Spawn 0.6.0

This release is the first to adopt EnergyPlus version 24.1.0. Other notable additions include:

• Extensive redesign of Spawn's internal time management and coordination between Modelica and EnergyPlus domains.
• Significantly faster simulation startup when start time is non zero.
• Support for negative start times.
• New parameters from EnergyPlus related to sizing. This feature enables Modelica HVAC systems to leverage EnergyPlus sizing routines.

Spawn 0.5.0

Spawn 0.5.0

This is the maiden release of Spawn based on the OpenModleica compiler. Internally OM is now used to compile and run simulations in Spawn.

Installation for "light" Packages

Spawn aims to provide a compressive toolchain for Modelica based building energy modeling in a single package. This shall include library content and examples (MBL), an integrated Modelica based compiler toolchain, and the Modelica to EnergyPlus interface. Spawn "light" packages contain only the Modelica to EnergyPlus interface. Although the light packages are made available here for direct download, the content of these packages is bundled into the MBL releases. For those with an established Modelica environment (Dymola, Modelon Impact, OpenModelica, etc) the simplest way to get started with Spawn is by installing the MBL and using your preferred third party Modelica environment.

Installation for Full Packages (Ubuntu 22.04 only)

Full packages are under active development, but now contain a complete toolchain, including bundled MBL and OpenModelica compiler versions. Extract the package to a location of your choosing and optionally put the bin/spawn executable in your system path.
Additional computer platforms, including versions of Mac OS and Windows will be supported in future releases.

Example Usage

Detailed help is built into the command line program spawn --help.

• Compile a Modelica model. Models contained with the Modelica Buildings Library and
  the Modelica Standard Library are included and available to the compiler by default.

spawn modelica create-exe Buildings.Examples.Tutorial.Boiler.System1

• Compile and run a Modelica model, which internally leverages EnergyPlus.

spawn modelica simulate Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus.Validation.ThermalZone.OneZoneOneYear

v0.4.1

Spawn 0.4.1

This is a maintenance release, which upgrades key dependencies and provides important bug fixes.

• Update the bundled Modelica Buildings Library (MBL) version 9.1.0.
• Fix support for the EnergyPlus ZoneCapacitanceMultiplier.
• Extend operating system support. Packages are now available for Ubuntu 18.04 and 22.04. Additionally, support has been added for CentOS 7 in support of cloud computing deployments. Microsoft Windows and macOS (10.15 and above) packages are also provided.

Installation for "light" Packages

Spawn aims to provide a compressive toolchain for Modelica based building energy modeling in a single package. This shall include library content and examples (MBL), an integrated Modelica based compiler toolchain, and the Modelica to EnergyPlus interface. Spawn "light" packages contain only the Modelica to EnergyPlus interface. Although the light packages are made available here for direct download, the content of these packages is bundled into the MBL releases. For those with an established Modelica environment (Dymola, Modelon Impact, OpenModelica, etc) the simplest way to get started with Spawn is by installing the MBL and using your preferred third party Modelica environment.

Installation for Full Packages (Ubuntu 22.04 only)

Full packages are under active development, but contain a complete toolchain, including bundled MBL and Modelica compiler versions. Extract the package to a location of your choosing and optionally put the bin/spawn executable in your system path.
Additional computer platforms, including versions of Mac OS and Windows will be supported in future releases.

Example Usage

Detailed help is built into the command line program spawn --help.

• Compile a Modelica model to FMU format. Models contained with the Modelica Buildings Library and
  the Modelica Standard Library are included and available to the compiler by default.

spawn modelica --create-fmu Buildings.Examples.Tutorial.Boiler.System1

• Compile a Modelica model, which internally leverages EnergyPlus.

spawn modelica --create-fmu Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus.Validation.ThermalZone.OneZoneOneYear

• Compile a Modelica model using user defined libraries.

spawn modelica --modelica-path /sim/mixed_loads --create-fmu mixed_loads.Districts.DistrictEnergySystem

• After generating a Functional Mockup Unit, run a simulation. Results will be generated to the file Buildings_Controls_OBC_CDL_Continuous_Validation_Line.csv.

spawn fmu --simulate Buildings_Controls_OBC_CDL_Continuous_Validation_Line.fmu --start 0.0 --stop 3600 --step 0.01

v0.4.0

Spawn 0.4.0

This release upgrades Spawn to the Modelica Buildings Library version 9.0.0.

Installation (Linux Ubuntu 18.04 full package only)

Extract the package to a location of your choosing and optionally put the bin/spawn executable in your system path.
Additional computer platforms, including versions of Mac OS and Windows will be supported in future releases.

Example Usage

Detailed help is built into the command line program spawn --help.

• Compile a Modelica model to FMU format. Models contained with the Modelica Buildings Library and
  the Modelica Standard Library are included and available to the compiler by default.

spawn modelica --create-fmu Buildings.Examples.Tutorial.Boiler.System1

• Compile a Modelica model, which internally leverages EnergyPlus.

spawn modelica --create-fmu Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus.Validation.ThermalZone.OneZoneOneYear

• Compile a Modelica model using user defined libraries.

spawn modelica --modelica-path /sim/mixed_loads --create-fmu mixed_loads.Districts.DistrictEnergySystem

• After generating a Functional Mockup Unit, run a simulation. Results will be generated to the file Buildings_Controls_OBC_CDL_Continuous_Validation_Line.csv.

spawn fmu --simulate Buildings_Controls_OBC_CDL_Continuous_Validation_Line.fmu --start 0.0 --stop 3600 --step 0.01

v0.3.0

Spawn 0.3.0

This release incorporates EnergyPlus version 9.6.0 and the Modelica Buildings Library version 8.1.0.

Installation (Linux Ubuntu 18.04 full package only)

Extract the package to a location of your choosing and optionally put the bin/spawn executable in your system path.
Additional computer platforms, including versions of Mac OS and Windows will be supported in future releases.

Example Usage

Detailed help is built into the command line program spawn --help.

• Compile a Modelica model to FMU format. Models contained with the Modelica Buildings Library and
  the Modelica Standard Library are included and available to the compiler by default.

spawn modelica --create-fmu Buildings.Examples.Tutorial.Boiler.System1

• Compile a Modelica model, which internally leverages EnergyPlus.

spawn modelica --create-fmu Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus.Validation.ThermalZone.OneZoneOneYear

• Compile a Modelica model using user defined libraries.

spawn modelica --modelica-path /sim/mixed_loads --create-fmu mixed_loads.Districts.DistrictEnergySystem

• After generating a Functional Mockup Unit, run a simulation. Results will be generated to the file Buildings_Controls_OBC_CDL_Continuous_Validation_Line.csv.

spawn fmu --simulate Buildings_Controls_OBC_CDL_Continuous_Validation_Line.fmu --start 0.0 --stop 3600 --step 0.01

v0.2.1

Spawn 0.2.1

This is a maintenance release that improves on version 0.2.0 in the following ways. This release incorporates EnergyPlus version 9.5.0.

• Update the included Modelica Buildings Library from version 8.0.0 to version 8.1.0.
• Report the EnergyPlus version with from the spawn cli. spawn energyplus --verison
• Generated FMUs have new permissions for generated binaries, making the FMU more compatible with containerized workflows.
• Include any resource files defined by user provided Modelica models, in the compiled FMU.
• The spawn executable now includes the version identifier in the executable file's name. A symbolic link named spawn is provided on platforms that support links.
• The output QPeo_Flow has been corrected to report power instead of energy.
• The output QLat_flow has been added, to allow provided Modelica with latent load information about the EnergyPlus zone.

Installation (Linux Ubuntu 18.04 full package only)

Extract the package to a location of your choosing and optionally put the bin/spawn executable in your system path.
Additional computer platforms, including versions of Mac OS and Windows will be supported in future releases.

Example Usage

Detailed help is built into the command line program spawn --help.

• Compile a Modelica model to FMU format. Models contained with the Modelica Buildings Library and
  the Modelica Standard Library are included and available to the compiler by default.

spawn modelica --create-fmu Buildings.Examples.Tutorial.Boiler.System1

• Compile a Modelica model, which internally leverages EnergyPlus.

spawn modelica --create-fmu Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus.Validation.ThermalZone.OneZoneOneYear

• Compile a Modelica model using user defined libraries.

spawn modelica --modelica-path /sim/mixed_loads --create-fmu mixed_loads.Districts.DistrictEnergySystem

• After generating a Functional Mockup Unit, run a simulation. Results will be generated to the file Buildings_Controls_OBC_CDL_Continuous_Validation_Line.csv.

spawn fmu --simulate Buildings_Controls_OBC_CDL_Continuous_Validation_Line.fmu --start 0.0 --stop 3600 --step 0.01

v0.2.0

Spawn 0.2.0

Although still a work in progress, this is the first binary release of Spawn as a stand-alone package. Components of Spawn have been, and will continue to be, released as part of the Modelica Buildings Library, however this is the first standalone package that offers a complete simulation toolchain. There are three major features in this release, which together provide an end to end simulation capability.

1. A Modelica compiler toolchain for compiling Modelica source to Functional Mockup Unit (FMU) format
2. A method for simulating a Functional Mockup Unit
3. A method for exporting EnergyPlus models to FMU format

Additionally, the Spawn package bundles the Modelica Standard Library and the Modelica Buildings Library (MBL),
and the built in compiler is preconfigured to utilize these libraries. The Buildings Library now includes
custom models for interfacing seemlessly with EnergyPlus, without leaving the Modelica environment.
Spawn's capability to export EnergyPlus models to FMU format is used behind the scenes to enable communication
between Modelica and EnergyPlus, however the necessary complexity is abstracted to create a user friendly environment.

The Spawn installation package is fully self contained, and there are no external third party dependencies.
Together the capabilities in this package, provide a single integrated environment for performing hybrid Modelica
and EnergyPlus simulations.

The full simulation capability is only supported on Linux (Ubuntu 18.04) at this time, however "light" packages are released for all major platforms. The minimalist light packages contain only the EnergyPlus elements for inclusion in the Modelica Buildings Library, and do not contain the compiler and simulation capabilities.

Installation (Linux Ubuntu 18.04 full package only)

Extract the package to a location of your choosing and optionally put the bin/spawn executable in your system path.
Additional computer platforms, including versions of Mac OS and Windows will be supported in future releases.

Example Usage

Detailed help is built into the command line program spawn --help.

• Compile a Modelica model to FMU format. Models contained with the Modelica Buildings Library and
  the Modelica Standard Library are included and available to the compiler by default.

spawn modelica --create-fmu Buildings.Examples.Tutorial.Boiler.System1

• Compile a Modelica model, which internally leverages EnergyPlus.

spawn modelica --create-fmu Buildings.ThermalZones.EnergyPlus.Validation.ThermalZone.OneZoneOneYear

• Compile a Modelica model using user defined libraries.

spawn modelica --modelica-path /sim/mixed_loads --create-fmu mixed_loads.Districts.DistrictEnergySystem

• After generating a Functional Mockup Unit, run a simulation. Results will be generated to the file Buildings_Controls_OBC_CDL_Continuous_Validation_Line.csv.

spawn fmu --simulate Buildings_Controls_OBC_CDL_Continuous_Validation_Line.fmu --start 0.0 --stop 3600 --step 0.01