PluginTEASER
The TEASER Plugin is one the two currently implemented
Plugins for building performance simulation (BPS). It uses the open
source tool TEASER as backend to export
Modelica simulation models based on the input IFC data. For a detailed insight
how TEASER works please have a look at the documentation
of TEASER. The exported simulation models can be simulated using the open source
library AixLib. Following you will find
some information how TEASER addresses the challenges of automated building
simulation.
How to install?
Step by step
To install PluginTEASER: you need to do the following
(in the root directory of the repo, here is the pyproject.toml file)
pip install -e '.[PluginTEASER]'
The bim2sim core installation needs to be done before.
Structure of the plugin
The following figure shows the structure of the TEASER plugin. Here you see which tasks are used and how they are combined.
flowchart TB
subgraph taskLoadIFC["task LoadIFC"]
subgraph ""
tLoadIFC["bim2sim > tasks > common >
LoadIFC"]
extLoadIFC(" Load all IFC files from PROJECT. " )
end
stateLoadIFC[("state
(reads/touches)")]
tLoadIFC -- ifc_files --> stateLoadIFC
end
subgraph taskCheckIfc["task CheckIfc"]
subgraph ""
tCheckIfc["bim2sim > tasks > common >
CheckIfc"]
extCheckIfc(" Check an IFC file, for a number of conditions
(missing information, incorrect information, etc)
that could lead on future tasks to fatal errors. " )
end
stateCheckIfc[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateCheckIfc -- ifc_files --> tCheckIfc
direction RL
end
subgraph taskCreateElements["task CreateElements"]
subgraph ""
tCreateElements["bim2sim > tasks > common >
CreateElements"]
extCreateElements(" Create bim2sim elements based on information in
IFC. " )
end
stateCreateElements[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateCreateElements -- ifc_files --> tCreateElements
tCreateElements -- elements, ifc_files --> stateCreateElements
end
subgraph taskCreateSpaceBoundaries["task CreateSpaceBoundaries"]
subgraph ""
tCreateSpaceBoundaries["bim2sim > tasks > bps >
CreateSpaceBoundaries"]
extCreateSpaceBoundaries(" Create space boundary elements from ifc. " )
end
stateCreateSpaceBoundaries[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateCreateSpaceBoundaries -- ifc_files, elements --> tCreateSpaceBoundaries
tCreateSpaceBoundaries -- space_boundaries --> stateCreateSpaceBoundaries
end
subgraph taskCorrectSpaceBoundaries["task CorrectSpaceBoundaries"]
subgraph ""
tCorrectSpaceBoundaries["bim2sim > tasks > bps >
CorrectSpaceBoundaries"]
extCorrectSpaceBoundaries(" Advanced geometric preprocessing for Space
Boundaries. " )
end
stateCorrectSpaceBoundaries[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateCorrectSpaceBoundaries -- elements, space_boundaries --> tCorrectSpaceBoundaries
direction RL
end
subgraph taskAddSpaceBoundaries2B["task AddSpaceBoundaries2B"]
subgraph ""
tAddSpaceBoundaries2B["bim2sim > tasks > bps >
AddSpaceBoundaries2B"]
extAddSpaceBoundaries2B(" Fill gaps in set of space boundary per space with
2B space boundaries. " )
end
stateAddSpaceBoundaries2B[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateAddSpaceBoundaries2B -- elements --> tAddSpaceBoundaries2B
tAddSpaceBoundaries2B -- elements --> stateAddSpaceBoundaries2B
end
subgraph taskFilterTZ["task FilterTZ"]
subgraph ""
tFilterTZ["bim2sim > tasks > bps >
FilterTZ"]
extFilterTZ(" Filters the thermal zones for later usage and
stores them in state. " )
end
stateFilterTZ[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateFilterTZ -- elements --> tFilterTZ
tFilterTZ -- tz_elements --> stateFilterTZ
end
subgraph taskBindStoreys["task BindStoreys"]
subgraph ""
tBindStoreys["bim2sim > tasks > common >
BindStoreys"]
extBindStoreys(" None. " )
end
stateBindStoreys[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateBindStoreys -- elements --> tBindStoreys
tBindStoreys -- elements --> stateBindStoreys
end
subgraph taskEnrichUseConditions["task EnrichUseConditions"]
subgraph ""
tEnrichUseConditions["bim2sim > tasks > bps >
EnrichUseConditions"]
extEnrichUseConditions(" Enriches Use Conditions of thermal zones based on
decisions and translation of zone names. " )
end
stateEnrichUseConditions[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateEnrichUseConditions -- tz_elements --> tEnrichUseConditions
tEnrichUseConditions -- enriched_tz --> stateEnrichUseConditions
end
subgraph taskVerifyLayersMaterials["task VerifyLayersMaterials"]
subgraph ""
tVerifyLayersMaterials["bim2sim > tasks > bps >
VerifyLayersMaterials"]
extVerifyLayersMaterials(" Verifies if layers and materials and their
properties are meaningful. " )
end
stateVerifyLayersMaterials[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateVerifyLayersMaterials -- elements --> tVerifyLayersMaterials
tVerifyLayersMaterials -- invalid --> stateVerifyLayersMaterials
end
subgraph taskEnrichMaterial["task EnrichMaterial"]
subgraph ""
tEnrichMaterial["bim2sim > tasks > bps >
EnrichMaterial"]
extEnrichMaterial(" Enriches material properties that were recognized
as invalid LOD. " )
end
stateEnrichMaterial[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateEnrichMaterial -- elements, invalid --> tEnrichMaterial
tEnrichMaterial -- elements --> stateEnrichMaterial
end
subgraph taskDisaggregationCreation["task DisaggregationCreation"]
subgraph ""
tDisaggregationCreation["bim2sim > tasks > bps >
DisaggregationCreation"]
extDisaggregationCreation(" Disaggregates building elements based on their
space boundaries. " )
end
stateDisaggregationCreation[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateDisaggregationCreation -- elements --> tDisaggregationCreation
tDisaggregationCreation -- disaggregations --> stateDisaggregationCreation
end
subgraph taskCombineThermalZones["task CombineThermalZones"]
subgraph ""
tCombineThermalZones["bim2sim > tasks > bps >
CombineThermalZones"]
extCombineThermalZones(" Combine thermal zones to reduce the amount of
thermal zones. " )
end
stateCombineThermalZones[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateCombineThermalZones -- tz_elements, elements --> tCombineThermalZones
tCombineThermalZones -- bounded_tz --> stateCombineThermalZones
end
subgraph taskWeather["task Weather"]
subgraph ""
tWeather["bim2sim > tasks > common >
Weather"]
extWeather(" Task to get the weather file for later simulation. " )
end
stateWeather[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateWeather -- elements --> tWeather
tWeather -- weather_file --> stateWeather
end
subgraph taskLoadLibrariesTEASER["task LoadLibrariesTEASER"]
subgraph ""
tLoadLibrariesTEASER["
LoadLibrariesTEASER"]
extLoadLibrariesTEASER(" Load AixLib library for export. " )
end
stateLoadLibrariesTEASER[("state
(reads/touches)")]
tLoadLibrariesTEASER -- libraries --> stateLoadLibrariesTEASER
end
subgraph taskCreateTEASER["task CreateTEASER"]
subgraph ""
tCreateTEASER["bim2sim > plugins > PluginTEASER >
bim2sim_teaser > task >
CreateTEASER"]
extCreateTEASER(" Creates a TEASER project by using the found
information from IFC. " )
end
stateCreateTEASER[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateCreateTEASER -- libraries, elements, weather_file --> tCreateTEASER
tCreateTEASER -- teaser_prj, bldg_names, orig_heat_loads, orig_cool_loads, tz_mapping --> stateCreateTEASER
end
subgraph taskSerializeElements["task SerializeElements"]
subgraph ""
tSerializeElements["bim2sim > tasks > common >
SerializeElements"]
extSerializeElements(" Serialize element structure, run() method holds
detailed information. " )
end
stateSerializeElements[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateSerializeElements -- elements, space_boundaries, tz_elements --> tSerializeElements
tSerializeElements -- serialized_elements --> stateSerializeElements
end
subgraph taskExportTEASER["task ExportTEASER"]
subgraph ""
tExportTEASER["bim2sim > plugins > PluginTEASER >
bim2sim_teaser > task >
ExportTEASER"]
extExportTEASER(" Exports the previous created TEASER project to
Modelica. " )
end
stateExportTEASER[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateExportTEASER -- teaser_prj --> tExportTEASER
tExportTEASER -- teaser_prj --> stateExportTEASER
end
subgraph taskSimulateModelEBCPy["task SimulateModelEBCPy"]
subgraph ""
tSimulateModelEBCPy["bim2sim > plugins > PluginTEASER >
bim2sim_teaser > task >
SimulateModelEBCPy"]
extSimulateModelEBCPy(" None. " )
end
stateSimulateModelEBCPy[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateSimulateModelEBCPy -- bldg_names --> tSimulateModelEBCPy
tSimulateModelEBCPy -- teaser_mat_result_paths, sim_results_path --> stateSimulateModelEBCPy
end
subgraph taskCreateResultDF["task CreateResultDF"]
subgraph ""
tCreateResultDF["bim2sim > plugins > PluginTEASER >
bim2sim_teaser > task >
CreateResultDF"]
extCreateResultDF(" This ITask creates a result dataframe for TEASER
BEPS simulations. " )
end
stateCreateResultDF[("state
(reads/touches)")]
stateCreateResultDF -- teaser_mat_result_paths, sim_results_path, tz_mapping --> tCreateResultDF
tCreateResultDF -- df_finals --> stateCreateResultDF
end
subgraph taskPlotBEPSResults["task PlotBEPSResults"]
subgraph ""
tPlotBEPSResults["bim2sim > tasks > bps >
PlotBEPSResults"]
extPlotBEPSResults(" Plots the results for BEPS simulations. " )
end
statePlotBEPSResults[("state
(reads/touches)")]
statePlotBEPSResults -- df_finals, sim_results_path, ifc_files --> tPlotBEPSResults
direction RL
end
taskLoadIFC --> taskCheckIfc
taskCheckIfc --> taskCreateElements
taskCreateElements --> taskCreateSpaceBoundaries
taskCreateSpaceBoundaries --> taskCorrectSpaceBoundaries
taskCorrectSpaceBoundaries --> taskAddSpaceBoundaries2B
taskAddSpaceBoundaries2B --> taskFilterTZ
taskFilterTZ --> taskBindStoreys
taskBindStoreys --> taskEnrichUseConditions
taskEnrichUseConditions --> taskVerifyLayersMaterials
taskVerifyLayersMaterials --> taskEnrichMaterial
taskEnrichMaterial --> taskDisaggregationCreation
taskDisaggregationCreation --> taskCombineThermalZones
taskCombineThermalZones --> taskWeather
taskWeather --> taskLoadLibrariesTEASER
taskLoadLibrariesTEASER --> taskCreateTEASER
taskCreateTEASER --> taskSerializeElements
taskSerializeElements --> taskExportTEASER
taskExportTEASER --> taskSimulateModelEBCPy
taskSimulateModelEBCPy --> taskCreateResultDF
taskCreateResultDF --> taskPlotBEPSResults
This figure is generated by the script template_mermaid.py (see Visualization of bim2sim plugin structure).
How to run the simulation?
How to analyze the project?
What kind of results exist?
Enrichment
bim2sim uses the extensive statistic data in TEASER to enrich the often unknown
but required information for construction elements materials, their layered
structure and profiles to estimate internal loads in a building based on the
usage type of its zones. This enrichment was made also available for the export
to the EnergyPlus Plugin
Space Boundary Usage
Currently, TEASER prefers the semantic input from IFC data to get important data
like the area of walls. But as these information often are not correct or not
existing TEASER uses also the information provided by space boundaries. The
space boundaries are also mandatory for Zoning, see below. With growing quality
of IFC exports in authoring tools we might see complete IFCs with all semantic
information needed to parametrize a BPS. At this point TEASEr will allow
the creation of a single zone simulation model without the need of Space
Boundaries, as the space boundaries are only needed for zoning in this case.
Zoning
As TEASERs simulation core offers multizone simulation models, but each zone is
adiabatic and interacts only with the environment but the zones don’t interact
with each other. Even if just putting every room into one thermalzone might be
easy but not sensible as shown
in this paper.
As the zoning of simulation models is a time-consuming task we decided to
automate it with the task (BindThermalZones)[BindThermalZones].
We do this by giving the user multiple criteria to select from:
External/Internal
Orientation
Usage
Window to wall ratio
To create those zones we first need to disaggregate the
elements
of each room based on 2nd level space boundaries and put them together again
afterwards.
External/Internal
By selecting this criteria all zones with contact to the environment will
be in one group and all rooms without contact in the other.
Orientation
This groups the zones into two groups, south-west orientated and
north-east orientated zones. This is useful as the south-west group is
exposed to solar radiation at a high level, while the north-east group will have
only negligible solar radiation input. Mixing both groups together can lead to
misleading results regarding peak loads as loads are smoothed out.
Usage
This groups the zones based on the usage type of each room. bim2sim tries to
estimate the usage of each room based on the name of the room and multiple IFC
properties which might be set by the authoring tool. If the usage can’t be found
a Decision will be triggered to get the correct usage.
Window to wall ratio
With this criteria the zones are grouped into 4 groups based on their window to
wall ratio or glass percentage: