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You are correct that the only real way to use multiple processors is to run simultaneous simulations. I don't believe there are any areas in the EnergyPlus source code that take advantage of parallel processors. Depending on your simulation, there could be many hardware related bottleneck:

1. CPU: The most obvious way to speed up calculations is to find a faster CPU.
2. Disk Drive (for read/write operations): If your input file is large, or you are asking for a lot of output variables, this can take a significant amount of time.
3. Memory: For very large problems, you may need more memory than you have in RAM. In these cases, the computer may resolve to start writing to the hard disk which can really slow things down.

You are correct that the only real way to use multiple processors is to run simultaneous simulations. I don't believe there are any areas in the EnergyPlus source code that take advantage of parallel processors. Depending on your simulation, there could be many hardware related bottleneck:bottlenecks:

1. CPU: The most obvious way to speed up calculations is to find a faster CPU.
2. Disk Drive (for read/write operations): If your input file is large, or you are asking for a lot of output variables, this reading and writing to the hard disk can take a significant amount of time.
3. Memory: For very large problems, you may need more memory than you have in RAM. In these cases, the computer may resolve to start writing to the hard disk which can really slow things down.

You are correct that the only real way to use multiple processors is to run simultaneous simulations. I don't believe there are any areas in the EnergyPlus source code that take advantage of parallel processors. Depending on your simulation, there could be many hardware related bottlenecks:

1. CPU: The most obvious way to speed up calculations is to find a faster CPU.
2. Disk Drive (for read/write operations): If your input file is large, or you are asking for a lot of output variables, reading and writing to the hard disk can take a significant amount of time.time. Solid-state disks are much faster than the standard mechanical drives.
3. Memory: For very large problems, you may need more memory than you have in RAM. In these cases, the computer may resolve to start writing to the hard disk which can really slow things down.

You are correct that the only real way to use multiple processors is to run simultaneous simulations. I don't believe there are any areas in the EnergyPlus source code that take advantage of parallel processors. Depending on your simulation, there could be many a few hardware related bottlenecks:

1. CPU: The most obvious way to speed up calculations is to find a faster CPU.
2. Disk Drive (for read/write operations): If your input file is large, or you are asking for a lot of output variables, reading and writing to the hard disk can take a significant amount of time. Solid-state disks are much faster than the standard mechanical drives.
3. Memory: For very large problems, you may need more memory than you have in RAM. In these cases, the computer may resolve to start writing to the hard disk which can really slow things down.down. More memory will really help if you are running a building with lots of zones and/or surfaces, or multiple simulations at the same time.

You are correct that the only real way to use multiple processors is to run simultaneous simulations. I don't believe there are any areas in the EnergyPlus source code that take advantage of parallel processors. Depending on your simulation, there could be a few hardware related bottlenecks:

1. CPU: The most obvious way to speed up calculations is to find a faster CPU.CPU. See the specific answers by @Mark Adams and @JasonGlazer for more details.
2. Disk Drive (for read/write operations): If your input file is large, or you are asking for a lot of output variables, reading and writing to the hard disk can take a significant amount of time. Solid-state disks are much faster than the standard mechanical drives.
3. Memory: For very large problems, you may need more memory than you have in RAM. In these cases, the computer may resolve to start writing to the hard disk which can really slow things down. More memory will really help if you are running a building with lots of zones and/or surfaces, or multiple simulations at the same time.

You are correct that the only real way to use multiple processors is to run simultaneous simulations. I don't believe there There are any areas (as of this post) no algorithms in the EnergyPlus source code that take advantage of parallel processors. Depending on your simulation, there could be a few hardware related bottlenecks:

1. CPU: The most obvious way to speed up calculations is to find a faster CPU. See the specific answers by @Mark Adams and @JasonGlazer for more details.
2. Disk Drive (for read/write operations): If your input file is large, or you are asking for a lot of output variables, reading and writing to the hard disk can take a significant amount of time. Solid-state disks are much faster than the standard mechanical drives.
3. Memory: For very large problems, you may need more memory than you have in RAM. In these cases, the computer may resolve to start writing to the hard disk which can really slow things down. More memory will really help if you are running a building with lots of zones and/or surfaces, or multiple simulations at the same time.