Simulation Manager tab of the Optimisation Calculation Options Dialog
Optimisation studies require many hundreds or even thousands of simulations to be carried out in order to achieve accurate results. DesignBuilder is provided with a Simulation Manager to help run these simulations as quickly and efficiently as possible. To use the Simulation Manager tick the Use Simulation Manager checkbox on the Simulation Manager tab and select the appropriate options below. If you don't choose this option then simulations will be carried out sequentially, which will generally take a lot longer.
Select the server from the drop list. DesignBuilder comes with a server called "localhost"and if you don't add a new server then this will be the only option to choose.
Contact DesignBuilder support for information on how to connect to a server running on a Local Area Network.
Two EnergyPlus server method options are available :
Enter the number of jobs to be simulated before results are passed back from the Simulation Manager to DesignBuilder.
Enter a low value (e.g. 2) to see results displayed as they are generated and a large number (e.g. Maximum population size) if you would like to avoid having the graph updating very frequently. You may find that entering a large value will allow the optimisation to complete slightly more quickly.
In v4.0.0 entering 1 here will cause the internal version of EnergyPlus to be used and you should therefore enter a value of 2 or more to ensure that the Simulation Manager is used.