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EnergyPlus "Field is required but was blank"

asked 2015-05-27 16:51:54 -0600

qdiggety's avatar

updated 2015-07-10 09:01:54 -0600

Can anyone help me decipher what the following eplusout.err error codes mean? It's a very basic 6 room model with a few windows, nothing fancy.

Program Version,EnergyPlus, Version 8.2.0-8397c2e30b, YMD=2015.05.27 15:45,IDD_Version 8.2.0
   ************* IDF Context for following error/warning message:
   ************* Note -- lines truncated at 300 characters, if necessary...
   *************   2979 BuildingSurface:Detailed,
   ************* indicated Name=Surface 371
   ************* Only last 3 lines before error line shown.....
   *************   2980   Surface 371,                            !- Name
   *************   2981   Roof,                                   !- Surface Type
   *************   2982   ,                                       !- Construction Name

** Severe  ** IP: IDF line~2982 Error detected in Object=BUILDINGSURFACE:DETAILED, name=SURFACE 371
   **   ~~~   ** Field [Construction Name] is required but was blank
   ************* IDF Context for following error/warning message:
   ************* Note -- lines truncated at 300 characters, if necessary...
   *************   2979 BuildingSurface:Detailed,
   ************* indicated Name=Surface 371
   ************* Only last 4 lines before error line shown.....
   *************   2980   Surface 371,                            !- Name
   *************   2981   Roof,                                   !- Surface Type
   *************   2982   ,                                       !- Construction Name
   *************   2983   ,                                       !- Zone Name

   ** Severe  ** IP: IDF line~2983 Error detected in Object=BUILDINGSURFACE:DETAILED, name=SURFACE 371
   **   ~~~   ** Field [Zone Name] is required but was blank
   ************* IDF Context for following error/warning message:
   ************* Note -- lines truncated at 300 characters, if necessary...
   *************   3003 BuildingSurface:Detailed,
   ************* indicated Name=Surface 694
   ************* Only last 3 lines before error line shown.....
   *************   3004   Surface 694,                            !- Name
   *************   3005   Roof,                                   !- Surface Type
   *************   3006   ,                                       !- Construction Name

   ** Severe  ** IP: IDF line~3006 Error detected in Object=BUILDINGSURFACE:DETAILED, name=SURFACE 694
   **   ~~~   ** Field [Construction Name] is required but was blank
   ************* IDF Context for following error/warning message:
   ************* Note -- lines truncated at 300 characters, if necessary...
   *************   3003 BuildingSurface:Detailed,
   ************* indicated Name=Surface 694
   ************* Only last 4 lines before error line shown.....
   *************   3004   Surface 694,                            !- Name
   *************   3005   Roof,                                   !- Surface Type
   *************   3006   ,                                       !- Construction Name
   *************   3007   ,                                       !- Zone Name

   ** Severe  ** IP: IDF line~3007 Error detected in Object=BUILDINGSURFACE:DETAILED, name=SURFACE 694
   **   ~~~   ** Field [Zone Name] is required but was blank
   ** Warning ** IP: Note -- Some missing fields have been filled with defaults. See the audit output file for details.

   ** Severe  ** IP: Blank "required" fields found in input

   ** Severe  ** IP: Out of "range" values and/or blank required fields found in input

   **  Fatal  ** IP: Errors occurred on processing IDF file. Preceding condition(s) cause termination.
   ...Summary of Errors that led to program termination:
   ..... Reference severe error count=6
   ..... Last severe error=IP: Out of "range" values and/or blank required fields found in input
   ************* Warning:  Node connection errors not checked - most system input has not been read (see previous warning).
   ************* Fatal error -- final processing.  Program exited before simulations began.  See previous error messages.
   ************* EnergyPlus Warmup Error Summary. During Warmup: 0 Warning; 0 Severe Errors.
   ************* EnergyPlus Sizing Error Summary. During Sizing: 0 Warning; 0 Severe Errors.
   ************* EnergyPlus Terminated--Fatal Error Detected. 1 Warning; 6 Severe Errors; Elapsed Time=00hr 00min  1.00sec
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answered 2015-05-28 08:38:42 -0600

updated 2015-05-28 08:39:10 -0600

Neal's answer is helpful if you're comfortable working in EnergyPlus, but it sounds like you're using OpenStudio, in which case the Surface Search Tool will be helpful to identify the problem surfaces in your model.

These could be degenerate surfaces caused during geometry creation or surface matching. I also suggest doing a search of this site for the tag surface for additional information.

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answered 2015-05-27 16:58:22 -0600

For each surface in your IDF file, there is a field referencing the zone that the surface belongs to. You must specify the zone for the surface.

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Ok. How does one go about sorting out how to resolve such an error? The youtube tutorial vids make it all look easy, but gloss over things like this. Is it back under the constructions tab?

qdiggety's avatar qdiggety  ( 2015-05-27 17:08:56 -0600 )edit

The Sketch-up plugin has these errors:

Error: Surface 371 The space referenced by this surface does not exist, it cannot be drawn.

Error: Surface 694 The space referenced by this surface does not exist, it cannot be drawn.

It should be easy as deleting these surfaces, correct? How do I find these objects?

qdiggety's avatar qdiggety  ( 2015-05-27 17:12:16 -0600 )edit

Try using the diagnostic script in SketchUp plugin or use measure to remove orphan objects in the OpenStudio application.

David Goldwasser's avatar David Goldwasser  ( 2015-05-28 08:40:34 -0600 )edit

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Asked: 2015-05-27 16:51:54 -0600

Seen: 1,051 times

Last updated: May 28 '15