Zone multiplier not accounted for in Output:Variable for baseboards

asked 2020-07-22 14:18:51 -0500

pajordan
526 ●1 ●6

updated 2020-07-22 17:04:20 -0500

Aaron Boranian

13830 ●76 ●24 http://bigladdersoftware.com/

I am working with a high-rise apartment model in EnergyPlus v9.2; it's a modified DOE prototype, with one modification being the addition of baseboard heating via the ZoneBaseboard:OutdoorTemperatureControlled object. I am trying to get the annual electric energy consumption for all of these baseboard zone objects reported in the html output.

I attempted to do this by defining an Output:Table:Annual to sum the Zone Baseboard Electric Energy [J] Output:Variable. What I've noticed is that the Output:Variable doesn't appear to take floor multipliers into account. This model has one ground floor, one mid floor with a multiplier of eight, and one top floor; but the mid floor Zone Baseboard Electric Energy [J] Output:Variables are 1/8 of what I'd expect. It appears that this is as designed: https://github.com/NREL/EnergyPlus/is...

If this is truly how the output is meant to be reported (without the multiplier applied), how can I go about getting the true total annual electric energy consumption for all of the baseboard zone objects included in the html output?

answered 2020-07-22 17:03:51 -0500

Aaron Boranian

13830 ●76 ●24 http://bigladdersoftware.com/

If the Output:Variable for Zone Baseboard Electric Energy doesn't apply the zone multiplier, then you should try using the Output:Meter instead. Output variables are great for debugging lots of model aspects, but output meters are really key for tracking consumption of resources like electricity or natural gas.

The outdoor temperature controlled baseboard object you are using has an input field for End-Use Subcategory, so you could enter "F1 Baseboards", "F2-9 Baseboards", etc. Then, add an Output:Meter for electric energy of the end-use subcategory name you applied to the baseboards. If you run a simulation after setting end-use subcategories, they should appear in the meter data dictionary (MDD) output file. Fine the relevant Output:Meter option, paste it into your input file, save, and run once more to generate a CSV file column for the output meter.

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Thanks, Aaron! We used the meter approach. We still want the meter output included in the html output, and we were able to do this with the Output:Table:Annual. Per the Input Output Reference (https://bigladdersoftware.com/epx/doc...) the Output:Table:Annual object can be used for variables and/or meters; for a meter, you need the full name from the .mdd file (colons and all, i.e., not just the name you give it in the End-Use Subcategory), and we left the Aggregation Type blank, which seemed to work. Thanks for pointing us in this direction!