Question-and-Answer Resource for the Building Energy Modeling Community
 | 1 | initial version |
Site:Location "Elevation" is used to establish the elevation of the ground above sea level. It is used primarily to set the standard barometric pressure at the site which is used for the standard air density to convert air volume flow rate to mass flow rate. Elevation is also used in the Sandia photovoltaic (PV) model to compute the absolute air mass.
If a weather file is present, the location data (including elevation) on the weather file will always be used in place of the Site:Location inputs. This is true for both sizing period and weather file run period simulations. Most EnergyPlus interfaces always require that a weather file be selected for the simulation. EP-Launch offers the option to run with "No Weather File" in which case the Site:Location object is used.
Height is the distance above the ground. Zero height (z=0) is at the local elevation and goes up from there. By default, wind speed and temperatures vary with height. Site:WeatherStation and Site:HeightVariation may be used to alter the shape of these profiles or disable them altogether.
