Hi @chris,
I would like to convert HBmodels to IDA-ICE.
I saw that in the site-packages folder the core library of honeybee_idaice is already installed.
With my simple understanding of python I just tried to import this library (ghpython) but it somehow is not recognised by the ghpython component. Is there anywhere some information available on how I could achieve this?
With kind regards,
Erik Beeren
Hey @Erikbeeren ,
If you’re serious about using the LBT ecosystem to produce full-building IDA-ICE models, then I would really recommend using the Pollination Rhino Plugin or at least testing the free trial of it before you go down the route of trying to use the honeybee-idaice package yourself. When you install the Pollination Rhino Plugin, it will give you a component that can write any Honeybee Model to an IDM file like so:
… and, if your Honeybee Model is valid and you have set the correct _thickness_ for the interior walls to be used in translation, it should open in IDA-ICE without issues:
The Rhino plugin will also give you a “Save As IDM” option if your model is currently loaded in the Pollination Rhino plugin, which does the same thing as the component:
So that is what I would recommend if you want to use this in an office where you’re constructing full building energy models on a regular basis and you don’t want to spend hours going back and forth trying to get the model to translate to IDA-ICE correctly. The Rhino Plugin gives you a really good interface for validating your models along with a range of commands for actually fixing these validation issues. It’s also worth noting that, if your model is passing validation in the Pollination Rhino plugin but is translating to IDA-ICE with warnings or errors, we’re committed to fixing the translator so that you do not get the warnings or errors. So trust me that the cost of the Rhino plugin is worth it if you’re being paid to make an energy model and your time is valuable.
Granted, we also understand that you may just be constructing simple models as a researcher, like the single family home I showed above, where getting a valid model is less of a challenge and you have a lot more time on your hands. Or maybe you’re an IDA-ICE expert who wants to tweak things in the translation process. It’s for these reasons that the honeybee-idaice package is open source but just bear in mind that it only does the translation correctly when the input model is valid and it can take a lot of time to get to that point. If you’re going down this route of working with the honeybee-idaice package, you won’t be able to import it directly into GHPython because it has C dependencies and GHPython uses IronPython, which is based on C# rather than C. So you’ll have to interact with the package via CLI if you’re using GHPython.
Thank you @chris for the information.
I will try the pollination plugin.
Really nice you developed the export to ida ice workflow.
It will be useful for us.
Validating the model is no issue for us.
Inspired by Honeybee we are now working from BEM to BIM instead of from BIM to BEM.
BIM models tend to have to much data which you really do not need.
Hi @Erikbeeren! Let me know how it goes and if you have any questions for us. We have very limited knowledge when it comes to IDA-ICE but the feedback who far has been very positive. Will be great to get your feedback and better understand your needs.
