Error reading EnergyPlus results file - possible invalid file or 'out of virtual memory' error

The error message: "Error reading EnergyPlus results file - possible invalid file or 'out of virtual memory' error" may be caused either by trying to read in an eso file generated by a simulation from a different model or if there is too much data in the eso file to be read into DesignBuilder. 

In cases where there is too much data, DesignBuilder will usually crash following the message. The cause is usually an annual simulation with hourly or sub-hourly results requested in a medium to large-sized model. 

The solution, in this case, is to reduce the amount of data generated. Fitting extra physical memory will not help as there are limits to the amount of data that can be read into DesignBuilder.

If you really need hourly or sub-hourly results for the whole year then you should restrict the results to be only for certain zones, surfaces etc. This can be done using the Options model data tab.

You may also see this error when loading hourly data with non-English regional format. In this case, open the Regional format at Windows Settings and change the "Long time" format to match the one shown in the image below. Then re-run the hourly simulation and the hourly results should now be displayed.