[Equest-users] dd wizard - invalid argument

[Bruce Easterbrook]

     You did have an error in your electric rate but obviously if it is 
not now involved it probably is not the main problem.  That leaves the 
roof.  If you have several custom floors when you create them in the DD 
wizard they will all have roofs.  If they are stacked you will have 
embedded roofs if you have not gone in and removed them which you can't 
do in the DD wizard.  They will only effect floor to floor heat transfer 
and maybe eQuest will give them a solar load I don't know.  eQuest will 
run with them if they are technically (geometrically) correct.  The 
problem is you can't see them in the 3D view if they are covered by 
other floors and easy visual check to see if they are geometrically 
correct is not possible.  That will cause eQuest to crash.  You may be 
able to cheat a little.  eQuest will show external surfaces in a red 
outline in the 3D view.  If this is may be your problem go to the 
building shell tab to one of the floors and highlight the roof in tree 
pane.  Switch to your 3D view and hold your control key and with your 
left mouse held down rotate the 3D model.  It will switch to wire frame 
and the roof surface will be highlighted in red.  I can't remember how 
to turn on the wire frame view but that is possible to do as well.  
Maybe someone monitoring this will refresh my memory.  I think you have 
a roof geometry problem and geometry problems are a pain in the ass.
     The other thing I have noticed and I'm not sure quite why but if 
there was an error and you have corrected it, the program may have not 
actually accommodated the change yet.  My guess is, the program runs in 
a linear fashion start to finish.  A change will probably get added to 
the end of the program as a addition or change.  When the program is run 
again it is using the original file and then the additions, but the 
error is still there and the program hits it first and crashes.  I have 
found when doing major changes it is best just to save the file, close 
it and re-open it.  eQuest will then reorder the file and it probably 
won't crash if you did correct the error.  Run a simulation and you will 
get much better error messages as to what the problem is.  I have 
adjusted my trouble shooting technique to this method in the last few 
weeks and have seen many errors disappear once the file is 
reinitialized.  It has saved many hours of banging my head on the wall.
     This is not specifically for you Aaron, just a general observation 
(tangent).  I have noticed a few guides in the last week or so to help 
new comers but no one has mentioned reinitializing the project.  It may 
be an obscure point but I think it saved me about 30% of my hours on my 
latest project.  One of the biggest things with eQuest is to get it 
running and keep it running as you build your model.  Start simple, 
initially, heat transfer surfaces are important, zones are important, 
windows are not, schedules are not, utilities are not, constructions are 
not, layers are not, HVAC systems and their zones are not.  Geometry is 
CRITICAL.  eQuest will choke with a vertex error of .01, Carol(e) is 
"anal on this point", lol, but she knows what she is talking about.  She 
and Pasha both agree and no doubt will add wisdom if they have any 
pointers to add.  I should add a plug for Nick as well, another heavy 
hauler on this site with major experience beyond his years.  Start 
simple, get the box(es), and surfaces correct.  Zones initially can be 
artificial with the future HVAC system in mind _but also_ to assist with 
the geometry.  Specifically, in dealing with other floors and roofs.  An 
un-named eQuest instructor will attest to this, it is easier to 
manipulate your zoning to assist in your geometry problems and put them 
together later to accommodate your HVAC model than create the surfaces 
on the fly in detailed edit. Especially with 40 students watching!  
eQuest can be humbling even for experts.  NEVER get 30 hours in without 
testing and running it many times on the path.  Lots of saves, build 
your files as well as the model.  The simulation at this point is for 
confirmation your model is running and for error messages.  A tiny error 
in geometry will crash the file.  There is no point doing anything but 
the bare minimum until the geometry is correct.  It will crash your 
project with minimal error messages, maybe none, eQuest will just 
freeze.  Once the geometry is correct keep adding to the complexity one 
step at a time, test and confirm, fix errors, save, then the next step.  
I know it sounds plodding, it is.  Methodical is a much classier word.  
Efficient is more to the point.  I contract so when everything blows up 
I don't get paid.  I eat the hours for my mistakes.  In the end it is 
all similar, whether it is the boss pounding on the door or the client, 
the deadline has arrived, eQuest is not cooperating and you are ready to 
toss the computer out the window, your name is mud.  Plodding is smart.
     Sorry for the digression Aaron, the Voodoo thread was interesting 
and I didn't get to add my 2 cents worth.  I was in a swamp with 
alligators at the time.  On the other hand I did learn a lesson about 
reinitialization.  You learn by doing and making mistakes.
Bruce

On 14/06/2010 06:43 PM, Dahlstrom, Aaron wrote:
>
> Bruce --
>
> The error shows up when I attempt to "finish" the DD wizard.
>
> When I look through the PD2 file and the INP file in Notepad, neither 
> have any explicit errors in them.
>
> The PD2 file does have -
>
> 1) RoofZoneErrorCode = 4
>
> 2) TOUPeriodErrSeas1 = " "
>
> I can get */into /*the wizard just fine, and all the data appears 
> correct. The problem is that when I "finish" the program crashes.
>
> I just experimented with removing the TOU electric rate, and again, 
> when I hit "finish" it crashes eQUEST with the error noted below.
>
> Thanks for trying!
>
> Any other suggestions?
>
> *Aaron Dahlstrom , PE, LEED® AP*
>
> *In P**o**sse* -- A subsidiary of *AKF*| 1500 Walnut Street, Suite 
> 1414, Philadelphia, PA 19102
>
> d: 215-282-6753| m: 267-507-5470| In Posse: 215-282-6800| AKF: 
> 215-735-7290
>
> e: ADahlstrom at in-posse.com | in posse web: www.in-posse.com 
> <http://www.in-posse.com/> | akf web: www.akfgroup.com 
> <http://www.akfgroup.com/>
>
> *From:* Bruce Easterbrook [mailto:bruce5 at bellnet.ca]
> *Sent:* Monday, June 14, 2010 5:21 PM
> *To:* Dahlstrom, Aaron
> *Cc:* equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org
> *Subject:* Re: [Equest-users] dd wizard - invalid argument
>
> It depends where you are in the process.  If you are getting a 
> detailed sim report it should open to the errors part of the report.  
> If you aren't that far open the project BDL or INP files with 
> notepad.  They will list warnings and errors as they are processed.  
> The error will be at the end, there may be contributing errors 
> before.  All it really does is tell you where it kicked out, but it 
> does provide clues.  When you run your simulation make sure the boxes 
> are checked so it will run through errors and warnings.  You get 
> better hints this way.
> Bruce Easterbrook P.Eng.
> Abode Engineering
>
> On 14/06/2010 04:56 PM, Dahlstrom, Aaron wrote:
>
> Folks:
>
> I have gotten the following error several times on the same project.
>
> I have rebuilt the file from scratch already once, and I'm wondering 
> if there is another way to fix this error.
>
> Any idea if there are reports or INIs that I can view / modify to find 
> out where exactly this "invalid argument" is located?
>
> Thanks!
>
> *Aaron Dahlstrom , PE, LEED® AP*
>
> *In P**o**sse* -- A subsidiary of *AKF*| 1500 Walnut Street, Suite 
> 1414, Philadelphia, PA 19102
>
> d: 215-282-6753| m: 267-507-5470| In Posse: 215-282-6800| AKF: 
> 215-735-7290
>
> e: ADahlstrom at in-posse.com <mailto:ADahlstrom at in-posse.com> | in posse 
> web: www.in-posse.com <http://www.in-posse.com/> | akf web: 
> www.akfgroup.com <http://www.akfgroup.com/>
>
>
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