This project includes OpenStudio measures used to model residential buildings via the EnergyPlus simulation engine.
The latest official measures are available on the Building Component Library.
Unit Test Status:
Code Coverage:
Please read the Workflows section to understand how the measures are intended to be used, as well as the Outputs section for a description of the types of outputs that can be produced.
The measures can be run via the standard OpenStudio approaches: the user interfaces (OpenStudio Application and Parametric Analysis Tool), the Command Line Interface, or via the OpenStudio SDK.
If interested in programatically driving the simulations, you will likely find it easiest to use the Command Line Interface approach. The Command Line Interface is a self-contained executable that can run an OpenStudio Workflow file, which defines a series of OpenStudio measures to apply.
An example OpenStudio Workflow (create-model-example.osw) is provided with a pre-populated selection of residential measures and arguments. It can be modified as needed and then run like so:
openstudio.exe run -w create-model-example.osw
This will apply the measures to the OpenStudio seed model specified in the .osw, run the EnergyPlus simulation, and produce output.
These measures can be used in different workflows:
- Create Model - Build up a model from scratch.
- Modify Model - Apply a measure to an existing model.
- Create Model from Geometry - Build up a model on top of an existing geometry.
Status: Available
The Create Model workflow allows building up a complete residential building model from an empty seed and calling a series of measures. The measures should be applied according to the specified measure order.
This workflow includes simple geometry measures to quickly develop 3D building geometry from text-based inputs (floor area, foundation type, number of stories, etc.). These measures are not meant to replace more sophisticated geometry approaches.
Status: Available
Most of these measures were written to be reusable for existing building retrofits. For example, while the dishwasher measure adds a dishwasher to a model without a dishwasher, the same measure will replace a dishwasher that already exists in an existing building model (rather than adding an additional dishwasher to the model). This could be used to evaluate an EnergyStar dishwasher replacement, for example.
While some of these measures may work on any user-created OpenStudio model, they have only been tested on, and are primarily intended to operate on, models created via one of the supported Workflows.
Status: Not Yet Available
In the future, we plan to support workflows where the geometry is defined not through our geometry measures, but through the OpenStudio Geometry Editor or SketchUp. There is currently no timeline for when this workflow will become available.
The order in which these measures are called is important. For example, the Window Constructions measure must be called after windows have been added to the building. The table below documents the intended order of using these measures, and was automatically generated from a JSON file.
* Note: Nearly every measure is dependent on having the geometry defined first so this is not included in the table for readability purposes.
| Group | Measure | Dependencies* |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Location | 1. Location | |
| 2. Geometry | 1. Geometry - Single-Family Detached (or Single-Family Attached or Multifamily) | |
| 2. Number of Beds and Baths | ||
| 3. Number of Occupants | Beds/Baths | |
| 4. Orientation | ||
| 5. Eaves | ||
| 6. Door Area | ||
| 7. Window Areas | ||
| 8. Overhangs | Window Areas | |
| 9. Neighbors | ||
| 3. Envelope Constructions | 1. Uninsulated Surfaces | |
| 2. Ceilings/Roofs - Unfinished Attic (or Finished Roof) | ||
| 3. Ceilings/Roofs - Roof Sheathing | ||
| 4. Ceilings/Roofs - Roofing Material | ||
| 5. Ceilings/Roofs - Radiant Barrier | ||
| 6. Ceilings/Roofs - Ceiling Thermal Mass | ||
| 7. Foundations/Floors - Slab (or Finished Basement, Unfinished Basement, Crawlspace, Pier & Beam) | ||
| 8. Foundations/Floors - Interzonal Floor Construction | ||
| 9. Foundations/Floors - Floor Covering | ||
| 10. Foundations/Floors - Floor Sheathing | ||
| 11. Foundations/Floors - Floor Thermal Mass | ||
| 12. Walls - Wood Stud (or Double Stud, CMU, etc.) | ||
| 13. Walls - Interzonal Construction | ||
| 14. Walls - Wall Sheathing | ||
| 15. Walls - Exterior Finish | ||
| 16. Walls - Exterior Thermal Mass | ||
| 17. Walls - Partition Thermal Mass | ||
| 18. Window Construction | Window Areas, Location | |
| 19. Door Construction | Door Area | |
| 20. Furniture Thermal Mass | ||
| 4. Domestic Hot Water | 1. Water Heater - Fuel Tank (or Electric Tank, Fuel Tankless, Heat Pump, etc.) | Beds/Baths |
| 2. Hot Water Fixtures | Water Heater | |
| 3. Hot Water Distribution | Hot Water Fixtures, Location | |
| 4. Solar Hot Water | Water Heater, Location | |
| 5. HVAC | 1. Central Air Source Heat Pump (or AC/Furnace, Boiler, MSHP, etc.) | |
| 2. Heating Setpoint | HVAC Equipment, Location | |
| 3. Cooling Setpoint | HVAC Equipment, Location | |
| 4. Ceiling Fan | Cooling Setpoint, Beds/Baths | |
| 5. Dehumidifier | HVAC Equipment | |
| 6. Major Appliances | 1. Refrigerator | |
| 2. Clothes Washer | Water Heater, Location | |
| 3. Clothes Dryer - Electric (or Fuel) | Beds/Baths, Clothes Washer | |
| 4. Dishwasher | Water Heater, Location | |
| 5. Cooking Range - Electric (or Fuel) | Beds/Baths | |
| 7. Lighting | 1. Lighting | Location |
| 8. Misc Loads | 1. Plug Loads | Beds/Baths |
| 2. Extra Refrigerator | ||
| 3. Freezer | ||
| 4. Hot Tub Heater - Electric (or Gas) | Beds/Baths | |
| 5. Hot Tub Pump | Beds/Baths | |
| 6. Pool Heater - Electric (or Gas) | Beds/Baths | |
| 7. Pool Pump | Beds/Baths | |
| 8. Well Pump | Beds/Baths | |
| 9. Gas Fireplace | Beds/Baths | |
| 10. Gas Grill | Beds/Baths | |
| 11. Gas Lighting | Beds/Baths | |
| 9. Airflow | 1. Airflow | Location, Beds/Baths, HVAC Equipment, Clothes Dryer |
| 10. Sizing | 1. HVAC Sizing | (lots of measures...) |
See the wiki page for getting setup as a developer. Also reference the OpenStudio Measure Writer's Guide for in-depth resources on authoring and testing measures.