Question-and-Answer Resource for the Building Energy Modeling Community
 | 1 | initial version |
I use the OpenStudio Python bindings. You can build the initial model using the OpenStudio model and then convert to an IDF model with the built in translators. Any simulation components that are not directly available within OpenStudio can be added within the IDF model. The interface allows model objects to be queried using simple Python iterators.
zones = [zone for zone in openstudio.model.getThermalZones(model) if "Office" in zone.name().get()]
This makes manipulating models and running parametrics fairly simple. Also, the development team is continuing to improve the tool at a fast pace. There is excellent support for the product through Unmet Hours.
The downside is that you need to compile the bindings yourself. In Windows this requires working with Visual Studio. There is some guidance to compiling the bindings here. Getting the various paths set up properly is not always straight forward. See Python SDK Bindings for OpenStudio.
