Is it possible to run EnergyPlus without having OpenStudio?

grasshopper honeybee
1

Hi everyone,

I had a simple question - is it possible to run E+ in Honeybee without using OpenStudio? I know it was possible in the legacy versions. As I am going through the tutorials on YouTube, the features available in the “HB Run EnergyPlus” component in the legacy version no longer exist in the “EnergyPlus Annual Load” or “Peak Load” component. So is the only way to run the program using the “HB To OSM” tool?

Thanks!

Best,
Aishwarya

2

Hi @aishuiyer1 , can you be a bit more specific on what are the features missing in EnergyPlus Annual Load component compared o the legacy version

3

Hello @maheshjayayachander!

I meant features like controlling analysis period, simulation parameters, outputs needed, idf file folder and so on. These existed in the “HB Run E+” tool earlier. Now they seem to all be linked to the “HB to OSM” tool.

Thanks for responding!

Best,
Aishwarya

4

Hi @aishuiyer1 ,

Those types of features technically still exist on the SDK layer of the new LBT plugin so you could create your own component that used them with a few lines of Python of the Ladybug Tools SDK. However, if we exposed these features on an official LBT component, they would be an exact duplication of the “HB To OSM” component features but just with more limitations (eg. no detailed HVAC, no ability to use the AirflowNetwork, no multi-state dynamic window constructions). So the recommendation is just to use the “Model To OSM” component for any energy simulation where you need the full feature set, including things like run periods and reporting of custom E+ outputs.

The only reason I could think of why you would want to use the limited direct-to-idf methods that underlie the “HB Annual Loads” and “HB Peak Loads” components is when you need a very quick simulation that is optimized for a very simple output (like thermal loads).

If you have another use-case in mind to get a simple metric out of EnergyPlus by means of an optimized simulation pathway, let us know since we would probably consider adding a dedicated component for it.

5

Hi @chris ,

Thanks for your response! I was trying to follow along your YouTube tutorials from 2014 and create all the same networks in the newest version of HB and LB. After playing around a bit, I do see that HB to OSM has all the input customizations that the previous run E+ tool did.

However, I could not find how to get similar output readings as those from the previous run E+ file from the HB to OSM tool or the Annual Loads tool. Even when the file runs completely, the panels don’t seem to show me the values for cooling/heating/end use for each room separately. They just output “Hourly Collection Data …(kWh/m2)… 744 values” or something along those lines in a panel. It’s possibly something I will figure out once I work more with the SQL output type, but I was wondering if there was a version of the old tool I was missing here.

Thanks a lot for your response!

Best,
Aishwarya

6

Use the LB Deconstruct Data component to turn the Data Collections into lists of values. Then, it will feel a lot more like Legacy.