DesignBuilder includes a wide set of predefined selectable outputs. However there are some situations when it may be useful to expand the default set.This can be done by including additional output variables using one of the following 2 routes (Scripting or Additional IDF):


DesignBuilder EMS – using DesignBuilder scripting tools

Note that this option requires a Scripting license

1. Go to ‘Tools’ menu and select the ‘Scripts’ option to open the 'Script Manager' dialog and tick ‘Enable scripts’.

2. Add a new ‘EMS’ script and select ‘Enable program’ in the script dialog.

3. Click the ‘Add Output’ command and wait for the ‘Add Output’ dialog pop-up.

4. The output variables will be speciiclly tailored to your project. Add output variables by double-clicking list items.

5. Confirm dialogs and re-run the calculation.

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To see the additional outputs you will need to open the EnergyPlus ‘eplusout.eso’ output file in DesignBuilder Results Viewer application.

If you do not have a Scripting module license then you can use the second method below:


Additional IDF – using a text file with EnergyPlus IDF extension

1. To get a list of all available outputs, go to the ‘Simulation’ tab and update the simulation.

2. Select the ‘Output’ tab and tick the ‘RDD/EDD’ output in the ‘Miscellaneous’ category.

3. Confirm and wait for the simulation to finish.

4. After the simulation has completed, go to ‘File’ > ‘Folders’ > ‘EnergyPlus folder’ and open ‘eplusout.rdd’ (list of output variables) or ‘eplusout.mdd’ (list of output meters) in text editor.

5. Create a new text file with .IDF extension (‘outputs.IDF) and save it into the ‘EnergyPlus’ folder.

6. Copy all the required Output:Variable or Output:Meter objects to the new file.

7. Go back to DesignBuilder and open ‘Model Options’.

8. Navigate to ‘Simulation’ tab > ‘Advanced’ > ‘Include IDF Data’ and select the ‘outputs.idf’ file. Note that the IDF file with the additional outputs must be located in the EnergyPlus folder.

9. The additional outputs will appear in the ‘eplusout.eso’ results after re-running the simulation.

To see the additional outputs you will need to open the ‘eplusout.eso’ in DesignBuilder Results Viewer application.

See also: How To Generate and View Extra EnergyPlus Outputs