07.02.2013 Views

PhD Thesis - Energy Systems Research Unit - University of Strathclyde

PhD Thesis - Energy Systems Research Unit - University of Strathclyde

PhD Thesis - Energy Systems Research Unit - University of Strathclyde

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

7 S<strong>of</strong>tware Development<br />

This chapter describes the MERIT s<strong>of</strong>tware from a user’s perspective. Methods<br />

for verifying the developed algorithms within the overall program context are<br />

also discussed.<br />

7.1 User View <strong>of</strong> MERIT<br />

The main program window <strong>of</strong> MERIT (Appendix 1, Figure A1.1) provides links<br />

to each section <strong>of</strong> the program, as shown in Figure 7.1. From here the different<br />

sections described below can be accessed using the appropriate button.<br />

Examples <strong>of</strong> all the MERIT windows are given in Appendix 1.<br />

7.1.1 Climate and Time Scale<br />

To begin a simulation, the analysis conditions are specified. These include the<br />

start and end dates for the simulation, a suitable climate file, and the altitude <strong>of</strong><br />

the site. If the simulation is to include seasonally varying fuel production<br />

pr<strong>of</strong>iles (e.g. from energy crops), then the study <strong>of</strong> anything less than a full year<br />

will give misleading results.<br />

If the analysis <strong>of</strong> different seasons is required, without the simulation <strong>of</strong> an<br />

entire year, it is possible to define representative seasonal periods (days, weeks,<br />

months). The number <strong>of</strong> desired seasons and length <strong>of</strong> the periods are chosen,<br />

and representative periods are determined based on the climate data. It is also<br />

possible to view the selected climate data.<br />

218

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!