Question-and-Answer Resource for the Building Energy Modeling Community
Get started with the Help page
Ask Your Question
3

How to apply PV generated electricity to one of multiple electricity tariffs?

asked 2025-07-07 12:11:07 -0500

Greg Estep's avatar

updated 2025-07-25 11:21:45 -0500

Hi community, I have a mixed use building and want to apply a commercial tariff and residential tariff. I do this by using meter:Custom for the residential zones, and then a meter:CustomDecrement for the commercial zones. The source meter for meter:CustomDecrement is the issue. I can not use ElectricityNet:Facility as the source and then decrement the residential meter because the output variables of the residential meter are not part of the source meter roll up. ElectricityNet:facility is a computed meter.

So, how can I create a meter for the commercial tariff that is offset by the onsite solar generated energy, while the residential meters are not affected by the PV generation?

edit retag flag offensive close merge delete

Comments

Have you checked out this example? Can you create a new custom meter duplicates the ElectricityNet:facility and then use it as the source meter for the meter:CustomDecrement: https://bigladdersoftware.com/epx/doc...

yiyuan-jia's avatar yiyuan-jia  ( 2025-07-16 20:49:20 -0500 )edit

This example shows how to use the meters and decrement from custom meters. Yes, I know how to do this. I think the problem is that the ElectricityNet:facility is a computed meter. When I check the contents of this meter in the .mtd file it shows:

For Meter=ElectricityNet:Facility [J], ResourceType=ElectricityNet, contents are: Whole Building:Facility Net Purchased Electricity Energy

So, what is on Whole Building:Facility Net Purchased Electricity Energy meter? Nothing is shown. I think this is an output variable not a meter.

Greg Estep's avatar Greg Estep  ( 2025-07-16 21:02:14 -0500 )edit

1 Answer

Sort by ยป oldest newest most voted
4

answered 2025-07-23 19:54:39 -0500

Greg Estep's avatar

updated 2025-07-24 09:18:38 -0500

Fernanda Schuch of DesignBuilder support provided a solution through EMS scripting. The EMS included (3) sensors:

  • meter Electricity:Facility
  • meter ResidentialMeter (previously created using meter:custom object)
  • meter ElectricityProduced:Facility (which I changed to output variable, *,Inverter AC Output Electricity Energy, for capturing post inverter energy at the net meter)

Then a simple program was written to set the

CommercialElectric (global variable) = Electricity:Facility - ResidentialMeter - Inverter AC Output Electricity Energy.

Here is a copy of the code for reference:

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,
  FacilityElectric,
  ,
  Electricity:Facility;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,
  ResidentialElectric,
  ,
  130Bank_ResidentialElecMeter;

EnergyManagementSystem:Sensor,
  SolarGenerated,
  EXAMPLE INVERTER - SIMPLE,
  Inverter AC Output Electricity Energy;

EnergyManagementSystem:GlobalVariable,
  CommercialElectric;

EnergyManagementSystem:Program,
  CalculateCommercialNet,
  Set CommercialElectric = FacilityElectric - ResidentialElectric - SolarGenerated;

EnergyManagementSystem:ProgramCallingManager,
  RunCalcCommercial,
  EndOfZoneTimestepBeforeZoneReporting,
  CalculateCommercialNet;

EnergyManagementSystem:OutputVariable,
  CommercialElectric,
  CommercialElectric,
  Summed,
  ZoneTimeStep,
  ,
  Joules;

Output:Variable,*,CommercialElectric,Hourly;
Output:Variable,*,CommercialElectric,Daily;
Output:Variable,*,CommercialElectric,Monthly;
Output:Variable,*,CommercialElectric,RunPeriod;

Meter:Custom,
CommercialElecMeter,
Electricity,
,
CommercialElectric;

Thanks

edit flag offensive delete link more

Your Answer

Please start posting anonymously - your entry will be published after you log in or create a new account.

Add Answer

Training Workshops

Question Tools

1 follower

Stats

Asked: 2025-07-07 12:11:07 -0500

Seen: 299 times

Last updated: Jul 25