Simulation Calculation Options - Simulation Options

Simulation tab on Model Options dialog and General tab on Simulation Options dialog.

Calculation Description

Enter some text to identify the calculation. This will be used in reports, on Simulation Manager dialog and in the filename for automatically generated ESO files.

Tip: If you forget to update the Description before running a simulation using the Simulation Manager you can rename it later in the Simulation Manager dialog.

Simulation Period

Start day, Start month, End day, End month

Select the start and end days for the simulation by selecting the start day and month and the end day and month.

Alternatively select a typical period using the links on the Info panel:

• Annual simulation - all 365 days of the year.
• Summer design week - a week identified by the weather data translator as being the hottest of the year.
• Summer typical week - a week identified by the weather data translator as being typical of the summer.
• All summer - simulate the whole summer (as identified by the weather data translator).
• Winter design week - a week identified by the weather data translator as being the coldest of the year.
• Winter typical week - a week identified by the weather data translator as being typical of the winter.
• All winter - simulate the whole winter (as identified by the weather data translator).

Note: The above typical simulation periods are derived from the Statistics data from the currently selected Hourly weather data. If the hourly weather data was loaded from a custom weather file that did not include statistics data (the .stat file) then data may not be available to allow these links to typical periods to work. In this case you must select the dates manually.

Specify year

For some modelling work is it necessary to simulate a specific year. For example when carrying out operational analysis on an occupied building and comparing simulation results with site measurements for a specific period. In such cases a "Typical Year" weather file cannot be used and the hourly weather file should represent a specific year. In these cases, you should check this checkbox and enter the year in the Start year textbox below.

Start year

When the Specify year checkbox has been checked, you must enter the year represented by the currently selected Hourly weather file.

Note: When the Start year is specified here it overrides the Day of week for start day site level setting, and the year set here defines the day of the week of the start day.

Run simulation for multiple years

If you would like to run the simulation for more than one year then check this box. This can be useful for models where there is very heavy thermal mass involved anywhere in the model. A typical example is when modelling ground domains where the thermal mass of the ground itself is simulated in detail. Similarly, when simulating a ground heat exchanger it can take several years for the ground temperature fields to stabilise to periodic steady-state.

Number of years

When the Run simulation for multiple years checkbox is checked you must enter the number of years to be simulated. Enter a number 2 or greater.

Note: When simulating multiple years it is only possible to run for a whole number of years, each of which start in January and end in December. So it isn't possible to simulate from May one year to June 3 years later for example.

Output Intervals for Reporting

Select one or more intervals for reporting from the available list:

• Monthly and Run period
• Daily
• Hourly
• Sub-hourly

Warning: selecting output at hourly or sub-hourly intervals can produce large amounts of data which slows processing, results in large file sizes and in extreme cases can cause DesignBuilder to fail when attempting to load results back into the model for reporting. If you want to generate hourly or sub-hourly data you may wish to consider switching off some of the Output options to ensure you are only generating the data you require.