Skip to content

1.1 Windows Installation Steps

Jump to bottom
Chris Mackey edited this page May 30, 2024 · 26 revisions

Windows Installation Steps

NOTE: As an alternative to the instructions below, you can install Ladybug Tools by downloading and running the FREE SINGLE-CLICK POLLINATION INSTALLER. All that you have to do is create an account on our Pollination platform and you can download the Pollination Grasshopper installer, which comes with a copy of the latest version of Ladybug Tools. The single-click installer also includes a compatible copy of Radiance and OpenStudio, which are installed in a manner so that they won’t interfere with other versions of these engines that you may have on your system. This is MUCH easier and more reliable than following the instructions below.

However, if you really enjoy learning about each piece of software that gets installed via the Pollination installer, you can follow the multiple steps below:

  1. Download the latest version of the Ladybug Tools plugin on Food4Rhino.

  2. Inside the download, you will find an installer.gh file. Open it in Grasshopper and and you will see two components with True/False toggles connected to them. Go to the first component and set it to True by double-clicking on it.

First Component

The component will take a few seconds to run while it downloads and unzips a build of Python to your machine. Python is the computer language in which Ladybug Tools is written and is one of the fastest-growing programming languages.

  1. When the component finishes, it will tell you the next steps, the first of which is to set the second toggle to True:

Second Component

This component will take a few seconds to run as it downloads the Ladybug Tools core libraries into the Python installation that you just downloaded. This component also downloads all of the Ladybug Tools Grasshopper components. Lastly, a library of default assets (constructions, schedules, modifiers, etc.) will be downloaded to C:\Users\[USERNAME]\ladybug_tools\resources\standards.

  1. IF YOU ARE USING RHINO 6, you are almost done BUT there's one more step that must be run WITH RHINO CLOSED! Close Rhino and you will see that there is a file named set_python_path.bat in your ladybug_tools folder:

set_python_path.bat

Double-click it and this will set Rhino to look for the Ladybug Tools core libraries in the ladybug_tools\python folder.

setting python path

  1. Open Rhino and you should see the Ladybug Tools components available in new tabs. Congratulations! You now have a working version of Ladybug Tools.

Optional Steps

1. Install Radiance - If you want to be able to run daylight and solar simulations, you must install Radiance. Radiance is a physics-based rendering engine, which is what Honeybee uses for all daylight and spatial solar studies. Check the compatibility matrix to determine which version of Radiance is compatible with your version of Ladybug Tools. Download that version of Radiance from the Radiance Github. Run the Radiance executable to completion. While it is not required, when you get to "Choose Install Location," we recommend installing it in your C:/Users/[USERNAME]/ladybug_tools folder in order to keep all of your Ladybug Tools simulation engines in once place (though the default location is acceptable). Note that you should use your own username for [USERNAME].

Install Radiance Location

2. Install OpenStudio - If you want to be able to run energy simulations, you must install OpenStudio. OpenStudio is a programming interface for EnergyPlus, which is the engine that Honeybee uses for building energy simulation. Check the compatibility matrix to determine which version of OpenStudio is compatible with your version of Ladybug Tools. Download that version of OpenStudio from the OpenStudio Github. Run the OpenStudio executable to completion. While it is not required, when you get to "Installation Folder," we recommend installing OpenStudio in your C:/Users/[USERNAME]/ladybug_tools folder in order to keep all of your Ladybug Tools simulation engines in once place (though the default location is acceptable). Note that you should use your own username for [USERNAME].

Install OpenStudio Location

3. Install URBANopt - If you want to be able to use the Dragonfly "Run URBANopt" component to run urban district energy simulations, you must install URBANopt. URBANopt is software package that leverages OpenStudio and EnergyPlus to model the energy use of urban districts. Download the latest URBANopt executable installer from the URBANopt documentation and run the installer to completion, accepting all of the defaults.

Clone this wiki locally