Report BSDF idf in command line version - IDF not created

[Samuel de Vries]

Hi, 

I am trying create idf BSDF files for energyplus using the command line interface but have been unsuccessful so far. 

I have tried two approaches: 

• Creating a batch file which calculates a glazing system using the -calcGlz command and an xml with inputs. In the xml file I request the IDF BSDF report using WriteEPlusBSDFIDF="yes". This creates the expected BSDF (CSV and xml) and debugging files. The IDF however is not created and the log file states: "Failed to create IDF file (C:\\Program Files (x86)\LBNL\WINDOW7.6\\output\w7)". I tried looking for the directory "\\output\w7" but it does not exist. I also tried creating it before hand but this did not make a difference. When I request to report the bsdf IDF manually from the user interface the IDF is created correctly.
• Creating a glazing system entry though the above method first (without WriteEPlusBSDFIDF="yes") and using a separate batch file to request the IDF BSDF report, referring to glazing system entry. This does nothing and no messages are written into the log file. 

I have uploaded my batch, xml and mdb files to google drive (see here).

Some additional notes:

• I wrote out the commands in full. The command prompt does not show any formatting errors caused by copy-paste actions. 
• I followed the -idStart syntax in the first approach and -glzSysIDStart in the second approach. 

Any thoughts about what might be going wrong?

Kind regards,

Samuel

[Robin Mitchell]

You might try making the BSDF IDF file "by hand" through the WINDOW GUI to make sure that the program can construct it, before trying to make it though the command line. 

Robin 

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Robin Mitchell

Building Technology and Urban Systems Division
Energy Technologies Area
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

[Samuel de Vries]

Hi Robin,

Thank you for thinking along. 

Regarding your suggestion: I already created the BSDF idf file manually through the GUI using the glazing system that I created through the command line interface. This creates a functioning IDF (simulates in EP as expected).

I found what was going wrong for the second workflow (reporting an IDF of an existing glazing system, possibly created through the command line first). I was missing quotations marks around the "Energy Plus BSDF IDF" also I forgot to add the path for the output. For future reference, this is was the command that worked:

W7.exe -pw W73Ev@l -db 20180913_Window_DB.mdb -log testLog_v2.log -glzReport "Energy Plus BSDF IDF" -glzSysIDStart 70201 -glzSysIDStop 70201 -output thisWorks.idf -exit

I am still a bit puzzled by the second workflow (requesting a BSDF IDF through a xml description) failing to create an IDF. Do you think there is anything contradictory in my CalcOptions settings (p.s: also tried adding the -output someOutput.idf here. With no effect). 

<W6XMLInput>
 <CalcOptions BsdfCalc="yes" SpecularMatrixCalc="yes" WriteEPlusBSDFIDF="yes" Basis="W6 standard basis" AutoOverwrite="yes"/>
 <GlazingSystems>
 <GlzSys Id="70201" Name="GLS_ScArgClr_6166_VB_Rs80Rv80Ts1Tv1Ef20Eb90_tAvtb000" BsdfOutputPath="GLS_ScArgClr_6166_VB_Rs80Rv80Ts1Tv1Ef20Eb90_tAvtb000.xml" Height="1000" Width="1000" NumberOfLayers="3" EnvironmentalConditions="4" Tilt="90" Comment="">
 <GlassLayer ShadeFlag="0" Ventilated="0" Id="21056" Name="CL XTREME 70-33IIDIAM 6mm.SGG" Flipped="1" Layer="0"/>
 < GapLayer Ventilated="0" Id="2" Name="Argon" Thickness="16" Layer="0"/>
 <GlassLayer ShadeFlag="0" Ventilated="0" Id="103" Name="CLEAR_6.DAT" Flipped="0" Layer="1"/>
 < GapLayer Ventilated="0" Id="1" Name="Air" Thickness="5" Layer="1"/>
 <GlassLayer ShadeFlag="1" Ventilated="0" Id="70201" Name="shdLay_KindowVert_Rs80Rv80Ts1Tv1Ef20Eb90_tilt_0" Flipped="0" Layer="2"/>
 </GlzSys>
 <ShadingLayer>
 <ShadeLayer Id="70201" Name="shdLay_KindowVert_Rs80Rv80Ts1Tv1Ef20Eb90_tilt_0" Type="5" ShadeMaterialId="70201" HoleArea="0.05" BSDFpath="" ConvectionFactor="0" />
 <VenetianBlind Id="70201" SlatWidth="127" SlatSpacing="127" SlatTilt ="45" SlatCurvature="0"/>
 <ShadeMaterial Id="70201" Name="shdMat_KindowVert_Rs80Rv80Ts1Tv1Ef20Eb90_tilt_0" Source="" SpectralData="0" AngularFunction="0" Thickness="1" Tsol="0.01" Rsol1="0.8" Rsol2="0.1" Tvis="0.01" Rvis1="0.8" Rvis2="0.1" Tir="0.01" Emis1="0.2" Emis2="0.9" Conductivity="0.3" Specularity="1" Tvis2="0.01" Tsol2="0.01" />
 </ShadingLayer>
 </GlazingSystems>
</W6XMLInput>

In trying to find a work around for the above I also stumbled upon something else. I was trying to request IDF BSDF reports for a series of glazing systems manually through the GUI using

report -> selected entries -> IDF BSDF

If I do this; each idf that is created will get the same name and as a result each IDF that is created overwrites the last one. Do you know if there is a way to report multiple glazing system in the GUI and give each a unique name? I tried using a * wildcard but this did not work. I know don’t really need to do this myself now because the command line approach works now; just though it might be useful for other users.  

Kind regards,

Samuel

Op dinsdag 16 juli 2019 20:21:37 UTC+2 schreef Robin Mitchell:

You might try making the BSDF IDF file "by hand" through the WINDOW GUI to make sure that the program can construct it, before trying to make it though the command line. 

Robin 

On Tue, Jul 16, 2019 at 7:20 AM Samuel de Vries <samuel...@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi, 

I am trying create idf BSDF files for energyplus using the command line interface but have been unsuccessful so far. 

I have tried two approaches: 

• Creating a batch file which calculates a glazing system using the -calcGlz command and an xml with inputs. In the xml file I request the IDF BSDF report using WriteEPlusBSDFIDF="yes". This creates the expected BSDF (CSV and xml) and debugging files. The IDF however is not created and the log file states: "Failed to create IDF file (C:\\Program Files (x86)\LBNL\WINDOW7.6\\output\w7)". I tried looking for the directory "\\output\w7" but it does not exist. I also tried creating it before hand but this did not make a difference. When I request to report the bsdf IDF manually from the user interface the IDF is created correctly.
• Creating a glazing system entry though the above method first (without WriteEPlusBSDFIDF="yes") and using a separate batch file to request the IDF BSDF report, referring to glazing system entry. This does nothing and no messages are written into the log file. 

I have uploaded my batch, xml and mdb files to google drive (see here).

Some additional notes:

• I wrote out the commands in full. The command prompt does not show any formatting errors caused by copy-paste actions. 
• I followed the -idStart syntax in the first approach and -glzSysIDStart in the second approach. 

Any thoughts about what might be going wrong?

Kind regards,

Samuel

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