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BEMGen 1.5.0

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@Chengxuan-Li Chengxuan-Li released this 29 Oct 04:42
· 10 commits to main since this release
v1.5.0
47b97d1

BEMGen 1.5.0 is a Grasshopper plugin for Rhino 8 that builds building energy models at several levels of detail.

What's new

  • DOE reference geometry. 15 plan generators for the DOE commercial reference buildings, each with its presets.
  • Program JSON 5.4.0 and atlas release 2.0.0. Program JSON reads program JSON 5.4.0 exported from release 2.0.0 of the Energy Archetype Atlas.
    • Two new inputs, Climate Zone and Context, select the values that vary by climate and the loads that apply to that context.
    • A filled program's hot water takes the weather file's water mains.
  • Construction JSON 4.3.0 / 3.1.0. Construction JSON reads the detailed and unified construction sets of atlas release 2.0.0.
    • With a set, ground floors take the set's own F-factor or layered ground construction.
    • IECC sets are read but not converted, because their infiltration is given per zone.
  • Glazing per orientation. The preset components gain WWR North, WWR East, WWR South, WWR West and Skylight Ratio.
  • Tools beside the plugin. The EnergyPlus batch runner gains paired evaluation metrics against a reference model: ideal sensible loads, peaks, hourly fit, temperature, and processor time and memory.

Changes that affect existing definitions

  • Definitions saved with 1.4.0 open with their saved values. The new inputs are unset.
    • Program JSON's WWR no longer has a default: without it, the JSON's fenestration gives the glazing, else 0.4.
  • Older atlas texts are refused. A Program JSON or Construction JSON holding program JSON 2.0.0, unified 2.0.0 or detailed 3.0.0 now gives an error asking for an export from atlas release 2.0.0.
  • Daylighting is never written to an IDF. Programs from the atlas may carry daylighting controls, but Convert2IDF writes no Daylighting:Controls. Daylight dimming is held fixed as part of the lighting load, and the IDF header names the zones concerned.
  • IDF files with ground floors also request the hourly inside-face conduction of each ground surface and Output:Surfaces:List, Details.
  • The example definitions have been rebuilt with 1.5.0.

Install

Close Rhino first. Install BEMGen in one way only, because two copies of BEMGen.gha register the components twice.

  • Yak package: drag bemgen-1.5.0-rh8_19-win.yak onto a running Rhino 8.19 (or later) window, then restart Rhino.
  • Zip:
    1. Open the properties of bemgen-1.5.0-rh8-win.zip and tick Unblock.
    2. Unpack it and copy the BEMGen folder into %APPDATA%\Grasshopper\Libraries\, so the plugin is at %APPDATA%\Grasshopper\Libraries\BEMGen\BEMGen.gha. If an earlier version is there, replace the whole folder.
    3. Restart Rhino.
  • Examples: bemgen-1.5.0-examples.zip holds the example definitions.
  • Checksums: SHA256SUMS.txt lists the SHA-256 checksum of each of the three files.

Documentation: https://energy-atlas.github.io/BEMGen-docs/ (the pages for 1.5.0 follow this release).

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