An Overview

ESP-r is a general purpose, multi-domain simulation environment which has been under development for three decades. Building thermal behaviour, inter-zone air flow, intra-zone air movement, HVAC systems and electrical power flow can all be simulated in the software. In ESP-r simulation follows description, where additional technical domain solvers are invoked as the building and system descriptions evolve.

Users have options to set the geometric, environmental control and operational complexity of models to match the requirements of particular projects. ESP-r supports explicit energy balances in each zone and at each surface. It uses message passing between the solvers to support inter-domain interactions. It works with third party tools such as Radiance to support higher resolution assessments as well as interacting with supply and demand matching tools.

What is included

ESP-r is distributed as a suite of tools. A project manger controls the development of models and requests computational services from other modules in the suite as well as 3rd party tools. Supported modules include:

clm — a weather display/analysis/conversion tool.
bps — an integrated (all domain) simulation engine.
cdb — a database manager for graphic plant descriptions.
dfs — a stand-alone CFD engine.
e2r — a manager, exporter, controller, and viewer of Radiance models.
ecnv — a model import and export facility.
ish — a shading and insolation pre-processor and display tool.
grd — a 2D and 3D conduction gridding specification tool.
mfs — a stand-alone network flow solver.
mld — a stand-alone micotoxin display/reporting tool.
net — a graphic network topology creation tool.
pdb — a plant component database management tool.
prj — the project manager facility.
res — a graphic simulation predictions display and reporting tool.
vwf — a suface-to-surface and MRT sensor body view factor calculation tool.
viewer — a hidden-line model display tool.

ESP-r is distributed with about 200 example models, some of which were created specifically to demonstrate syntax and assessment features, while others have been drawn from (anonymised) research and consulting projects. More information about the applications in the suite may be found here. A set of standard databases as well as example/validation models are also included in the standard distribution. Further details are here

ESP-r modules can be invoked with a graphic interface or as text-only applications managed by scripts or parametric assessment regimes. ESP-r has been used as the simulation engine underpinning a range of bespoke tools, from compliance tools to industry-specific assessment tools. Although it has a strong research heritage, it is also used as a consulting tool by architects, engineers and multidisciplinary practices.

Third party tools - Radiance

ESP-r works with third party tools such as Radiance. It may be used simply to export the model into a Radiance description for visualisation studies. Radiance may also be invoked at each timestep as a basis of lighting controls or to support facade reflection studies. Read about this here.

Distribution and Licensing

ESP-r is distributed under a GPL license. It runs on a variety of traditional and non-traditional computing platforms and operating systems. With access to the source code it is possible to discover the underlying logic, to single-step through an assessment as it progresses, adapt or create new reports and test new theories. Those who access and change the code or documentation are requested to pass this back into the repository (a submission protocol is described below). There is an archivist as well as a procedure for making submissions into the repository that includes rigorous testing. The development community is distributed across many countries.

Source code

The ESP-r repository is hosted at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow www.esru.strath.ac.uk. Look in Applications->ESP-r->Fetch. These include the source distribution e.g. code, example models, standard databases, documents and standard sets of tests which developers undertake as a tar.gz file. The Readme provides notes on how to build ESP-r for a number of different computer types and operating systems. The site also includes a Debian binary for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS. The current version number is 13.2.1 of 18 July 2018.

There is an archivist, Professor Joe Clarke, as well as a procedure for making submissions into the repository that includes rigorous testing. The development community is distributed across many countries and ESP-r is actively in development, so check back at regular intervals to see if the version numbers have changed.

Publications

The ESRU web site www.strath.ac.uk/esru has an extensive publications list (conference papers, thesis, and occassional journal articles). The updated February 2018 version of the Strategies document can be found at: download.