EnergyPlus Plugin
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Hello all, my name is Craig and I am new here. I have an internship right now in Mechanical Engineering and right now my task, as a junior Computer Science major, is to figure out how to use SketchUp to make EnergyPlus a lot more user friendly. I have dabbled around in both applications separately and have also used the new DoE plugin but I am having a bit of a problem.
You see, I have been trying to load the E+ ready made input files as drawings in SketchUp. It appears as though the drawings have already been modeled for use with the E+ simulation (they have zones and identified building materials) but when I attempt to run a weather-data annual simulation I get an error message:SKETCHUP: This does not appear to be a SketchUp model!
I am confused as to how this is possible considering the sample models draw just fine on Sketchup. Even more confusing is the fact that when I draw from scratch within a SketchUp-established E+ zone, SketchUp still gets lost and outputs the same error message. I have tried reinstalling everything to no avail--I can run simulations using only E+ but Lord knows I can't understand the data or figure out what to tweak in the input editor without having a tutorial to follow.
Any help would be terrific--the plugin seems so new and it is very difficult to Google search my problem so close to the release date...ironic? Thanks guys. -
I am using this at the moment. The latest version is 0.9.4. Make sure you are using this one. It is still beta software, so bugs and crappy documentation are to be expected. The later the version you use, the more likely it is that bugs will have been fixed.
I haven't had the same problems are you are having though, but I am experiencing different ones. To be honest I don't think the plugin is ready for proper use yet. There aren't enough material/surface definitions, and some basic functionality is missing at the moment. To start with you can't duplicate zones, which means that creating zones is time-consuming and prone to inconsistencies. You also can't edit certain basic properties like model elevation and zone names. That said, this app needs people to work with it to improve it. There is an e-mail address for feedback, and I guess that should be the first source of assistance. One of the biggest problems for UK users is the lack of free weather data for use with E+. It costs GBP330 for weather data for just 1 zone, which is just ridiculous.
I have a long list of questions and suggestions to send to the development team. Hopefully it will be of some help. I really hope this will develop into something truly valuable for everyone involved in building design.
[Edit: v0.9.4 is causing lots of bugsplats for me, so it might not be worth 'upgrading' if you have an older version.]
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Thanks for your help. I am not very experienced with the field in which I am currently working but I was basically assigned to explore the plugin to see whether or not the user-interface was solid and worth switching for. I've learned quite a bit so far but I agree with you that this beta is much too buggy and upgrades are critical for the plugin's success. I do have the latest version and I have sent a couple messages to their tech team but have not received a response. I imagine they are more likely to just take the comments and consider the fixes and not send anything my way. After a couple months of being out I would hope they are not far from another release. Thanks again.
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Does anyone else have comments on the new E+ plugin?
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Certainly not user friendly or easy to grasp. Caused my sketchup toolbar to display loads of icons I didn't want at startup. Very frustrating, ended up deleting it. A potentially very useful plugin however, but needs to be way easier to use (No manual at all afaik!!). Then again maybe these environmental simulation programs are just inherently difficult - I remember doing ecotect in uni this yr, not fun at all
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I have heard from others that Ecotect is difficult to use and that it and the SU plugin are alone on the forefront of the energysim movement going on. Like I said, I am new to this whole thing so I am just now being immersed in the issue whereas I imagine most people who are fiddling with the newest projects have extensive knowledge in the field. That being said, I feel like we are humorously behind on having user-friendly technology to run 3D simulations of this kind. Let's just get real, energy efficiency is by no means a new concept, yet the fact that this buggy SU plugin is now considered to be the current benchmark just goes to show us that we have put ourselves in this sticky situation.
All over the internet in forums such as this one people are talking about how more and more companies are going 3D and going green, either because they are sensible or because legislatures are being sensible. Meanwhile, I am wondering why we did not jump on that wagon at the turn of the millennium! As of right now I do not have the programming knowledge to create something like a finished version of the SU plugin; however, I *do* have a good grip on what computers are immediately capable of and I fail to see why it is so difficult to put something together with nails rather than tape. Like I said before, I think that we are playing catch up right now--it's not that it's immensely difficult to make a user-friendly sim, it's that noone had the foresight to make it happen sooner. I know I sound awfully critical for not having the know-how and not even having the know-of until recently, but I truly think that had enough people been told/allowed to put their heads together we would already have DoE-endorsed software and this country could be a lot more proactive concerning energy efficiency. -
@unknownuser said:
I have heard from others that Ecotect is difficult to use and that it and the SU plugin are alone on the forefront of the energysim movement going on. Like I said, I am new to this whole thing so I am just now being immersed in the issue whereas I imagine most people who are fiddling with the newest projects have extensive knowledge in the field. That being said, I feel like we are humorously behind on having user-friendly technology to run 3D simulations of this kind. Let's just get real, energy efficiency is by no means a new concept, yet the fact that this buggy SU plugin is now considered to be the current benchmark just goes to show us that we have put ourselves in this sticky situation.
All over the internet in forums such as this one people are talking about how more and more companies are going 3D and going green, either because they are sensible or because legislatures are being sensible. Meanwhile, I am wondering why we did not jump on that wagon at the turn of the millennium! As of right now I do not have the programming knowledge to create something like a finished version of the SU plugin; however, I do have a good grip on what computers are immediately capable of and I fail to see why it is so difficult to put something together with nails rather than tape. Like I said before, I think that we are playing catch up right now--it's not that it's immensely difficult to make a user-friendly sim, it's that noone had the foresight to make it happen sooner. I know I sound awfully critical for not having the know-how and not even having the know-of until recently, but I truly think that had enough people been told/allowed to put their heads together we would already have DoE-endorsed software and this country could be a lot more proactive concerning energy efficiency.
Well said. It really seems to be a specialist area however, I can't see how it can be easily simplified. I'm really not the person to comment on what route should be taken, the furthest I ever got in ecotect was finding out how energy efficient a glass box with louvers was. User friendly to me would be; a simple way to apply multiple material properties to a face in sketchup (pretty much just some way to set numerous u-values to one face), also an easy way to implement desired inside and outside temperatures, maybe some way simulate heat emmiters like radiators, and some way to 'zone' different rooms/spaces for individual evaluation...
Anyway I'd have a look at ecotect if I were you. Also, if energyplus is to go anywhere it really needs a user manual. But anyway, if it is possible simplify or make the existing energyplus plugin understandable that would be greatly appreciated. -
@princedragoncok said:
@unknownuser said:
Anyway I'd have a look at ecotect if I were you. Also, if energyplus is to go anywhere it really needs a user manual.
Although it is not an enjoyable read by any means, there is documentation on E+ available online through the application. I have read the basics manual and the input basics manual. I won't say that the documentation makes the program easy to understand for someone who knows very little about simulations or the subject-matter but hey, I wouldn't have expected that anyway. I will try ecotect.
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Haha, and by "this country" I mean the United States. Pardon me for the nationalism.
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Cool, well good luck with it. There is also some discussion regarding E+ going on at pushpullbar.com under the sketchup section I believe. Have a look
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