USING PYTHON AND EPPY FOR A LARGE NATIONAL SIMULATION STUDY

A large study was performed using EnergyPlus to assess the maximum technically achievable energy targets for commercial buildings. The study looked at 16 different building models across 17 climates based on the PNNL prototype building models and applied 30 different “maxtech” energy efficiency measures to each. In order to perform the analysis, scripts were developed to modify each building model to implement each individual energy efficiency measures using the open source Eppy scripting library based on Python. In addition, Python was used to automatically extract results, analyze error messages, manage the selection of measure options, and produce summary tables. Simulations were run on a variety of computers, some local and some on the cloud, and managed by a Python script to optimize the use of resources. Data from all simulations was sent to a central location with remote monitoring. The strengths and weaknesses of the overall approach will be discussed as well as lessons learned by performing the overall analysis, the use of EnergyPlus, Eppy and Python scripting. The results of the analysis are presented in the final report and in a future paper. This paper focuses on the use of scripting to perform the analysis.