[esp-r] release of ESP-r version 11.10

[Ian Beausoleil-Morrison]

ESP-r users and developers,

 

Version 11.10 of the ESP-r system is now available.  A summary of the
changes and new features included in this release is given at the bottom of
this e-mail.

 

The source code may be accessed via the ESP-r Central Subversion repository.
To do this, you must first install a Subversion client on your system.  Free
clients are available at http://subversion.tigris.org/getting.html.

 

Once you have installed the Subversion client you can download the source
code for version 11.10 of ESP-r anonymously using the following command:

      svn checkout https://espr.svn.cvsdude.com/esp-r/trunk

 

If you already downloaded the source code of a previous version with the
above command, then you do not have to do a full download of version 11.10.
Rather, you can update the source code by executing the following command
from your "trunk" directory:

      svn update

 

(ESP-r developers who wish to make source code contributions to ESP-r should
contact Bart Lomanowski at Bartosz.Lomanowski at nrcan.gc.ca who can configure
an account for you on ESP-r Central.  Further information on ESP-r Central
for developers is available at
http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/Programs/ESP-r_central.htm.)

 

ESP-r source code is available exclusively through ESP-r Central.  However,
you can obtain pre-compiled versions for specific operating environments on
ESRU's web site.  These pre-compiled versions will generally be made
available within a few days of a source code release and will be announced
to this e-mail list.

 

Regards,

 

Ian Beausoleil-Morrison

ESP-r Archivist on behalf of the ESP-r development team

 

Carleton University

Ottawa, Canada

 

 

Release Notes

11.10 (December 2010)

=====================

 

Simulation capabilities

-----------------------

- The current stratified tank model (plant database comp. No 89) does not
support

  the specification of immersed heat exchangers.  This model has been
modified to

  provide support for specifying a single spiral heat exchanger (plant
database

  comp. No 103) and two spiral heat exchangers (plant database comp. 104).
The

  inputs for these components fix the location of the heat exchangers along
the

  height of the stratified tank and specify the geometry of the spiral of
the

  heat exchanger.

- The shading and insolation module has been modified to include obstruction

  block opacity.  With this, opacity factor--ranging from (0 fully
transparent)

  to 1 (fully opaque)--can be set for each obstruction block.

- The grid resolution and the number of obstructions available for shading

  analyses has been increased.  This allows more complex surfaces with

  thin frames to be accommodated.

- A water-filled zone feature has been added.  This can be used in cases
where

  zone-coupled flow is defined via the zone operations file.

- A bug in the calculation of the humidification/dehumidification load

  when using ideal zone control with humidity control has been repaired.

  Previously the controller determined the correct relative humidity but

  incorrectly calculated the required (de)humidification to achieve it.

  The magnitude of the error was larger in models with large latent loads

  when using long time-steps.

- An error in the xml/csv output for the average ground temperature used

  by the BASESIMP model for BASESIMP-type boundary conditions has been

  corrected.

 

 

Project Manager

---------------

- An interface has been created in Project Manager to allow users to apply

  the Alberta air infiltration model (AIM-2).  This model has been available

  within the Simulator for a decade.  However, it was a 'hidden' feature

  that required the user to manually configure an input file.  With this

  additional the AIM-2 model can be more broadly applied.  AIM-2 is a

  so-called single-zone model for calculating stack and wind driven
infiltration

  rates for single-family detached houses.  It can be considered as an
intermediate

  method lying between the simplified treatment of infiltration via the
operation

  file and the more detailed network air flow approach.

- An interface has been created in Project Manager to allow users to apply

  the BASESIMP foundation heat loss model.  This model has been available

  within the Simulator for a decade and has been partially supported by
Project

  Manager.  However, it was a 'semi-hidden' feature that required the user

  to manually configure an input file.  With this addition the BASESIMP
model

  can be more broadly applied.  BASESIMP is a model for predicting both the

  above-grade and below-grade heat transfer from residential slab-on-grade
and

  basement foundations and considers time-varying soil temperatures.  It is

  appropriate for use with small footprint buildings.

- An interface has been created in Project Manager to allow users to apply

  the 'idealized' HVAC models that were added by NRCan to support the
HOT3000

  software about a decade ago.  These models have remained a 'hidden'
feature

  that required the user to manually configure an input file.  With this

  addition the idealized HVAC models can be more broadly applied.  These can
be

  considered as simplified methods for predicting fuel and electricity
consumption

  of residential HVAC equipment that are used in conjunction with ESP-r's
zone

  controls.

- Improvements have been made to the menu structure to facilitate working

  with models that included large numbers of control loops and large numbers

  of zones and/or surfaces.

- Logic has been introduced to identify convex and concave corners in rooms

  to automate creation of thermal bridge locations based on the room
topology.

- The number of in-built ground temperature profiles has been increased and

  further documentation has been added to assist in appropriate selections.

- A method has been introduced to scan the climate data, generate ground

  temperatures at different depths and report estimated ground temperatures

  (via Marshall and Holmes 1988).  The Kusuda method for calculating ground

  temperatures has also been added.

 

 

Validation/Compliance Checking

------------------------------

- A large number of interface and modelling changes have been made to
provide

  the functionality required by the UK 'National Calculation Method' (NCM).

  A decision on ESP-r's compliance with the NCM is expected in the near
future.

 

 

General

-------

- ESP-r can no longer be compiled with GCC3.  An upgrade to GCC4 is now
mandatory.

- Support has been added for the Install script to auto-detect the
architecture

  on Cygwin running under Windows Vista and Windows 7.

- A number of new climate files have been included while some others have
been

  updated.

- A number of new exemplars have been added.

- A number of changes to the automated testing scripts have been made.

- Corrected material vapour diffusion values for several entries associated

  with the IBO PassivHaus reference book. This would only impact models

  which used these materials and where interstitial condensation reports

  are generated.

- The Climate Analyzer includes a facility to convert global horizontal

  into beam and diffuse.  This was updated to make it more robust

  and to offer three methods: the Erbs Klein & Duffy method, the

  Maxwell method and Orgill & Hollands method.

 

 

Additional Changes

------------------

- Many additional changes have been made that are transparent to the user.

  Information on these, as well as further details on all the
above-mentioned

  changes, can be found in ESP-r Central's change log.

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