How can I create .rvi files?
How do I create an EnergyPlus .rvi file for jEPlus? I have eplusout.eso and csv files. What comes next?
Thanks.
An RVI file contains as a minimum the name of the input file (where to read the output variable values from - this is "eplusout.eso") and of the output file (where to put the reorganized data, for example "output.csv").
You list these two filenames on the first two lines of the file, then list any specific outputs you want to have extracted from the results. If you don't specify any outputs then all results are returned.
Finally, the last line just has a "0" to indicate the end of the file.
It's not just used in jEPlus. It's actually called by the ReadVarsESO program which is called by RunEPlus.bat when running from the command line, or from the EP-Launch program. You can call it anything you like when using these methods though.
As a simple example, open up a new file in a text editor and enter:
eplusout.eso
output.csv
Diesel:Facility
ElectricityNet:Facility
Zone Mean Air Temperature
Boiler Heating Rate
0
Then just save it with a .rvi extension.
The documentation on creating an RVI file is here.
Yes, you make a file in notepad or whatever your favorite text editor is, then just save it with a .rvi extension like you said.
@Jamie Bull "for jEPlus you have to call the file "my.rvi" otherwise it doesn't get recognised" my.rvi is a default name, however you can name it whichever way you want :).
@Ivan Korolija Has that changed? I'm sure I remember in the past having to name it my.rvi or nothing happened. I'll edit the answer anyway.
@Jamie Bull rvi file name is not restricted to my.rvi. Even the example project which comes with jEPlus uses another rvi file name :)