CU1703

SOFTWARE review
IESVE 2017
Python Scripting and an Interoperability Navigator simplify the use of IESVE for Building
Performance Analysis
Python Scripting within IESVE
Interoperability Navigator
If you are capable of configuring a
logical flowchart to resolve a
complex problem, or to run a
number of calculations and come up
with a quantifiable result, then you will
be able to write a couple of Python
scripts. In practical terms, if you want
to combine the energy requirements of
a variety of heating devices, and weigh
that against the effects of an expanse
of glazing in each room, then you could
use Python Scripting to lay out the
problem in a logical manner, and run it
using the performance levels of each
device and the geometry and materials
of each of the rooms.
It's an ideal tool for anyone who wants
to create custom routines on a regular
basis, but who doesn't have the
software skills to write code-based
algorithms. It is also becoming popular
with designers, architects and other
users who want to add a touch of
originality to their efforts. That includes
architects who want to run their designs
through environmental software to
obtain verification that they have
complied with appropriate standards
and regulations.
To assist them, IES has added Python
Scripting as a new API to the IES Virtual
Environment (IESVE), replacing the
outdated APSFILE.DLL
Besides enabling users to create their
own scripts, this innovative approach
for building performance monitoring
and analysis provides automation and
reportage functions, which can be
easily shared through their own IES
navigator. It allows analysis routines,
dependent on a lot of iteration, to be set
up, automating both the data imports
and the sensor inputs, and then to set
up and produce documentary or visual
outputs or reports.
The Python Scripting API consists of
two main features, the Python Console
or Integrated Development
Environment (IDE) and the Python
Navigator. The Console IDE is used for
putting together user's own scripts and
promoting them to the Navigator while
the Python Navigator allows access to
the resultant 'program'. The Python
Navigator is not to be confused with the
Interoperability Navigator, which takes
users through the process of importing
data and running the analysis routines.
Python Scripting's versatility makes it
popular with architects, designers and
others who value its custom scripting
capabilities, so much so that it is
integrated with two of the leading
architectural design applications. It is
used to create custom geometry, some
of the complex designs that are not
feasible to produce unless you bend
the use of standard modelling tools,
input some ingenuity and spend an
awful lot of effort.
If you are a bit wary of creating your
own scripts, however, IES is creating its
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March/April 2017