OpenStudio v1.5.0

These release notes describe version 1.5.0 of the OpenStudio software suite developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Buildings and Thermal Systems, Commercial Buildings Research Group, Tools Development Section, and associated collaborators. The notes are organized into the following sections:

• Where to Find OpenStudio Documentation
• Installation Notes
• Overview
• New Features
• Known Issues

Where to Find OpenStudio Documentation

• OpenStudio release documentation, including these release notes, tutorials, and other user documentation, is available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/documentation.
• C++ API documentation is available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/sdk-documentation.
• Measure development documentation is available at https://github.com/NREL/OpenStudio/wiki/Measure-Writing-Guide.
• OpenStudio Life Cycle Costing Examples are available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/openstudio-life-cycle-examples.

Installation Notes

OpenStudio is supported on Windows 7 – 8.1, OS X 10.9, and 64-bit Ubuntu 14.04.
OpenStudio 1.5.0 supports EnergyPlus Release 8.1.

Installation Steps

• Download and install EnergyPlus 8.1.
  • Download EnergyPlus 8.1. Create an account and login if you don't already have one.
  • OpenStudio will work with 32 or 64bit EnergyPlus installers.
• The OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in requires Sketchup 2014 (not available for Linux). Older versions are not supported.
• Create an OpenStudio account, then download and install OpenStudio.
• Setup a Building Component Library (BCL) account to access online building components and measures. View instructions on how to setup your account and configure the key in OpenStudio.

Optional Installation Steps

• For Radiance integration, download and install Radiance.

Overview

This OpenStudio 1.5.0 release updates many OpenStudio dependencies. The biggest of these is an upgrade from Ruby 1.8 to Ruby 2.0. This update allows OpenStudio to leverage upon the improvements available in Ruby 2.0, and provides compatibility with SketchUp 2014. However, this update also means that OpenStudio will no longer be compatible with SketchUp 2013 or SketchUp 8. C++ developers will notice upgrades to Qt 5 and Boost 1.55, as well as the inclusion of C++11 features in OpenStudio source code.

OpenStudio for OS X is now built with the 10.9 SDK for Ruby 2.0 support, making Mavericks the primary Apple platform, and Ubuntu 12 support has been removed in favor of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. Windows platform support remains the same, with Windows 7 – 8.1 compatibility.

This OpenStudio 1.5.0 release also includes several improvements to measures. Reporting measures can now request output variables from EnergyPlus to ensure that they have the data they need to create plots or make reports. Additionally, units and descriptions can now be added to measure arguments.

The OpenStudio C++ SDK documentation has been significantly improved, which includes a search feature and links between all Doxygen directories. Updated C++ and Ruby coding standards can be found on the GitHub wiki.

Other notable improvements:

• Previously available for Refrigeration Walk Ins and Refrigeration Cases, GridView (a grid-style interface providing detailed component views) has now been applied to the Space Types tab, as well as the Thermal Zones tab. These GridView-enabled tabs now allow practitioners to view and modify numerous Space Types (or Thermal Zones) and their objects, simultaneously.
• Multiple performance improvements and bug fixes.

New Features

OpenStudio Platform 1.5.0

• HVAC objects added from the OpenStudio HVAC roadmap:
  Changeover Bypass Unitary System

  • AirLoopHVAC:UnitaryHeatCool:VAVChangeoverBypass
  • AirTerminal:SingleDuct:VAV:HeatAndCool:NoReheat
  • AirTerminal:SingleDuct:VAV:HeatAndCool:Reheat

  Supply air to Four Pipe Fan Coil Terminal from DOAS

  • AirTerminal:SingleDuct:InletSideMixer

  Series PIU Terminal

  • AirTerminal:SingleDuct:SeriesPIU:Reheat

  Four Pipe Induction Terminal

  • AirTerminal:SingleDuct:ConstantVolume:FourPipeInduction

  High Temperature Radiant Heater (Gas or Electric)

  • ZoneHVAC:HighTemperatureRadiant

  Two Speed Cooling Tower

  • CoolingTower:TwoSpeed

  Electric Steam Humidifier and assorted Humidity Setpoint Control Types

  • Humidifier:Steam:Electric
  • SetpointManager:SingleZone:Humidity:Minimum
  • SetpointManager:MultiZone:MinimumHumidity:Average
  • SetpointManager:MultiZone:Humidity:Minimum

  Indirect Evaporative Cooler

  • EvaporativeCooler:Indirect:ResearchSpecial

  Dual Setpoint Control – allows temp to float between heating and cooling setpoints

  • Useful for GSHP loops
  • SetpointManager:Scheduled:DualSetpoint

  Outdoor Air Pretreat Control – allows you to specify OA pretreat controls

  • SetpointManager:OutdoorAirPretreat

  Multi-Stage Unitary System – Available in back end (via Measures) but not in GUI yet

  • AirLoopHVAC:UnitaryHeatPump:AirToAir:MultiSpeed
  • Coil:Cooling:DX:MultiSpeed
  • Coil:Heating:Gas:MultiStage
  • ZoneControl:Thermostat:StagedDualSetpoint

• Improved general performance, stability, and usability.

OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in 1.5.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio Application 1.5.0

• GridView has now been applied to the Space Types tab, as well as the Thermal Zones tab.
• Improved general performance, stability, and usability.

OpenStudio ParametricAnalysisTool 1.5.0

• Improved general performance, stability, and usability.

OpenStudio ResultsViewer 1.5.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio Ruby Bindings 1.5.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio C# Bindings 1.5.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio Python Bindings 1.5.0

• No changes.
• Python bindings are not packaged with OpenStudio. To use them see our developer page for guidance on building OpenStudio.

OpenStudio JavaScript V8 Bindings 1.5.0

• No changes.
• JavaScript bindings are not packaged with OpenStudio. To use them see our developer page for guidance on building OpenStudio.

OpenStudio Java Bindings 1.5.0

• No changes.
• Java bindings are not packaged with OpenStudio. To use them see our developer page for guidance on building OpenStudio.

OpenStudio RunManager

• The RunManager application has been deprecated in favor of the OpenStudio and ParametricAnalysisTool applications. The RunManager library will remain available.

Known Issues

The following are issues known at the time of publication of these release notes. Please contact [email protected] if you require further assistance.

Known Issues Common to All Platforms

OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in

• If you use copy multiple on group-level OpenStudio objects, you will get one extra copy. The extra group is created by the first copy-and-paste operation and is not removed when the copy multiple occurs. To address this, after you perform a copy multiple procedure on groups or spaces, press delete. The objects you need to delete should already be selected. If you are copying loose surfaces such as windows, there are no problems, as SketchUp will merge equivalent surfaces. [issue #28]
• Using SketchUp's undo operation on OpenStudio model elements may produce unexpected results. [issues #54 and #150]
• SKP and OSM link is not maintained when files are relocated. However, you can manually re-establish that link. When opening a SketchUp file, launch SketchUp and then open the SketchUp file. If that doesn't work you can also directly load the OSM file, bypassing the SKP file. [issue #409]
• It is possible for the OpenStudio plug-in to conflict with other SketchUp plug-ins. If you suspect this is a problem, try testing with other plug-ins disabled, or contact [email protected] for assistance. [issue #26]
• Using "Intersect" in the surface matching dialog can result in a crash or unexpected results. This is more common with models that were imported from other CAD formats at some point in the workflow. It is a good idea to save prior to using this to avoid any loss of data. This is related to an underlying SketchUp bug. [issue #168]
• "Project Loose Geometry" can crash SketchUp. It is a good idea to save prior to using this to avoid any loss of data. [issue #484]
• Adjacent stacked spaces in same zones may result in incorrect area and likely loads as well. [issue #561]
• SaveAs in SketchUp corrupts measures in model. To avoid this, only add measures into model after work in SketchUp is done. [issue #754]
• Using AutoSave in SketchUp can overwrite changes made in OS app if the file is open in both locations. [issue #899]

If your OpenStudio model crashes SketchUp or has unexpected behavior please forward it to [email protected] with a description of the problem. Please also include the directory that has the same name as the OSM file. You can attach it as a zip file.

OpenStudio Application

• Similar thermostats assigned in the SketchUp Plug-in are shared across thermal zones in the OpenStudio application. Changing or turning off one will do the same to others. [issue #123]
• The view does not always refresh correctly when you delete a material from a construction. If you still see a material after clicking the "x", switch away from and back to the object to refresh the view. [issue #196]
• OS App Schedule Editor allo...

OpenStudio v1.4.3

Preliminary Cocoa plugin fix

Fixing CMake warnings

OpenStudio v1.4.2

Removing generated file

OpenStudio v1.4.0v2

Removing reference to new osp structure

OpenStudio v1.4.1

Fixing Doxygen warnings

OpenStudio v1.4.0

These release notes describe version 1.4.0 of the OpenStudio software suite developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Buildings and Thermal Systems, Commercial Buildings Research Group, Tools Development Section, and associated collaborators. The notes are organized into the following sections:

• Where to Find OpenStudio Documentation
• Installation Notes
• Overview
• New Features
• Known Issues

Where to Find OpenStudio Documentation

• OpenStudio release documentation, including these release notes, tutorials, and other user documentation, is available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/documentation.
• C++ API documentation is available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/sdk-documentation.
• Measure development documentation is available at https://github.com/NREL/OpenStudio/wiki/Measure-Writing-Guide.
• OpenStudio Life Cycle Costing Examples are available at http://openstudio.nrel.gov/openstudio-life-cycle-examples.

Installation Notes

OpenStudio is supported on Windows 7 – 8.1, OS X 10.8 – 10.9, and Ubuntu 12.04.
OpenStudio 1.4.0 supports EnergyPlus Release 8.1.

Installation Steps

• Download and install EnergyPlus 8.1.
  • Download EnergyPlus 8.1. Create an account and login if you don't already have one.
  • OpenStudio will work with 32 or 64bit EnergyPlus installers.
• The OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in requires Sketchup 8.0 or SketchUp 2013 (not available for Linux). SketchUp 2014 is not supported.
• Create an OpenStudio account, then download and install OpenStudio.
• Setup a Building Component Library (BCL) account to access online building components and measures. View instructions on how to setup your account and configure the key in OpenStudio.

Optional Installation Steps

• For Radiance integration, download and install Radiance.
• If you plan to use the OpenStudio SDK Ruby bindings via command prompt on Windows, download and extract ruby.zip to C:\Ruby (or other desired location), and add C:\Ruby\bin to the PATH environment variable.

Overview

This OpenStudio 1.4.0 release is the first major release compatible with EnergyPlus 8.1. OpenStudio 1.4.0 is also the last release to be built on Ruby 1.8. Therefore, this is the last release for which the OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in will be compatible with SketchUp 8 and SketchUp 2013. The OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in will only be compatible with SketchUp 2014 and above in future releases of OpenStudio. The most significant new feature in OpenStudio 1.4.0 is the ability to apply measures directly to the current model in the OpenStudio Application. This exciting new feature enables new workflows based around OpenStudio measures and gives immediate feedback on the application of measures.

Other notable improvements:

• ASHRAE 90.1 2007 and 2010 internal loads and constructions have been added to the OpenStudio templates.
• PAT now exports a spreadsheet format compatible with the OpenStudio-analysis-spreadsheet project for running large parametric analyses using cloud resources.
• Improvements to the CONTAM translator and to EPW File parsing were contributed by partners at the Consortium for Building Energy Innovation.
• New ZoneControlHumidistat and AirLoopHVACUnitarySystem objects as well as multiple performance improvements were contributed by partners at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
• Radiance support has been improved to search for NREL Radiance packages, (https://github.com/NREL/Radiance/releases), and to prefer those over any other Radiance installation.
• New experimental Java bindings are available on request.
• Multiple performance improvements and bug fixes.

New Features

OpenStudio Platform 1.4.0

• New ZoneControlHumidistat and AirLoopHVACUnitarySystem model objects – Contributed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. See the OpenStudio Contributors page.
• Improvements to the CONTAM translator and to EPW File parsing were contributed by partners at the Consortium for Building Energy Innovation. See the OpenStudio Contributors page.
• Other HVAC objects added from the OpenStudio HVAC roadmap.
• Improved general performance, stability, and usability.

OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in 1.4.0

• ASHRAE 90.1 2007 and 2010 internal loads and constructions have been added to the OpenStudio templates.

OpenStudio Application 1.4.0

• New feature allows users to apply measures directly to the current model.
• ASHRAE 90.1 2007 and 2010 internal loads and constructions have been added to the OpenStudio templates.
• Improved general performance, stability, and usability.

OpenStudio ParametricAnalysisTool 1.4.0

• PAT now exports a spreadsheet format compatible with the OpenStudio-analysis-spreadsheet project for running large parametric analyses using cloud resources.
• Improved general performance, stability, and usability.

OpenStudio RunManager 1.4.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio ResultsViewer 1.4.0

• No changes.

OpenStudio Ruby Bindings 1.4.0

• Performance improvements.

OpenStudio C# Bindings 1.4.0

• New methods for casting between OpenStudio model object types.
• Performance improvements.

OpenStudio Python Bindings 1.4.0

• Performance improvements.
• Python bindings are not packaged with OpenStudio. To use them see our developer page for guidance on building OpenStudio.

OpenStudio JavaScript V8 Bindings 1.4.0

• No changes.
• JavaScript bindings are not packaged with OpenStudio. To use them see our developer page for guidance on building OpenStudio.

OpenStudio Java Bindings 1.4.0

• New experimental Java bindings are available on request.
• Java bindings are not packaged with OpenStudio. To use them see our developer page for guidance on building OpenStudio.

Known Issues

The following are issues known at the time of publication of these release notes. Please contact [email protected] if you require further assistance.

Known Issues Common to All Platforms

OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in

• If you use copy multiple on group-level OpenStudio objects, you will get one extra copy. The extra group is created by the first copy-and-paste operation and is not removed when the copy multiple occurs. To address this, after you perform a copy multiple procedure on groups or spaces, press delete. The objects you need to delete should already be selected. If you are copying loose surfaces such as windows, there are no problems, as SketchUp will merge equivalent surfaces. [issue #28]
• Using SketchUp's undo operation on OpenStudio model elements may produce unexpected results. [issues #54 and #150]
• SKP and OSM link is not maintained when files are relocated. However, you can manually re-establish that link. When opening a SketchUp file, launch SketchUp and then open the SketchUp file. If that doesn't work you can also directly load the OSM file, bypassing the SKP file. [issue #409]
• It is possible for the OpenStudio plug-in to conflict with other SketchUp plug-ins. If you suspect this is a problem, try testing with other plug-ins disabled, or contact [email protected] for assistance. [issue #26]
• Using "Intersect" in the surface matching dialog can result in a crash or unexpected results. This is more common with models that were imported from other CAD formats at some point in the workflow. It is a good idea to save prior to using this to avoid any loss of data. This is related to an underlying SketchUp bug. [issue #168]
• "Project Loose Geometry" can crash SketchUp. It is a good idea to save prior to using this to avoid any loss of data. [issue #484]
• Adjacent stacked spaces in same zones may result in incorrect area and likely loads as well. [issue #561]
• SaveAs in SketchUp corrupts measures in model. To avoid this, only add measures into model after work in SketchUp is done. [issue #754]
• Using AutoSave in SketchUp can overwrite changes made in OS app if the file is open in both locations. [issue #899]

If your OpenStudio model crashes SketchUp or has unexpected behavior please forward it to [email protected] with a description of the problem. Please also include the directory that has the same name as the OSM file. You can attach it as a zip file.

OpenStudio Application

• Similar thermostats assigned in the SketchUp Plug-in are shared across thermal zones in the OpenStudio application. Changing or turning off one will do the same to others. [issue #123]
• The view does not always refresh correctly when you delete a material from a construction. If you still see a material after clicking the "x", switch away from and back to the object to refresh the view. [issue #196]
• Some pull-down lists in simulation settings don't work. [issue #496]
• OS App Schedule Editor allows entering values outside of type limits. [issue #531]
• All drop zones under Water Use Equipment Definitions doesn't enforce schedule types. [issue #532]
• Removing CoilHeatingWater objects can result in orphaned hot water coils. [issue #594]
• Some HVAC components in OpenStudio are missing from the HVAC Library (e.g. Fan:OnOff). [issue #599]
• Several objects in OpenStudio appear to accept erroneous input values, but seems like it i...

OpenStudio v1.3.5

Fix error in hvac_library.osm

This fixes a bug in hvac_library.osm where Refrigeration:WalkIn
requires a version translation in 1.3.5 and the object in the library
was not updated to the new version.

OpenStudio v1.3.4

Updated calibration measure for core

Alex, can you pull this into iteration installer. I'll file a bug about
bad XML here and in measure repo, but doesn't seem to affect
functionality in app with installed measure.

OpenStudio v1.3.3

Fixing error with loading the ruby bindings normally

OpenStudio v1.3.2

Merge branch '60125550-EP81-2' into develop