual run period desired. F ield: End Day of M onth

This numeric field should contain the ending day of the ending month (must be valid formonth) for the annual run period desired. Click on RunPeriod and add new Ob Enter Name and Period for simulation Other retain as default

11. Material Regular You can define different construction materials that are used in project. For this exercise two material plaster and concrete has been created. Define material name and values, for values refer Problem statement of this tutorial

Click on Material and add two Objects


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 Materials

This definition should be used when the four main thermal properties (thickness, conductivity, density, and specific heat) of the material are known. F ield: Name

This field is a unique reference name that the user assigns to a particular material. This name can then be referred to by other input data (ref: Construction). F ield: Roughness

This field is a character string that defines the relative roughness of a particular material layer.A special keyword is expected in this field with the options being “VeryRough”, “Rough”, “MediumRough”, “MediumSmooth”, “Smooth”, and “VerySmooth” in order of roughest to smoothest options. F ield: Th i ckness

This field characterizes the thickness of the material layer in meters. This should be the dimension of the layer in the direction perpendicular to the main path of heat conduction. This value must be a positive . F ield: Conductivity

This field is used to enter the thermal conductivity of the material layer. Units for this parameter are W/(m-K). Thermal conductivity must begreater than zero. F ield: D ensity

This field is used to enter the density of the material layer in units of kg/m3. Density must be a positive quantity. F ield: Specifi c H eat

This field represents the specific heat of the material layer in units of J/(kg-K). Note that these units are most likely different than those reported in textbooks and references which tend to use kJ/(kg-K) or J/(g-K). They were chosen for internal consistency within EnergyPlus. An only positive value of specific heat is allowed. F ield: Absorptance:T herm al

The thermal absorptance field in the Material input syntax represents the fraction of incident long wavelength radiation that is absorbed by the material. This parameter is used when calculating the long wavelength radiant exchange between various surfaces and affects the surface heat balances (both inside andoutside as appropriate). Values for this field must be between 0.0 and 1.0 (with 1.0representing “black body” conditions). F ield: Absor ptance:Solar

The solar absorptance field in the Material input syntax represents the fraction of incident solar radiation that is absorbed by the material. Solar radiation includes the visible spectrum as well as infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths. Values for this field must be between 0.0 and 1.0.


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 F ield: Absorptance: Vi si ble

The visible absorptance field in the Material input syntax represents the fraction of incident visible wavelength radiation that is absorbed by the material. Visible wavelength radiation is slightly different than solar radiation in that the visible band of wavelengths is much narrower while solar radiation includes the visible spectrum as well as infrared and ultraviolet wavelengths. Values for this field must be between 0.0 and 1.0.

12. Construction For walls, roofs, floors, windows, and doors, constructions are “built” from the included materials. Each layer of the construction is a material name listed in order from “outside” to “inside”. Up to ten layers (eight for windows) may be specified. “Outside” is the layer furthest away from the Zone airs (not necessarily the outside environment). “Inside” is the layer next to the Zone air. Define Construction name and select Layer material from Dropdown list

Click on Construction and add Obj

13.

GlobalGeometryRules

EnergyPlus uses a three dimensional (3D) Cartesian coordinate system for surface vertexspecification. This Right Hand coordinate system has the X-axis pointing east, the Yaxispointing north, and the Z-axis pointing up.


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 F ield: Starti ng Vertex Positi on

The shadowing algorithms in EnergyPlus rely on surfaces having vertices in a certain orderand positional structure. Thus, the surface translator needs to know the starting point for eachsurface entry. The choices are: UpperLeftCorner, LowerLeftCorner,UpperRightCorner, orLowerRightCorner. Since most surfaces will be 4 sided, the convention will specify thisposition as though each surface were 4 sided. Extrapolate 3 sided figures to this convention.For 5 and more sided figures; again, try to extrapolate the best “corner” starting position. F ield: Vertex Entry Di r ection

Surfaces are always specified as being viewed from the outside of the zone to which theybelong.EnergyPlus needs to know whether the surfaces are being specified incounterclockwise or clockwise order (from the Starting Vertex Position). EnergyPlus uses thisto determine the outward facing normal for the surface (which is the facing angle of thesurface – very important in shading and shadowing calculations. Y Axis X Axis Z Axis

Zone North Axis F ield: Coordi nate System

Vertices can be specified in two ways: using “Absolute”/“World” coordinates, or a relativecoordinate specification. Relative coordinates allow flexibility of rapid change to observechanges in building results due to orientation and position. “World” coordinates will facilitateuse within a CADD system structure. Relative coordinates make use of both Building and Zone North Axis values as well as ZoneOrigin values to locate the surface in 3D coordinate space. World coordinates do not usethese values.

Typically, all zone origin values for “World” coordinates will be (0,0,0) but Building and zoneNorth Axis values may be used in certain instances (namely the Daylighting CoordinateLocation entries).


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Define all fields from Dropdown list

Click on GlobalGeometryRules and add new Obj

14. Zone Now we start with a new group - Thermal Zone Description/Geometry. Without thermal zones and surfaces, the building can’t be simulated. This group of objects (Zone, Surface) describes the thermal zone characteristics as well as the details of each surface to be modeled. Included here are shading surfaces.

Enter zone Name and other fields

This element sets up the parameters to simulate each thermal zone of the building. Field: North Axis The Zone North Axis is specified relative to the Building North Axis. This value is specified in degrees (clockwise is positive). Field(s): Origin (X,Y,Z) The X,Y,Z coordinates of a zone origin can be specified, for convenience in vertices entry. Depending on the values in “SurfaceGeometry”, these will be used to completely specify the


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 building coordinates in “world coordinate” or not. Zone Origin coordinates are specified relative to the Building Origin (which always 0,0,0). Field: Ceiling Height Zone ceiling height is used in several areas within EnergyPlus. Energyplus automatically calculates the zone ceiling height (m) from the average height of the zone. If this field is 0.0 or negative, then the calculated zone ceiling height will be used in subsequent calculations. If this field is positive, then the calculated zone ceiling height will not be used -- the number entered here will be used as the zone ceiling height. If this number differs significantly from the calculated ceiling height, then a warning message will be issued. Note that the Zone Ceiling Height is the distance from the Floor to the Ceiling in the Zone, not an absolute height from the ground.

15.

Wall:Exterior

The Wall:Exterior object is used to describe walls that are exposed to the externalenvironment. They receive sun, wind – all the characteristics of the external world. F ield: Name

This is a unique name associated with the exterior wall. It is used in several other places as areference (e.g. as the base surface name for a Window or Door). F ield: Constru ction N ame

This is the name of the construction (ref: Construction) used in the surface. F ield: Z one Name

This is the zone name to which the surface belongs. F ield: Azimu th Angle

The Azimuth Angle indicates the direction that the wall faces (outward normal). The angle isspecified in degrees where East=90, South=180, West=270, North=0. F ield: Ti lt Angle

The tilt angle is the angle (in degrees) that the wall is tilted from horizontal (or the ground). Normally, walls are tilted 90 degrees and that is the default for this field. Starti ng Corner f or th e sur f ace

The rectangular surfaces specify the lower left corner of the surface for their startingcoordinate. This is specified with (x,y,z) and can be relative to the zone origin or in worldcoordinates, depending on the value for rectangular surfaces specified in theGlobalGeometryRules object. F ield: Starti ng X Coordin ate

This field is the X coordinate (in meters). F ield: Starti ng Y Coordinate


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 This field is the Y coordinate (in meters). F ield: Starti ng Z Coor dinate

This field is the Z coordinate (in meters). F ield: Length

This field is the length of the wall in meters. F ield: H eight

This field is the height of the wall in meters.

Click on Wall: Exterior and add four Objects


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16.

1.

Define Wall Names

2.

Select construction name from Dropdown list

3.

Select Zone Name from Dropdown list

4.

Define Azimuth angle for all wall (East=90, South=180, West=270, North=0)

5.

Tilt Angle retain as default

6.

Enter (X,Y ,Z) coordinates of lower left corner of walls

7.

Enter Length and Height of all walls

Roof

The Roof object is used to describe roofs that a re exposed to the external environment. F ield: Name

This is a unique name associated with the roof. F ield: Constru ction N ame

This is the name of the construction (ref: Construction) used in the surface. Regardless oflocation in the building, the “full” construction (all layers) is used. F ield: Z one Name


The Azimuth Angle indicates the direction of the outward normal for the roof. The angle isspecified in degrees where East=90, South=180, West=270, North=0.


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 F ield: Ti lt Angle

The tilt angle is the angle (in degrees) that the wall is tilted from horizontal (or the ground). Flat roofs are tilted 0 degrees and that is the default for this field. Starti ng Corner f or th e sur f ace

The rectangular surfaces specify the lower left corner of the surface for their startingcoordinate. This is specified with (x,y,z) and can be relative to the zone origin or in worldcoordinates, depending on the value for rectangular surfaces specified in theGlobalGeometryRules object. F ield: Starti ng X Coordin ate


This field is the Y coordinate (in meters). F ield: Starti ng Z Coor dinate


This field is the length of the roof in meters. F ield: Width

This field is the width of the roof in meters.

Follow the same steps as done in exterior wall


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17.

Floor:Adiabatic

The Floor:Adiabatic object is used to describe interior floors or floors that you wish to modelwith no heat transfer from the exterior to the floor. F ield: Name

This is a unique name associated with the floor. F ield: Constru ction N ame

This is the name of the construction (ref: Construction) used in the surface. F ield: Z one Name


The Azimuth Angle indicates the direction of the outward normal for the roof. The angle isspecified in degrees where East=90, South=180, West=270, North=0. F ield: Ti lt Angle

The tilt angle is the angle (in degrees) that the wall is tilted from horizontal (or the ground). Flat floors are tilted 180 degrees and that is the default for this field. Starti ng Corner f or th e sur f ace

The rectangular surfaces specify the lower left corner of the surface for their startingcoordinate. This is specified with (x,y,z) and can be relative to the zone origin or in worldcoordinates,

depending

on

the

value

for

rectangular

surfaces

specified

in

theGlobalGeometryRules object. F ield: Starti ng X Coordin ate


This field is the Y coordinate (in meters). F ield: Starti ng Z Coor dinate



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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 This field is the length of the floor in meters. F ield: Width

This field is the width of the floor in meters.

Follow the same steps as done in exterior wall

18. Schedule Type Now we start with a new group - Schedules This group of objects allows the user to influence scheduling of many items (such as occupancy density, lighting, thermostatic controls, occupancy activity). In a ddition, schedules are used to control shading element density on the building. EnergyPlus schedules consist of three pieces: a day description, a week description, and an annual description. An optional element is the schedule type. Each description level builds off the previous sub-level. The day description is simply a name and the values that span the 24 hours in a day to be associated with that name. The week description also has an identifier (name) and twelve additional names corresponding to previously defined day descriptions. There are names for each individual day of the week plus holiday, summer design day, winter design day and two more custom day designations. Finally, the annual schedule contains an identifier and the names and FROM-THROUGH dates of the week schedules associate with this annual schedule. The annual schedule can have several FROM-THROUGH date pairs. One type of schedule reads the values from an external file to facilitate the incorporation of monitored data or factors that change throughout the year. Schedules are processed by the EnergyPlus Schedule Manager, stored within the Schedule Manager and are accessed through module routines to get the


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 basic values (timestep, hourly, etc). Values are resolved at the Zone Time Step frequency and carry through any HVAC time steps. Information from the EnergyPlus Input Output Reference: ScheduleType

A “schedule type” can be used to validate portions of the other schedules. DaySchedules, for example, are validated by range -- minimum/maximum (if entered) -- as well as numeric type (continuous or discrete). Schedules, on the other hand, are only validated for range – as the numeric type validation has already been done. F ield: Schedul eType Name

This alpha field should contain a unique (within the schedule types) designator. It is referenced wherever “ScheduleTypes” can be referenced. F ield: r ange

Since schedule values, in their base descriptions, are all numeric, this field will represent the min and max range for the values. If this field is left blank, then the schedule type is not limited to a minimum/maximum value range. F ield: N umer ic Type

This field designates how the range values are validated. Using CONTINUOUS in this field allows for all numbers, including fractional amounts, within the range to be valid. Using DISCRETE in this field allows only integer values between the minimum and maximum range values to be valid. Write name for ScheduleType and define unit type from Dropdown list

19. Schedule Compact For flexibility, a schedule can be entered in “one fell swoop”. Using the Schedule:Compact object, all the features of the schedule components are accessed in a single command. Like the “regular” schedule object, each schedule:compact entry must cover all the days for a year. Additionally, the validations for DaySchedule (i.e. must have values for all 24 hours) and WeekSchedule (i.e. must have values for all day types) will apply. Schedule values are “given” to the simulation at the zone time step, so there is also a possibility of “interpolation” from the entries used in this object to the value used in the simulation. This object is an unusual object for description. For the data the number of fields and position


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 are not set, they cannot really be described in the usual Field # manner. Thus, the followingdescription will list the fields and order in which they must be used in the object. Create 3 schedules with the

schedule type limit “Any Number” through 12/31 for all days, 24 hours with the values 4, 20, 24

F ield: Name

This field should contain a unique (within all Schedules) designation for this schedule. It is referenced by various “scheduled” items (e.g. Lights, People, Infiltration) to define the appropriate schedule values. F ield: Schedul eType

This field contains a reference to the ScheduleType. If found in a list of ScheduleTypes (see above), then the restrictions on the ScheduleType could be used to validate the referenced WeekSchedule (which reference DaySchedule) hourly field values. Field-Set (Through, For, Interpolate, Until, Value) each compact schedule must contain the elements Through (date), For (days), Interpolate (optional), Until (time of day) and Value. In general, each of the “titled” fields must include the “title”. F ield: Thr ough

This field starts with “Through:” and contains the endin g date for the schedule period (may be more than one). Date Field Interpretation for information on date entry – note that only Month-Day combinations are allowed for this field. Each “through” field generates a new WeekSchedule named “Schedule Name”_wk_# where # is the sequential number for this compact schedule. F ield: For

This field starts with “For:” and contains the applicable days (reference the compact week schedule object above for complete description) for the 24 hour period that must be described. Each “for” field generates a new DaySchedule named “Schedule Name”_dy_# where # is the sequential number for this compact schedule. F ield: Until

This field contains the ending time (again, reference the interval day schedule discussion above) for the current days and day schedule being defined. F ield: Valu e


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 Finally, the value field is the schedule value for the specified time interval.

20.

HVAC Template Thermostat

You can define HVAC thermostat schedule in this template. Each type of HVAC template zone object may reference one of these HVAC template thermostat objects. The object allows the set points to be specified either as a constant for the entire simulation or as schedules. F ield: Name

A name used to reference this object. F ield: H eatin g Setpoint Schedule N ame

Enter the name of a heating setpoint schedule that has values that change at different times of the day or year. If a constant set point is needed simply leave this field blank and use the next field. The values in the schedule are in degrees C. F ield: Constant H eatin g Setpoint

Enter the heating setpoint temperature in degrees C if constant throughout the year. If the previous field is used this field should be left blank and will be ignored. F ield: Cooli ng Setpoin t Schedul e Name

Enter the name of a cooling setpoint schedule that has values that change at different timesof the day or year. If a constant set point is needed simply leave this field blank and use thenext field. The values in the schedule are in degrees C. F ield: Constant Cool in g Setpoint

Enter the cooling set point temperature in degrees C if constant throughout the year. If the previous field is used this field should be left blank and will be ignored.

Write thermostat name and select schedule from Dropdown list

21.

HVACTemplateZone:IdealLoadsAirSystem

The simplest piece of zone equipment is the ZoneHVAC:IdealLoadsAirSystem component.ZoneHVAC: Ideal LoadsAirSystem is used in situations where the user wishes to


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Getting Started with EnergyPlus Tutorial: 1 study theperformance of a building without modelling a full HVAC system. In such a case, the IdealLoadsAir System is usually the sole conditioning component: the user does not need tospecify air loops, water loops, etc. All that is needed for the ideal system are zone controls,zone equipment configurations, and the ideal loads system component. This component can be operated with infinite or finite heating and cooling capacity. For either mode – infinite or limited capacity – the user can also specify on/off schedules for heating and cooling and outdoor air controls. There are also optional controls for dehumidification, humidification, economizer, and heat recovery. This component may be used in combination with other HVAC equipment serving the same zone. This component can be thought of as an ideal unit that mixes air at the zone exhaust condition with the specified amount of outdoor air and then adds or removes heat and moisture at 100% efficiency in order to produce a supply air stream at the specified conditions. The energy required to condition the supply air is metered and reported asDistrictHeating and DistrictCooling.

Write zone Name and select Template Thermostat Name from Dropdown list

22.

Output Table:SummaryReport

This object allows the user to call report types that are predefined and will appear with the other tabular reports. These predefined reports are sensitive to the OutputControl:Table:Styleobject and appear in the same files as the tabular reports. The entry for this object is a list of the predefined reports that should appear in the tabular report output file.

Select AllSummary from Dropdown list


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23. OutputControl:Table:Style The OutputControl:Table:Style object controls how all standardized reports are produced.There are seven different option available for output table style such that Comma, Tab Fixed,HTML,CommaAndHTML,TabAndHTML, All. The Comma style produces a text file (eplustbl.csv) with the values of the table separated bycommas. This is a good format for importing the results into a spreadsheet. If you do openthe file with a spreadsheet, make sure you close the file prior to rerunning EnergyPlusotherwise the file will not be updated. The HTML style produces a file (eplustbl.htm) that can be opened with an internet browserprogram. The values are shown in a tabular format that is easy to view. One advantage of theHTML style is that the results can be viewed in an internet browser program and EnergyPluscan be rerun and the “refresh” button pressed i n the internet browser program to see the newresults.

Select HTML from Dropdown list

Now Save thi s fil e to corr ect path and you have fini shed creating the i nput fi l e for Tutori al: 1.I t is time to run the simul ation.

24. Start EP launch To run the simulation you have to start the programme “EP Launch” Go to Start > All Programs > EnergyPlus V7-1 Programs >EP-Launch as shown in the figure below.


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Click on EP-Launch

25. Select the IDF file In the EP-Launch programme select the input file by clicking on the browse button. Click “Simulate” button, located on the lower right corner of the window.

Select tutorial.idf file

Select weather file for simulation

26.

View 3D of the model

You can check your 3D model with EP-launch. If you have installed any 3D viewer such that Autodesk DesignReview, the DXF drawing will be opened in it.


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Click on Drawing File, it will create .dxf file in the project directory.

The drawing should look like as shown in the figure below. If it does not match there is some error in the data given for surfaces.

27. During Simulation Run Once you start the simulation a DOS shell will openshowing the progress of simulation. This blackwindow will close when the simulation is over or if there is an error.


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28. Run Status After the simulation is over or EnergyPlus encounters an error, the DOS shell will close and the focus will go back to the EP-Launch programme. A status window will open and show the number of warnings and errors along with time elapsed. If you have entered the data correctly and installation of EnergyPlus is correct you will not get any errors. Press OK. If there are errors press the “ERR: button in the “Quick Open Panel for Single Simulation” window. This is a small window below the EP-Launch window. The error file will be opened in Notepad. Try to understand the error and fix it.

Step 1: Check for warning

Step 2: Press OK

and errors

29. Output data Now it is time to see the results of the simulation. One of the outputs of EnergyPlus is the HTML file. You can see the file by clicking on the HTML button as shown in figure below. The file will be opened in internet browser.


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Click on HTML to view results

You should get the same numbers as shown in above figure. If you are getting the same numbers, congratulations, you have successfully completed the getting started tutorial. You can also download tutorial.idf from following link XXXXXTutorial.idf Write us for comments or feedback at [email protected]


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Tutorial 1_Getting Started on EnergyPlus_20120618_0

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