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RE: [EnergyPlus_Support] HVAC templates and autosizing



David, 
 
Well, here are my two cents on your questions:. 
 
1. I don't know of a clean list of what all can be modeled with templates, but the templates for autosizing are collected in the file HVACTemplates-Autosize.imf.   They are pretty versatile as is and I have had good luck extending them to add parameters (e.g. outdoor air per person) and additional components (eg. heat recovery ventilators). 
 
2. Creating templates is only a little more time-consuming than creating input file segments for one-time use in a model.   
 
3.  You have to be up to speed with the macro language, but most of the learning curve involves gaining familiarity with how to model a particular HVAC system in EnergyPlus.   The flexibility allowed for HVAC system modeling comes at the expense of having to define many components and how they are connected.  The time required to learn this probably depends on how familiar one is with real mechanical and control systems in buildings rather than his or her software programming skills.   
 
4. I haven't created a user interface, but I have worked up a research-class interface to help automate various analyses.  I find that the engine is programmer-friendly.  EnergyPlus has good documentation and a clear specifications for how to work with it.    As for pitfalls, you can still expect to find some bugs in the program. ( An interface developer will want to use the engine's source code to help sort out input mistakes versus real bugs.  The development team is very responsive to dealing with questions and change requests.)  Some people may consider longish run times to be a "pitfall," but for research (and perhaps regulation) I'll take accuracy and versatility over speed.  
 
Brent
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: mkenergycentre [mailto:mkenergycentre@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, July 23, 2004 10:24 AM
To: EnergyPlus_Support@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [EnergyPlus_Support] HVAC templates and autosizing


Dear All,

Some more questions, but this time about HVAC simulation. Before I 
begin I think I should explain the reason for these questions. The UK 
government is considering using EnergyPlus as the basis of a tool 
that will form part of our Building Regulations, specifically to 
enable energy labelling of buildings to comply with a new European 
directive which will be introduced in January 2006. I (and many 
others) are being asked to comment on the practicality of this 
approach and, as well as the questions below, I'd be interested in 
any other views that current users may have on this proposal. Bear in 
mind that the tool is expected to be used by any qualified engineer 
(not specialists) and should return the same energy 'rating' for a 
building regardless of the user's knowledge.

1) I've read in a number of places that putting a system together by 
hand in EnergyPlus can be difficult and time-consuming, but that 
templates are much better. Is there a list of the currently available 
templates? And which have autosizing incorporated?

2) How difficult is it to create a new template? For example, how 
long did it take to create the 'Single Duct VAV w/ Reheat' template?

3) What skills are required to create a new template? If someone was 
already a skilled software developer how long might it take to aquire 
the EnergyPlus knowledge to be able to do this?

4) Finally, not an HVAC question, are there any users with experience 
of creating an interface to EnergyPlus who can comment on any 
possible pitfalls? I believe a major part of the work the UK 
government is considering will be interface development so any 
comments based on practical experiences would be appreciated.

Many thanks
David.




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