OpenStudio v1.3.1

Fixing string comparison

OpenStudio v1.3.0

These release notes describe version 1.3.0 of the OpenStudio software suite developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Buildings and Thermal Systems, Commercial Buildings Research Group, Tools Development Section, and associated collaborators. The notes are organized into the following sections:

• Where to Find OpenStudio Documentation
• Installation Notes
• Overview
• New Features
• Known Issues

Where to Find OpenStudio Documentation

• OpenStudio release documentation, including these release notes, tutorials, and other user documentation, is available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/documentation.
• C++ API documentation is available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/sdk-documentation.
• Measure writing documentation is available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/openstudio-measure-writing-guide
• OpenStudio Life Cycle Costing Examples are available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/openstudio-life-cycle-examples

Installation Notes

OpenStudio is supported on Windows XP – 8.1, OS X 10.8 – 10.9, and Ubuntu 12.04.
OpenStudio Version 1.3.0 supports EnergyPlus Release 8.0.

Installation Steps

• Download and install EnergyPlus 8.0.
  • Download EnergyPlus 8.0. Create an account and login if you don’t already have one.
  • OpenStudio will work with 32 or 64bit EnergyPlus installers.
• The OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in requires Sketchup 8.0 or SketchUp 2013 (not available for Linux). SketchUp 2014 is supported for Windows, but not yet for Mac.
• Create an OpenStudio account, then download and install OpenStudio.
• Setup a Building Component Library (BCL) account to access online building components and measures. View instructions on how to setup your account and configure the key in OpenStudio.

Optional Installation Steps

• For Radiance integration, download and install Radiance.
• If you plan to use the OpenStudio SDK Ruby bindings via command prompt on Windows, download and extract ruby.zip to C:\Ruby (or other desired location), and add C:\Ruby\bin to the PATH environment variable.

Overview

Development for OpenStudio 1.3.0 has two main focuses.

• Development continuation of the refrigeration interface and addition of new refrigeration model objects. This resulted in a new detailed component grid-view of refrigeration systems. The development was carried out with requirements gathering and guidance from practitioners. The new refrigeration objects include contributions from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
• Enhancements of model objects and methods in support of a collection of Energy Conservation Measures. ECMs were developed to model the recommendations from both the ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide for K-12 Schools, and the ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small to Medium Offices. The ECMs are posted to the Building Component Library (BCL) in conjunction with this OpenStudio release. In addition, ECM supporting material is included with the OpenStudio installer. This includes:
  • A new multi-space type office template.
  • New objects to map constructions and space types to their intended uses.
  • New fenestration methods to describe view and daylight fenestration and skylights.

New Features

OpenStudio Platform 1.3.0

• Improved Standards Data Dictionary (SDD) translation for the California Energy Commission’s CBECC tool.
• Added model objects needed for refrigeration systems – Contributed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
  See the OpenStudio’s Contributors page.
• Added HVAC objects from the OpenStudio’s HVAC roadmap.
• Added climate zone tags to the model. This is in support of measures that need to know what climate zone the model is in.
• Added tags to constructions to indicate both the intended surface type and the standards construction type. This is in support of measures that need to know if a construction represents a steel framed or mass wall.
• Added tags to space types to indicate what building type it is intended for, and what specific space type to map it to. This is in support of measure that will apply to only certain types of spaces.
• Added tags to the building object to indicate what building type this model represents. This is also in support of measures that have different behaviors depending upon the building type.
• Created a new multi-space type Office Template to replace the whole building small, medium and large office templates. This allows measures to be applied to specific space types within and office building. It also gives the modeler more control over the ratio of various space types in their model.
• Added new methods to create and apply skylight grids to roofs.
• Added new methods to apply view and daylight glazing in conjunction with exterior shading and interior light shelves.

OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in 1.3.0

• Updated templates to use the new tags added for constructions and space types. Also, updated infiltration to be on a per exterior wall area vs. air changes per hour.
• Continued to develop experimental user script to import OpenStudio spaces as standard SketchUp groups and to merge SketchUp groups back to OSM files.

OpenStudio Application 1.3.0

• Added customizable pull down menus for standards related tags for climate zones, constructions, space types, and building types. These menus show up in the site, constructions, space types, and facility tabs.
• Updated refrigeration systems in the GUI to support walkin cases.
• Added a detailed component based interface for refrigeration systems interface including cascading systems. A grid style interface has also been added to view multiple refrigerated cases and walkins all in a single view.
• Added support for Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) systems.
• Added support for zone exhaust fans.
• Added support for supply and return plenums.

OpenStudio ParametricAnalysisTool 1.3.0

• Improved general performance, stability, and usability.

OpenStudio RunManager 1.3.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio ResultsViewer 1.3.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio Ruby Bindings 1.3.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio C# Bindings 1.3.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio Python Bindings 1.3.0

• No changes.
• Python bindings are not packaged with OpenStudio. To use them see our developer page for guidance on building OpenStudio.

OpenStudio JavaScript V8 Bindings 1.3.0

• No changes.
• JavaScript bindings are not packaged with OpenStudio. To use them see our developer page for guidance on building OpenStudio.

Known Issues

The following are issues known at the time of publication of these release notes. Please contact [email protected] if you require further assistance.

Known Issues Common to All Platforms

OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in

• If you use copy multiple on group-level OpenStudio objects, you will get one extra copy. The extra group is created by the first copy-and-paste operation and is not removed when the copy multiple occurs. To address this, after you perform a copy multiple procedure on groups or spaces, press delete. The objects you need to delete should already be selected. If you are copying loose surfaces such as windows, there are no problems, as SketchUp will merge equivalent surfaces. [issue #28]
• Using SketchUp's undo operation on OpenStudio model elements may produce unexpected results. [issues #54 and #150]
• SKP and OSM link is not maintained when files are relocated. You can manually re-establish that link. When opening a SketchUp file Launch SketchUp and then Open the SketchUp file. If that doesn't work you can also directly load the OSM file, bypassing the SKP file. [issue #409]
• It is possible for the OpenStudio Plug-in to conflict with other SketchUp plug-ins. If you suspect this is a problem, try testing with other plug-ins disabled, or contact [email protected] for assistance. [issue #26]
• Using "Intersect" in the surface matching dialog can result in a crash or unexpected result. This is more common with models that were imported from other CAD formats at some point in the workflow. It is a good idea to save prior to using this to avoid any loss of data. This is related to an underlying SketchUp bug. [issue #168]
• "Project Loose Geometry" can crash SketchUp. It is a good idea to save prior to using this to avoid any loss of data. [issue #484]
• Adjacent stacked spaces in same zones may result in incorrect area and likely loads as well. [issue #561]
• SaveAs in SketchUp corrupts measures in model. To avoid this, only add measures into model after work in SketchUp is done. [issue #754]
• Using AutoSave in SketchUp can overwrite changes made in OS app if the file is open in both locations. [issue #899]

If your OpenStudio model crashes SketchUp or has unexpected behavior please forward it to [email protected] with a description of the problem. Please also include the directory that has the same name as the OSM file. You can attach it as a zip file.

OpenStudio Application

• Similar thermostats assigned in the SketchUp Plug-in are shared across thermal zones in the OpenStudio application. Changing or turning off one will do the same to others. [issue #123]
• The view does not always refresh correctly when you delete a material from a construction. If you still see a material after clicking the “x”, switch away from and back to the...

OpenStudio v1.2.5

Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/66804960_SkylightsBugs' into dev…

OpenStudio v1.2.4

Merge branch 'develop' of https://github.com/NREL/OpenStudio into dev…

OpenStudio v1.2.3

Fix for bug which resulted in losing building level schedule sets in …

OpenStudio v1.2.2

Adding Kyle's two bugfixes

358786a5dcb89cab3d7fc105746be134c2c4d9c8
c043af984a91bab411ee930c4c0066ed7828c029

OpenStudio v1.2.1

Merge pull request #786 from NREL/59994516_PluginDoors

I think this fixes the last issue, but now seeing issues that occur with. Thanks, I must have missed that.

OpenStudio v1.2.0

These release notes describe version 1.2.0 of the OpenStudio software suite developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Buildings and Thermal Systems, Commercial Buildings Research Group, Tools Development Section, and associated collaborators. The notes are organized into the following sections:

• Where to Find OpenStudio Documentation
• Installation Notes
• Overview
• New Features
• Known Issues

Where to Find OpenStudio Documentation

• OpenStudio release documentation, including these release notes, tutorials, and other user documentation, is available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/documentation.
• C++ API documentation is available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/sdk-documentation.
• Measure writing documentation is available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/openstudio-measure-writing-guide
• OpenStudio Life Cycle Costing Examples are available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/openstudio-life-cycle-examples

Installation Notes

OpenStudio is supported on Windows XP – 8.1, OS X 10.8 – 10.9, and Ubuntu 12.04.

Installation Steps

• Download and install EnergyPlus 8.0.
  • Download EnergyPlus 8.0. Create an account and login if you don’t already have one.
  • OpenStudio will work with 32 or 64bit EnergyPlus installers.
• The OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in requires Sketchup 8.0 or SketchUp 2013 (not available for Linux).
• Create an OpenStudio account, then download and install OpenStudio.
• Setup a Building Component Library (BCL) account to access online building components and measures. View instructions on how to setup your account and configure the key in OpenStudio.

Optional Installation Steps

• For Radiance integration, download and install Radiance.
• If you plan to use the OpenStudio SDK Ruby bindings via command prompt on Windows, download and extract ruby.zip to C:\Ruby (or other desired location), and add C:\Ruby\bin to the PATH environment variable.

Overview

OpenStudio 1.2.0 implements entirely new results visualization. Modelers and developers can create custom reporting measures that show up directly in the OpenStudio application’s results tab. These reporting measures can be shared on the Building Component Library and downloaded directly into the OpenStudio application. This release also features a number of important contributions from external collaborators:

• Oak Ridge National Laboratory added back-end functionality for the modeling of refrigeration systems.
• Penn State University added translation to CONTAM input files.
• Argonne National Laboratory implemented a fast CEN/ISO monthly building energy model calculation.

Also, several new HVAC objects were added, and the initial refrigeration GUI was created within the OpenStudio application’s HVAC systems tab.

New Features

OpenStudio Platform 1.2.0

• Implementation of a fast CEN/ISO monthly building energy model calculation – Contributed by Argonne National Laboratory. See the OpenStudio’s Contributors page.
• Translation of OpenStudio Model to CONTAM input file – Contributed by Penn State University. See the OpenStudio’s Contributors page.
• New methods for intersection of adjacent surfaces.
• Improved Standards Data Dictionary (SDD) translation for the California Energy Commission’s CBECC tool.
• Addition of model objects needed for refrigeration systems – Contributed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. See the OpenStudio’s Contributors page.
• Added HVAC objects from the OpenStudio’s HVAC roadmap.

OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in 1.2.0

• Improved general performance, stability, and usability.
• Continued to develop experimental user script to convert SketchUp groups to OpenStudio spaces.

OpenStudio Application 1.2.0

• Added user-customizable plotting in reporting measures. Reporting measures, introduced in a previous version, have access to the OpenStudio model, the IDF file, and the resulting EnergyPlus SQL results. If a reporting measure creates an html file it will be viewable via a pull-down menu in the OpenStudio application results tab. The two examples that come with OpenStudio use the D3 library to create graphs. More reporting measures will be added to the BCL and accessible directly within the OpenStudio application.
• Added refrigeration systems to the HVAC Systems tab. This work will continue to develop in our next release.

OpenStudio ParametricAnalysisTool 1.2.0

• Improved general performance, stability, and usability.

OpenStudio RunManager 1.2.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio ResultsViewer 1.2.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio Ruby Bindings 1.2.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio C# Bindings 1.2.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio Python Bindings 1.2.0

• No changes.
• Python bindings are not packaged with OpenStudio. To use them see our developer page for guidance on building OpenStudio.

OpenStudio JavaScript V8 Bindings 1.2.0

• No changes.
• JavaScript bindings are not packaged with OpenStudio. To use them see our developer page for guidance on building OpenStudio.

Known Issues

The following are issues known at the time of publication of these release notes. Please contact [email protected] if you require further assistance.

Known Issues Common to All Platforms

OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in

• If you use copy multiple on group-level OpenStudio objects, you will get one extra copy. The extra group is created by the first copy-and-paste operation and is not removed when the copy multiple occurs. To address this, after you perform a copy multiple procedure on groups or spaces, press delete. The objects you need to delete should already be selected. If you are copying loose surfaces such as windows, there are no problems, as SketchUp will merge equivalent surfaces. [issue #28]
• Using SketchUp's undo operation on OpenStudio model elements may produce unexpected results. [issues #54 and #150]
• SKP and OSM link is not maintained when files are relocated. You can manually re-establish that link. When opening a SketchUp file Launch SketchUp and then Open the SketchUp file. If that doesn't work you can also directly load the OSM file, bypassing the SKP file. [issue #409]
• It is possible for the OpenStudio Plug-in to conflict with other SketchUp plug-ins. If you suspect this is a problem, try testing with other plug-ins disabled, or contact [email protected] for assistance. [issue #26]
• Using "Intersect" in the surface matching dialog can result in a crash or unexpected result. This is more common with models that were imported from other CAD formats at some point in the workflow. It is a good idea to save prior to using this to avoid any loss of data. This is related to an underlying SketchUp bug. [issue #168]
• "Project Loose Geometry" can crash SketchUp. It is a good idea to save prior to using this to avoid any loss of data. [issue #484]
• Adjacent stacked spaces in same zones may result in incorrect area and likely loads as well. [issue #561]

If your OpenStudio model crashes SketchUp or has unexpected behavior please forward it to [email protected] with a description of the problem. Please also include the directory that has the same name as the OSM file. You can attach it as a zip file.

OpenStudio Application

• The Annual CV (RMSE) and NMBE numbers in Calibration report do not change color if they fail Calibration method (FEMP vs. ASHRAE) limits. [issue #740]
• Similar thermostats assigned in the SketchUp Plug-in are shared across thermal zones in the OpenStudio application. Changing or turning off one will do the same to others. [issue #123]
• The view does not always refresh correctly when you delete a material from a construction. If you still see a material after clicking the “x”, switch away from and back to the object to refresh the view. [issue #196]
• Some pull-down lists in simulation settings don't work. [issue #496]
• OS App Schedule Editor lets me enter values outside of type limits. [issue #531]
• All drop zones under Water Use Equipment Definitions doesn't enforce schedule types. [issue #532]
• Removing CoilHeatingWater objects can result in orphaned hot water coils. [issue #594]
• Some HVAC components in OpenStudio are missing from the HVAC Library (e.g. Fan:OnOff). [issue #599]
• Many objects in OpenStudio still appear to accept bad input values, but seems like it is just displaying the bad value and not storing it. [issue #656]
• Attempting to autosize a WaterHeater will result in an error. [issue #669]
• Entering an invalid date on the Utility Bills subtab crashes OpenStudio. [issue #739]
• To enable set point schedule drop zones on the Thermal Zones tab, you need to first turn on the thermostat.
• The Site / Utility Rates subtab the workflow are marked as “coming soon,” and will be completed in an upcoming release of OpenStudio.
• The default reporting measures used for the results tab show results in IP units, and do not react to changes in the user’s unit preferences. That will be addressed in future versions of OpenStudio. The measure can be altered to show SI units instead.
• Due to the change in the results tab in OpenStudio 1.2.0, if you open an OSM model made with an earlier version of OpenStudio, you will have to re-run the simulation to see results within the OpenStudio application. ...

OpenStudio v1.1.3

Merge remote-tracking branch 'remotes/origin/61562032_SDDDaylighting'…

OpenStudio v1.1.2

Temporarily disabling c1.xlarge worker node