Anyone have an idea of how to add four tinting state for electrochromic glass or add three shading set points using the following node? I am trying to do a thermal comfort simulation for EC glass in grasshopper, but I was unable to add all the tinting states of the glass and apply a specific schedule to the glass. (I have also include the glass specification image below) Anyone have an idea of how to solve this problem? Attached is the script that I am working on. Any comments or advice would be appreciated.
Agnes,
Unfortunately, Energyplus’s electrochromic glass object does not allow for 4-state shading setpoints. There are a ton of control strategies for 2-state setpoints and the “Target illuminance Setpoint” control strategy allows for continuous multi-step setpoints. However, E+ team has not implemented 4-state setpoints (I think because you will usually get pretty comparable energy use with the 2-state vs 4-state strategy). If you absolutely need to model 4-state controls, there is a way to use a program that can edit the simulation as E+ is running. It takes a lot of time to set up but I will see if I can find a link.
-Chris
Thank you so much for your reply. What you said are quite useful since this question has been bothering me for a long time. I do need to model 4-state controls. I have tried many other software as well (like COMFEN, Designbuilder, and CBE Thermal Comfort Model), but none of these software work. I really hope it could work in grasshopper. Could you please be more specific about the program that can edit the simulation as E+ is running? It would be great if you can find a link. I would love to have a try.
The only platform that comes to mind that allows you dynamic editing of the energy simulation while it’s running is MLE+. The learning curve is very steep, though and I would not recommend it unless you already have a background in coding and understand the IDF file format (also, Matlab is very expensive). What control strategy are you using that requires you to account for all 4 states? Also, what results are you trying to obtain? Energy use? Thermal comfort? It’s a bit hard to tell from your list of simulation software there.
Thank you again for your reply. I took a look at MLE+ and you are right. Unfortunately, I am very poor in coding, and it seems this is not a solution for me. The results I am trying to obtain is thermal comfort. I am using the solar radiation incident on the window and three set points to control the glass. I am looking for a solution which just like what grasshopper can do for Daysim I found this in another post. Is there a way to do the same thing (add four shading states) for Energyplus?
There is also the EMS within EnergyPlus that provides a way to develop custom control and modelling routines for EnergyPlus models. It uses its own small programming language called EnergyPlus Runtime Language (Erl).
It is possible to create EMS scripts from within Grasshopper (using text panels), but it requires an in-depth knowledge of EnergyPlus, IDF, and coding.
