Upon completing an ERI or ENERGY STAR calculation, a variety of summary output files and simulation files are available.
ERI output files described below are found in the results
directory. See the sample_results_eri directory for examples of these outputs.
The ERI_Results.csv
file includes the ERI result as well as the high-level components (e.g., REUL, EC_r, EC_x, IAD_Save) that comprise the ERI calculation. The file reflects the format of the Results tab of the HERS Method Test spreadsheet.
Note that multiple comma-separated values will be reported for many of these outputs if there are multiple heating, cooling, or hot water systems.
See the example ERI_Results.csv.
The ERI_Worksheet.csv
file includes more detailed components that feed into the ERI_Results.csv values. The file reflects the format of the Worksheet tab of the HERS Method Test spreadsheet.
Note that multiple comma-separated values will be reported for many of these outputs if there are multiple heating, cooling, or hot water systems.
See the example ERI_Worksheet.csv.
A CSV file is written for each of the homes simulated (e.g., ERIReferenceHome.csv
for the Reference home). The CSV file includes the following sections of output.
See the example ERIRatedHome.csv.
Current fuel uses are listed below.
Type Notes Electricity: Total (MBtu) Electricity: Net (MBtu) Natural Gas: Total (MBtu) Fuel Oil: Total (MBtu) Propane: Total (MBtu) Wood Cord: Total (MBtu) Wood Pellets: Total (MBtu)
Subtracts any power produced by PV or generators.
Current end uses are listed below.
Note that all end uses are mutually exclusive -- the "Electricity: Heating" end use, for example, excludes energy reported in the "Electricity: Heating Fans/Pumps" end use. So the sum of all end uses for a given fuel (e.g., sum of all "End Use: Natural Gas: *") equal the above reported fuel use (e.g., "Fuel Use: Natural Gas: Total").
Type Notes Electricity: Heating (MBtu) Electricity: Heating Fans/Pumps (MBtu)
Excludes fans/pumps
Electricity: Cooling (MBtu) Electricity: Cooling Fans/Pumps (MBtu)
Excludes fans/pumps
Electricity: Hot Water (MBtu) Electricity: Hot Water Recirc Pump (MBtu)
Excludes recirc pump and solar thermal pump
Electricity: Hot Water Solar Thermal Pump (MBtu) Electricity: Lighting Interior (MBtu) Electricity: Lighting Garage (MBtu) Electricity: Lighting Exterior (MBtu)
Non-zero only when using detailed (not simple) solar thermal inputs
Electricity: Mech Vent (MBtu) Excludes preheating/precooling Electricity: Mech Vent Preheating (MBtu) Shared ventilation preconditioning system Electricity: Mech Vent Precooling (MBtu) Electricity: Whole House Fan (MBtu) Electricity: Refrigerator (MBtu) Electricity: Dehumidifier (MBtu) Electricity: Dishwasher (MBtu) Electricity: Clothes Washer (MBtu) Electricity: Clothes Dryer (MBtu) Electricity: Range/Oven (MBtu) Electricity: Ceiling Fan (MBtu) Electricity: Television (MBtu)
Shared ventilation preconditioning system
Electricity: Plug Loads (MBtu) Excludes independently reported plug loads (e.g., well pump) Electricity: PV (MBtu) Negative value for any power produced Electricity: Generator (MBtu) Natural Gas: Heating (MBtu) Natural Gas: Hot Water (MBtu) Natural Gas: Clothes Dryer (MBtu) Natural Gas: Range/Oven (MBtu)
Negative value for any power produced
Natural Gas: Mech Vent Preheating (MBtu) Shared ventilation preconditioning system Natural Gas: Generator (MBtu) Fuel Oil: Heating (MBtu) Fuel Oil: Hot Water (MBtu) Fuel Oil: Clothes Dryer (MBtu) Fuel Oil: Range/Oven (MBtu)
Positive value for any fuel consumed
Fuel Oil: Mech Vent Preheating (MBtu) Propane: Heating (MBtu) Propane: Hot Water (MBtu) Propane: Clothes Dryer (MBtu) Propane: Range/Oven (MBtu)
Shared ventilation preconditioning system
Propane: Mech Vent Preheating (MBtu) Shared ventilation preconditioning system Propane: Generator (MBtu) Wood Cord: Heating (MBtu) Wood Cord: Hot Water (MBtu) Wood Cord: Clothes Dryer (MBtu) Wood Cord: Range/Oven (MBtu)
Positive value for any fuel consumed
Wood Cord: Mech Vent Preheating (MBtu) Wood Pellets: Heating (MBtu) Wood Pellets: Hot Water (MBtu) Wood Pellets: Clothes Dryer (MBtu) Wood Pellets: Range/Oven (MBtu)
Shared ventilation preconditioning system
Wood Pellets: Mech Vent Preheating (MBtu) Shared ventilation preconditioning system
Current annual building loads are listed below.
Type Notes Load: Heating (MBtu) Includes HVAC distribution losses. Load: Cooling (MBtu) Includes HVAC distribution losses. Load: Hot Water: Delivered (MBtu) Load: Hot Water: Tank Losses (MBtu)
Includes contributions by desuperheaters or solar thermal systems.
Load: Hot Water: Desuperheater (MBtu) Load served by the desuperheater. Load: Hot Water: Solar Thermal (MBtu) Load served by the solar thermal system.
Current annual unmet building loads are listed below.
Type Notes Unmet Load: Heating (MBtu) Unmet Load: Cooling (MBtu)
These numbers reflect the amount of heating/cooling load that is not met by the HVAC system, indicating the degree to which the HVAC system is undersized. An HVAC system with sufficient capacity to perfectly maintain the thermostat setpoints will report an unmet load of zero.
Current peak building electricity outputs are listed below.
Type Notes Peak Electricity: Winter Total (W) Winter season defined by operation of the heating system. Peak Electricity: Summer Total (W) Summer season defined by operation of the cooling system.
Current peak building loads are listed below.
Type Notes Peak Load: Heating (kBtu) Includes HVAC distribution losses. Peak Load: Cooling (kBtu) Includes HVAC distribution losses.
Note: This section is only available if the --add-component-loads
argument is used. The argument is not used by default for faster performance.
Component loads represent the estimated contribution of different building components to the annual heating/cooling building loads. The sum of component loads for heating (or cooling) will roughly equal the annual heating (or cooling) building load reported above.
Current component loads disaggregated by Heating/Cooling are listed below.
Type Notes Component Load: *: Roofs (MBtu) Heat gain/loss through HPXML Roof
elements adjacent to conditioned spaceComponent Load: *: Ceilings (MBtu) Heat gain/loss through HPXML FrameFloor
elements (inferred to be ceilings) adjacent to conditioned spaceComponent Load: *: Walls (MBtu) Heat gain/loss through HPXML Wall
elements adjacent to conditioned spaceComponent Load: *: Rim Joists (MBtu) Heat gain/loss through HPXML RimJoist
elements adjacent to conditioned spaceComponent Load: *: Foundation Walls (MBtu) Heat gain/loss through HPXML FoundationWall
elements adjacent to conditioned spaceComponent Load: *: Doors (MBtu) Heat gain/loss through HPXML Door
elements adjacent to conditioned spaceComponent Load: *: Windows (MBtu) Heat gain/loss through HPXML Window
elements adjacent to conditioned space, including solarComponent Load: *: Skylights (MBtu) Heat gain/loss through HPXML Skylight
elements adjacent to conditioned space, including solarComponent Load: *: Floors (MBtu) Heat gain/loss through HPXML FrameFloor
elements (inferred to be floors) adjacent to conditioned spaceComponent Load: *: Slabs (MBtu) Heat gain/loss through HPXML Slab
elements adjacent to conditioned spaceComponent Load: *: Internal Mass (MBtu) Heat gain/loss from internal mass (e.g., furniture, interior walls/floors) in conditioned space Component Load: *: Infiltration (MBtu) Heat gain/loss from airflow induced by stack and wind effects Component Load: *: Natural Ventilation (MBtu) Heat gain/loss from airflow through operable windows Component Load: *: Mechanical Ventilation (MBtu) Heat gain/loss from airflow/fan energy from a whole house mechanical ventilation system Component Load: *: Whole House Fan (MBtu) Heat gain/loss from airflow due to a whole house fan Component Load: *: Ducts (MBtu) Heat gain/loss from conduction and leakage losses through supply/return ducts outside conditioned space Component Load: *: Internal Gains (MBtu) Heat gain/loss from appliances, lighting, plug loads, water heater tank losses, etc. in the conditioned space
Current annual hot water uses are listed below.
Type Notes Hot Water: Clothes Washer (gal) Hot Water: Dishwasher (gal)
Hot Water: Fixtures (gal) Hot Water: Distribution Waste (gal)
Showers and faucets.
See the running
section for requesting hourly outputs. When requested, a CSV file of hourly outputs is written for the Reference/Rated Homes (e.g., ERIReferenceHome_Hourly.csv
for the Reference home).
Depending on the outputs requested, CSV files may include:
Type Notes Fuel Consumptions Energy use for each fuel type (in kBtu for fossil fuels and kWh for electricity). End Use Consumptions Energy use for each end use type (in kBtu for fossil fuels and kWh for electricity). Hot Water Uses Water use for each end use type (in gallons). Total Loads Heating, cooling, and hot water loads (in kBtu) for the building. Component Loads Heating and cooling loads (in kBtu) disaggregated by component (e.g., Walls, Windows, Infiltration, Ducts, etc.). Unmet Loads Unmet heating and cooling loads (in kBtu) for the building. Zone Temperatures Average temperatures (in deg-F) for each space modeled (e.g., living space, attic, garage, basement, crawlspace, etc.). Airflows Airflow rates (in cfm) for infiltration, mechanical ventilation, natural ventilation, and whole house fans. Weather Weather file data including outdoor temperatures, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar.
Timestamps in the output use the end-of-hour convention. Most outputs will be summed over the hour (e.g., energy) but some will be averaged over the hour (e.g., temperatures, airflows).
See the example ERIRatedHome_Hourly.csv.
An HPXML file is written for each of the homes simulated (e.g., ERIReferenceHome.xml
for the Reference home). The file reflects the configuration of the home after applying the ERI 301 ruleset.
The file will also show HPXML default values that are applied as part of modeling this home. Defaults will be applied for a few different reasons:
- Optional ERI inputs aren't provided (e.g., ventilation rate for a vented attic, SHR for an air conditioner, etc.)
- Modeling assumptions (e.g., 1 hour timestep, Jan 1 - Dec 31 run period, appliance schedules, etc.)
- HVAC sizing calculations (e.g., autosized HVAC capacities and airflow rates, heating/cooling design loads)
Any HPXML-defaulted values will include the dataSource='software'
attribute.
See the example ERIRatedHome.xml.
In addition, raw EnergyPlus simulation input/output files are available for each simulation (e.g., ERIRatedHome
, ERIReferenceHome
, etc. directories).
Warning
It is highly discouraged for software tools to read the raw EnergyPlus output files. The EnergyPlus input/output files are made available for inspection, but the outputs for certain situations can be misleading if one does not know how the model was created. If there are additional outputs of interest that are not available in our summary output files, please send us a request.
See the example ERIRatedHome directory.
ENERGY STAR output files described below are found in the results
directory. See the sample_results_energystar directory for examples of these outputs.
The ES_Results.csv
file includes the following:
Output Notes Reference Home ERI ERI of the ES Reference Home SAF (Size Adjustment Factor) Can only be less than 1 for some ES programs/versions SAF Adjusted ERI Target Reference Home ERI multiplied by SAF Rated Home ERI ERI of the Rated Home including OPP as allowed by the ES program/version Rated Home ERI w/o OPP ERI of the Rated Home excluding any on-site power production (OPP) ENERGY STAR Certification PASS or FAIL
See the example ES_Results.csv.
An HPXML file is written for the ENERGY STAR Reference Home (ESReference.xml
) and the Rated Home (ESRated.xml
). The file reflects the configuration of the home after applying the ENERGY STAR ruleset.
See the example ESReference.xml.
Two directories are created under results
, one called ESRerence
and one called ESRated
. Each directory has the full set of eri_files
corresponding to the ERI calculation of the ES Reference Home and Rated Home.
See the example ESReference directory.