.Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.UsersGuide.GettingStarted

Information

How to instantiate models for one or several buildings

To instantiate one or several building models, proceed as follows:

1. Create an instance of Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Building to specify the building model. This instance is automatically named building and this name must not be changed.
2. In the instance building, specify building-level parameters such as the EnergyPlus input file name and weather file name.
3. For the weather file, both .mos and .epw files must be specified. The .epw file will be used by the EnergyPlus envelope model, and the .mos file will be used by the Modelica model, and must be specified by the parameters epwName and weaName in the instance building.

The following coupling objects can then be integrated in the model that contains the instance building, or in any model instantiated by that model.

• To connect Modelica zone models with the equivalent EnergyPlus zone envelopes, instantiate any number of Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.ThermalZone models and parameterize them with the name of the thermal zones as they are entered in the EnergyPlus input data file. Each model should also be assigned the medium of heat transfer (typically air), as is done for any other fluid flow component.
• To write to EnergyPlus actuators or schedules during the simulation, instantiate any number of Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Actuator or Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Schedule models.
• To retrieve the current values of output variables from EnergyPlus, instantiate any number of Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.OutputVariable models.
• To model an opaque construction such as a radiant slab in Modelica and interface it to EnergyPlus, instantiate any number of Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.OpaqueConstruction models.
• To set individual surface temperatures in EnergyPlus and retrieve their room-side heat gains, instantiate any number of Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.ZoneSurface models.

If you have more than one building, you can repeat the above steps for each building and combine these building models in a top-level model. See for example Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Validation.MultipleBuildings.ThreeZonesTwoBuildings for how to combine two buildings in one Modelica model.

For details of how to configure these models, see the information section of these models, and look at the example models below.

Example models

To get started, we recommend to look at the simple examples in Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Examples.SingleFamilyHouse which illustrate the use of all these objects based on a single family house. Also, read the information section of the models you plan to use in Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.

We suggest looking at the examples in the following order which starts with the simplest example and moves to more comprehensive ones.

1. Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Examples.SingleFamilyHouse.Unconditioned is modeling one zone, the living room, in Modelica as an unconditioned zone with a fixed amount of outside air infiltration.
2. Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Examples.SingleFamilyHouse.AirHeating adds an air-based heating system that recirculates air to track a heating setpoint temperature.
3. Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Examples.SingleFamilyHouse.EquipmentSchedule shows how to set the equipment schedule in Modelica and override the schedule in EnergyPlus. It also uses the unconditioned thermal zone to keep it simple.
4. Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Examples.SingleFamilyHouse.LightsControl is showing how to set the value of an EMS Actuator, here the one that sets internal gains caused by the lights which are controlled by Modelica based on time of day and sun position. The model also shows how to read an EnergyPlus output variable, here for the lighting electricity consumption.
5. Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Examples.SingleFamilyHouse.ShadeControl reads from EnergyPlus the incident solar radiation, retrieves from the thermal zone its temperature, and based on these values, actuates the window shading control using an EMS actuator.
6. Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Examples.SingleFamilyHouse.RadiantHeatingCooling_TSurface and Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Examples.SingleFamilyHouse.RadiantHeatingCooling_TRoom illustrate how to couple a radiant slab for heating and cooling which interfaces two surfaces in EnergyPlus: The floor that connects the slab to the zone above, and the ceiling that connects the slab to the zone below. In the first model, cooling is controlled based on the surface temperature, and in the second model, it is controlled based on the room temperature.
7. Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Examples.SingleFamilyHouse.HeatPumpRadiantHeatingGroundHeatTransfer illustrates how to couple a radiant slab for heating in a configuration in which the bottom of the slab is connected to a ground heat transfer model in Modelica. Heating is provided with a geothermal heat pump that is connected to a borehole heat exchanger.
8. Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus_9_6_0.Examples.SingleFamilyHouse.Radiator shows how to couple a radiator to a thermal zone.