[solved] [urgent] error probably related to wrongly written IDF file on the class of SizingPeriod

For the attached simple demo file, I got the following errors when running EnergyPlus simulation:

   ** Severe ** IP: IDF line~48 Invalid Number in Numeric Field#7 (Enthalpy at Maximum Dry-Bulb ), value=WINTERDESIGNDAY, in SIZINGPERIOD:DESIGNDAY=SINGAPORE ANN HTG 99.6% CONDNS DB
   ************* IDF Context for following error/warning message:
   ************* Note -- lines truncated at 300 characters, if necessary...
   *************     53 SizingPeriod:DesignDay,
   ************* indicated Name=SINGAPORE Ann Htg 99% Condns DB
   ************* Only last 10 lines before error line shown.....
   *************     57        23.5,      !- Humidity Indicating Conditions at Maximum Dry-Bulb
   *************     58     101133.,      !- Barometric Pressure {Pa}
   *************     59           2,      !- Wind Speed {m/s} design conditions vs. traditional 6.71 m/s (15 mph)
   *************     60         320,      !- Wind Direction {Degrees; N=0, S=180}
   *************     61        0.00,      !- Clearness {0.0 to 1.1}
   *************     62           0,      !- Rain {0-no,1-yes}
   *************     63           0,      !- Snow on ground {0-no,1-yes}
   *************     64          21,      !- Day of Month
   *************     65          12,      !- Month
   *************     66   WinterDesignDay,!- Day Type

The relevant lines in the IDF file is shown below:

SizingPeriod:DesignDay,
SINGAPORE Ann Htg 99.6% Condns DB,     !- Name
         23,      !- Maximum Dry-Bulb Temperature {C}
        0.0,      !- Daily Temp Range {C}
         23,      !- Humidity Indicating Conditions at Maximum Dry-Bulb
    101133.,      !- Barometric Pressure {Pa}
          2,      !- Wind Speed {m/s} design conditions vs. traditional 6.71 m/s (15 mph)
        320,      !- Wind Direction {Degrees; N=0, S=180}
       0.00,      !- Clearness {0.0 to 1.1}
          0,      !- Rain {0-no,1-yes}
          0,      !- Snow on ground {0-no,1-yes}
         21,      !- Day of Month
         12,      !- Month
WinterDesignDay,!- Day Type
          0,      !- Daylight Savings Time Indicator
   WetBulb;       !- Humidity Indicating Type

! SINGAPORE_SGP Annual Heating 99%, MaxDB=23.5°C
SizingPeriod:DesignDay,
SINGAPORE Ann Htg 99% Condns DB,     !- Name
       23.5,      !- Maximum Dry-Bulb Temperature {C}
        0.0,      !- Daily Temp Range {C}
       23.5,      !- Humidity Indicating Conditions at Maximum Dry-Bulb
    101133.,      !- Barometric Pressure {Pa}
          2,      !- Wind Speed {m/s} design conditions vs. traditional 6.71 m/s (15 mph)
        320,      !- Wind Direction {Degrees; N=0, S=180}
       0.00,      !- Clearness {0.0 to 1.1}
          0,      !- Rain {0-no,1-yes}
          0,      !- Snow on ground {0-no,1-yes}
         21,      !- Day of Month
         12,      !- Month
WinterDesignDay,!- Day Type
          0,      !- Daylight Savings Time Indicator
   WetBulb;       !- Humidity Indicating Type

It seems that there is an empty line after the line for "!- Humidity Indicating Type" field, and nothing is specified for "! SINGAPORE_SGP Annual Heating 99%, MaxDB=23.5°C" field.

May I ask why this happens and how to correct the error?

Thank you very much!

Attachments:

AR4322_tutorial_1_v055.gh, 577 KB

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Grasshope on July 22, 2016 at 2:37am

FYI, the IDF file and the error file are also attached.

Attachments:

house_01_withBlinds_noContext.idf, 93 KB
house_01_withBlinds_noContext.err, 23 KB

Permalink Reply by Abraham Yezioro on July 22, 2016 at 7:02am

Hi Grasshope,

I believe the issue is worst than what you submitted.

I have to say that i open the idf with E+8.3 Launcher. The idf version is 8.4, but i don't think thinks have changed so much for the following:

See attached. As you can see the requirements of the editor are completely different than those of the supplied in the idf. Some inputs are mismatched and some inputs are missing (those in blue).

Maybe this is caused by the recent changes Chris implemented with OpenStudio stuff. I don't know. I would report this issue in the github.

-A.

Attachments:

Capture.JPG, 280 KB

Permalink Reply by Grasshope on July 22, 2016 at 7:49am

Thank you very much, Abraham!

Yes, as you find out, the IDF file generated for EP v.8.4 can still be executed in EP Launch for v8.3.

So, some file format stuff might have gone wrong in the latest Honeybee when writing out the IDF file.

Hope this can be fixed soon.

Meanwhile, I'll suggest our student to run the IDF file in EP 8.3.

Permalink Reply by Abraham Yezioro on July 22, 2016 at 10:31am

I don't believe this file can be run in EP8.3. As i pointed out the formating for the SizingPeriod doesn't fit the required fields.

You can open the file with the launcher but the simulation will fail.

-A.

Permalink Reply by Chris Mackey on July 23, 2016 at 12:48am

Grasshope and Abraham,

I apologize for the late response here. I just finished teaching a workshop on LB with Mostapha and I have a lot to catch up on here. I know that this error is related to the fact that I recently switched the Run Simulation component to use the design days in the ddy file instead of the previous sizing, which was done based on extreme periods in the EPW. Using the ddy file is better practice than sizing based on extreme EPW periods but I did not test out the new workflow for all ddy files. It seems that some formats of ddy files may cause this error. I am travelling now but I will gix this issue as soon as I get back in ~14 hours. In the meantime, I would strongly recommend using the OpenStudio component instead of the run simulation component. The OpenStudio component currently has all of the features of the run simulation component and, over the next few months, we will begin phasing out the run simulation component to focus all development on OpenStudio. The reason is that OpenStudio allows us to model the HVAC, which is now fully-functional in the OpenStudio component.

-Chris

Permalink Reply by Chris Mackey on July 23, 2016 at 12:57am

Also, if you test out your files with OpenStudio, please let me know the result here. I imagine that it should run smoothly but I am not positive.

Permalink Reply by Grasshope on July 23, 2016 at 1:43am

Yes, Chris, replacing the Run Simulation component with the Export_to_OpenStudio component solves the problem I reported.

Thank you very much for you advice!

The revised example file is attached here, too.

Attachments:

AR4322_tutorial_1_v056_OpenStudioComponent.gh, 625 KB

Permalink Reply by Grasshope on July 23, 2016 at 1:10am

Thank you very much, Chris!

I just found out that we got the error as reported when using Singapore's weather file for the Run Simulation component, not for other default EPW files come with EergyPlus installation.

Can you advise a way to solve this problem that is particular to the Singapore weather file when using the Run Simulation component?

We may explore the OpenStudio components later, but for the time being, we still need to use the Run Simulation component in our current workflow for teaching.

So, appreciate your help in this particular case!

Permalink Reply by Grasshope on July 23, 2016 at 1:14am

... just add to my reply just now, it seems in the Singapore DDY file, only the following two lines are missing that are included in the DDY files for other USA cities:

RunPeriodControl:DaylightSavingTime,
2nd Sunday in March, !- StartDate
2nd Sunday in November; !- EndDate

Is this the cause of the wrong readying of the DDY file for Singapore?

Appreciate your advice!

Permalink Reply by Grasshope on July 23, 2016 at 1:21am

... OK, it seems that there are quite a lot of fields that are missing from the DDY file of Singapore as compared to that for other cities:

May I ask how to deal with this situation?

Permalink Reply by Grasshope on July 23, 2016 at 1:46am

The issue I posted is solved by replacing the Run Energy Simulation component with Export To OpenStudio component.

Permalink Reply by Grasshope on July 23, 2016 at 2:13am

Hi Chris, if the team is going to focus on development on OpenStudio, maybe you would like to update the installation instruction for Honenybee to include OpenStudio as a required software to install along side EnergyPlus. Radiance and DaySIM?