running idf against energyplus.exe

edit

You should read energyplus --help. If you haven't requested native CSV output (OutputControl:Files), you should pass --readvars so it runs ReadVarsESO to produce the meter files.

  -r,--readvars               Run ReadVarsESO after simulation

If you want the output in the same directory as your file.idf (and not a subfolder), adjust the "-d" parameter to match.

If you want another naming convention, use --output-prefix (and maybe --output-suffix)

  -p,--output-prefix PRE      Prefix for output file names (default: eplus)

Example:

from pathlib import Path
import subprocess

energyplus_exe = Path("C:/EnergyPlusV9-6-0/EnergyPlus.exe")
idf_file = Path("path/to/file.idf")
epw_file = Path("path/to/weather.epw")
cmd_arg = [
    str(energyplus_exe),
    "--readvars",
    "--expandobjects", # If you have HVACTemplate objects
    "--weather", str(epw_file),
    "--output-directory", str(idf_file.parent),
    "--output-prefix", idf_file.stem,
    "--output-suffix", "C",
    str(idf_file),
]
subprocess.check_call(command)

As a side note, there is a dedicated python workflow for this: https://github.com/NREL/EnergyPlus/bl...

energyplus --help
Usage: energyplus [OPTIONS] [input_file] [SUBCOMMAND]

Positionals:
  input_file TEXT:FILE        Input file (default: in.idf in current directory)

Options:
  -h,--help                   Print this help message and exit
  -v,--version                Display program version information and exit
  -a,--annual Excludes: --design-day
                              Force annual simulation
  -D,--design-day Excludes: --annual
                              Force design-day-only simulation
  -d,--output-directory DIR   Output directory path (default: current directory)
  -i,--idd IDD                Input data dictionary path (default: Energy+.idd in executable directory)
  -m,--epmacro                Run EPMacro prior to simulation
  -p,--output-prefix PRE      Prefix for output file names (default: eplus)
  -r,--readvars               Run ReadVarsESO after simulation
  -c,--convert                Output IDF->epJSON or epJSON->IDF, dependent on input file type
  --convert-only              Only convert IDF->epJSON or epJSON->IDF, dependent on input file type. No simulation
  -s,--output-suffix SUFFIX   Suffix style for output file names (default: L)
                                 L: Legacy (e.g., eplustbl.csv)
                                 C: Capital (e.g., eplusTable.csv)
                                 D: Dash (e.g., eplus-table.csv)
  -j,--jobs N                 Multi-thread with N threads; 1 thread with no arg. (Currently only for G-Function generation)
  -w,--weather EPW            Weather file path (default: in.epw in current directory)
  -x,--expandobjects          Run ExpandObjects prior to simulation


Subcommands:
  auxiliary                   Run Auxiliary Python Tools

Example: energyplus -w weather.epw -r input.idf