Repository of a Parametric Analysis Tool (PAT) project and for scripts related to modeling of different HVAC systems for buildings in a district served by a district thermal energy system.
The Measures
directory are the new measures developed to extract data from the simulations. Update these measures and not the measures in the Test Suite measures directory. PAT should be used to update the measures in the Test Suite project.
The Test
directory contains a PAT project for testing the functionality of the measures. The PAT project is named HVAC_Test
and can be opened in PAT > 3.x.
The test suite is a project for the PAT, in which one can apply the measures in this repo to a model (such as one created by the Create DOE Prototype Building measure) to test them.
Expected behavior from tests:
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If the building model contains a hydronic HVAC system (with the heating loop having "Hot", or another user-designated string, in its name and the cooling loop having "Chilled", or another user-designated string, in its name)": Applying the Add Output Variables for Hydronic HVAC measure, and then Export Time Series Loads CSV (in that sequence) should work successfully to generate a time series file of loads (temperatures and mass flow rates for the building-level hydronic HVAC system) for Modelica model of a district thermal energy system. The "Hospital" and "Large Office" (ASHRAE 90.1-2010) prototype building models are examples of models with hydronic HVAC systems, with the loops named in this way.
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If the building model does not have a hydronic HVAC system, or neither of the loops are named as described above: The Add Output Variables for Hydronic HVAC measure will generate an error, explaining that appropriately-named plant loops could not be found in the model. As a result, the Export Time Series Loads CSV measure, which follows the Add Output Variables for Hydronic HVAC measure in the workflow, will not run. The "Medium Office" (ASHRAE 90.1-2010) prototype building model is an example of a model without a hydronic HVAC system.
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If the building model has one, but not both (heating and cooling) of the plant loops named as described above: The Add Output Variables for Hydronic HVAC measure and Export Time Series Loads CSV measure will both generate warnings identifying the plant loop that could not be found. The plant loop for which data is available will have its mass flow rates and temperatures exported to a CSV file. This can be tested by using the "Create DOE Prototype" building model to generate a Large Office or Hospital model (ASHRAE 90.1-2010), and then re-naming one of the loops so that it does not contain the desired string, and using that as the seed model. Such a model is available in this repo, named "example_model_misnamed_loops.osm." Note that in order to run this test case, one must also run an alternative with another measure in the workflow having a variable defined. This can be the Create DOE Prototype Building measure, for example, with a variable defined based on it, and the measure skipped in the alternative used to test the behavior for mis-named loops.
Note that the Add Output Variables for Hydronic HVAC and Export Time Series Loads CSV measures are also predicated on there being exactly one loop each for heating and cooling, with a given string in its name as supplied by the user. The measures are not yet compatible with multiple hydronic loops of a given type, but could be extended for that purpose in the future.