This section describes the basic elements needed in order to execute an experiment on the NECADA infraestructure for registered Company type users .

To obtain a Necada account follow the instructions described in the section How to obtain an account.

We will see:

• How to upload an IDF Model file (Energy Plus Input Data File)
• How to create a Project
• How to create an Experiment
• How to create a Permutation
• How to execute an Experiment
• How to view the results of an Experiment
• How to create a Results Viewer user and assign it to the Project

If it is not logged, the initial NECADA screen will look like this:

You must enter your username and password. If it is correct, you will see the NECADA Dashboard:

The name of the user appears in the upper right corner, in this example Company1.

If the user already had experiments executed, he would see them listed, and the result of the last experiment:

In the previous step we logged into Optisim. If this is the first time we have entered the application, we will have no data to work with. So the first thing we will do is to upload a model of the building to Optimize it, using a file Energy Plus Input Data File (IDF) . Several programs allows to export to this format.

From the menu BIM Models we select the option Building Models:

Here the list with our uploaded IDF models will be shown:

In our case, since there is no IDF model, the list will be empty:

Hence, we click on the button 'Upload a new one'. the next form will be opened:

You must fill in the fields Name and Description. On Model file You must navigate to the folder where you have saved your model file (IDF file) and select it. The form, once filled in will look like this:

Is important to consider the last field Make this model public. If it is disabled, the model will be private, i.e. only visible to the user. If enabled, the model will be public, that is, visible to all users (whether they are registered in Necada or entered anonymously).

A later, the user will be able to change this field from private to public if he wishes. But the reverse process, ie, from public to private, will not be possible (you should contact the administrator of Necada).

If you now click the button Upload Model The IDF model will be added to the Necada system. The process can take a few seconds. Meanwhile, the application will be blocked and a message will be displayed::

If the load ends correctly, a message will be displayed indicating:

Two new fields appears: Test status y Validated. To be able to use the IDF model in experiments, it must be Validated. Next we are going to detail this.

If we return to the list of IDF models we will see the model that we have just imported:

As has been said, in order to use the IDF model in projects and experiments, the IDF model must be in state Validated. NECADA takes care of the validation process automatically.

Each time the user raises a new IDF model, NECADA creates a validation experiment. All validation experiments are grouped together in the same project called BIM Validation Reports.

The projects are displayed by clicking on the menu option Projects:

Since we have not yet created any project, only the project will be shown BIM Validation Reports:

If you click on the link marked in blue, we will see the detail of this project:

Now click on the tab Experiments Where we will see the validation experiment that NECADA has created for the IDF model that we have uploaded:

We are interested in the column Status. There may be three states: Running, Completed Ok or Completed Error.

If you see the state in Running, you'll have to wait a few minutes for that experiment finish its run.

If you see the state Completed Error Is that the IDF model is not correct from NECADA's point of view. Cannot be used to create experiments.

If you see the state Completed Ok then the IDF model is correct and can be used to create experiments in NECADA. In this case, if you go back to the IDF model list you will see that the status of your IDF has changed:

now we have an IDF file, we can create a Proyecto, from it we can generate Experimentos. To do so we must click on the menu Projects:

This shows a list of projects. At moment only one exists, BIM Validation Project, created by NECADA to perform the BIM validation process:

We can add one with the button Create a new one:

We must fill the fields Name, Description y Public/Private:

Remember that once the project has been created, the user will only be able to change the public/private field from private to public. Once it is public, it can no longer be changed to private. And all that is public is visible by any user, even if it is not registered in NECADA.

In this example we have left it as private (disabled), so that this project will only be visible to the user who created it (and for users of type Results Viewer) that we will create in the last step of this tutorial.

If you click the Create Project button, the project will be created and will show you the detail of that project, as well as a message indicating that it has been created correctly:

If we return to the list of projects, we will see two projects, the BIM validation project created automatically by NECADA, and the project that we have created:

Once the project has been created, before creating experiments, it is necessary to associate the experiment with an IDF model, with a Weather and add some constructive solution.

To add an IDF model, click on the Building modelstab. As we see, there are none:

Click on the Assign a new Building Model button.

Since we only have one building model (which we named IDF), we choose it and click the Associatebutton. It will show a message that everything went well and will show the model IDF added to the project:

Now we add a constructive solution, clicking on the Constructing Solutionstab. Will show us a line up with the constructive solutions of the model IDF chosen in the tab Building models:

In this example we choose Fachada Aislamiento Exterior[127]. the text Fachada Aislamiento Exterior is the name of the constructive solution in the IDF file. The text [127] is the identifier on NECADA's system related with the IDF file. This identifier makes it possible to distinguish two constructive solutions with the same name, but which belong to two different IDF models.

If you click the button Associate we will see the chosen constructive solution added to the Project:

Then we will associate a climate file, clicking on weather Data. As we see, the list is empty:

The Weather data are files with data from weather. The user can upload his own files, although the administrator of NECADA has already uploaded files from several regions of the world. It is enough to choose one that corresponds to the climatic zone where the building would be located to simulate.

To do this click on Assign a new Weather Data and choose Barcelona.

The list of Weather Datas now shows a line:

Once assigned these three elements (IDF model, constructing Solution and Weather Data), we can create an experiment. We'll do that in the next step.

To create an experiment, we'll go to the tab Experiments:

As we see, there is no experiment.

To create one we will press the button Create a New Experiment.

We must give you a Name and Description. Decide whether it is public or private, and choose the IDF model that will serve as the basis for the experiments. The completed form would look like this:

Do we remember the Building models tab of the Project?

In the model Name field We will be able to choose one of the models available in the previous list. In our example there is only one model, called IDF, so we select it.

If we press Create Experiment will create the experiment and see the detail:

If we look again at the project's list of experiments, we will see that now there is a new line:

The next step will be to create permutations.

From the detail of an experiment:

Press the Tab Permutations:

This form is quite complex, in appearance.

Consists of four parts:

a) Loading a permutation file:

b) Download the permutations file:

c) Optimization parameters

d) Definition of scenarios (also called Permutations):

In this tutorial we will focus only on the last point, creating scenarios.

First of all, we have to add the IDF model to the Experiment (remember that it was first added to the Project). To do this press the button New Model

Will only show us the models that have been added to the Project (tab Building Models).

In our case, we will choose the only available model, IDF, and press the Addbutton. It will show us a message that has been added correctly:

And we can see the new Grouppermutation. If we click on Group It expands to detail, showing the name of the IDF model:

Then add a file of Weather (from those available in the Project):

In our case, we choose the only available value, Barcelona.

NECADA will show us a message that it has been added correctly:

And we will see the new permutation as a second Group, on which we can click and see the detail:

So far we have repeated the steps made with the Project. We need to add the constructive solution.

The goal of NECADA is to allow you to choose which constructive solution is most appropriate in terms of energy, social and economic impacts. Therefore, we are interested in comparing the constructive solution that was chosen when creating the Projectwith other constructive solutions (whether imported from an IDF model or created by the user or public of any user) so that we see what is more efficient.

In fact Necada allows to compare any of the available items. For example, you could rotate the building to see if another orientation would be more efficient (for example, because it receives more sun hours in your windows), or you could change the weather to check if that building is better behaved in a humid or dry environment.

In that example, however, we will focus only on swapping the chosen constructive solution in the project, swapping the solutions with two other existing constructive solutions.

Therefore, click the New Solutionbutton. The following form appears to us:

As we see, in the first fold only a constructive solution Fachada Aislamiento Exterior[127]. It is the same constructive solution that was chosen when creating the Project ( Constructing Solutionstab). So we chose that constructive solution.

Now we open the second dropdown. It shows all the constructive solutions of the user (both public and private) and the public solutions of the rest of users:

We choose any one, for example Fachada doble hoja[127].

With this we want to know what energy savings we would have if change Fachada Aislamiento Exterior[127] by Fachada doble hoja[127] in the building defined in the IDF model, for the climate zone chosen.

If we click on Add it will show us a message that has been added correctly, but with a warning about undefined sustainability parameters. This message can be quite long, in the image has been shortened. The important thing is that the swap has been added correctly.

And we will see the new permutation as a third Group, on which we can click and see the detail:

We see that there are other elements, headers, Sustainability Solutions and Sustainability Materials that are advanced topics.

Let's add another type of constructive solution, for example Fachada Aislamiento Exterior[127] by Fachada entramado madera[127].

Now we can see two things. First, the number of permutations has increased to 2. Second, there is no new Group , but if we see the detail of the third (the constructive solutions), we see a new line for the Fachada entramado madera[127], the last permutation we added to the constructive solution Fachada Aislamiento exterior[127].

Each permutation (or scenario) has a cost of execution that the user will have to pay before running the experiment. The more permutations the experiment has, the more it will cost to execute.

In the next step we will see how to run in an experiment.

If you click on the Execution tab we will see the next screen:

We can see that the experiment has two permutations. If you want to run it, simply click the Execute this experimentbutton, and NECADA will display a confirmation message:

Clicking Execute shows the total cost of the experiment:

If you click on Buy Now it will take us to the PayPal payment page. If we pay, we will return to the NECADA application and the experiment will begin to run.

From there it will change state (it may take quite a while if the simulation is costly in time):

And now or ends correctly:

or (with a low probability) ends with errors:

In this example we will assume that it ended correctly. So the next step will be to see the results.

Since the experiment finished its execution correctly, let's see the results. To do this we will go to the Results tab of the Experiment:

Here we have the files generated by plotly (HTML graphics):

Here we have the files with data in format R that can be downloaded:

Finally, the list of scenarios (or permutations):

In next updates of this manual we will describe in detail the different charts that can be obtained. just to mention that since the used can donwload the R files with all the data, there is no limitation of the analysis one can do.

It may be appropriate for the customer to allow other people to consult the results of their experiment. If the experiment is public, any user can consult (although not registered in NECADA).

But if the experiment is private, the only user who can see it is the owner. And since the user's account is personal and non-transferable, it is necessary that the owner can create users who will only be able to see the results of the experiments that the user wants to give access to.

These users who can only query data are called Results Viewers. Let's see how to create a user of this type.

In the user menu (Company1) choose My Users option:

The list of users cretated by the user (Company1 in our example) of type Results Viewer will be displayed :

As you can see, there is no user defined yet. Let's create one, by pressing the Create a new onebutton. The form will be displayed:

A Username and an emailmust be entered. In that email, the future user results Viewer will receive a link that will take she or he to NECADA, she or he you must enter the password to be used to grant the to access NECADA.

For example, we put as Username the value ResultsViewer1, and as the email of the future user:

If you press the Create Userbutton, the new user will be shown:

Note that the email appears in red. This is because the new user Results Viewer has received an email similar to this:

The future user results Viewer just has to click on the link and will see a screen similar to this:

Once the new user results Viewer enters the password she or he wants to use, will be shown this screen like this:

Now the new user Results Viewer can already login.

Returning to the list of users results Viewer, now the email has changed to green, indicating that the new user can already enter NECADA:

A newly created user Results Viewer is not assigned to any project. If you login, you can only see the public content (and that you could see even if you did not login). So in order to assure taht she or he can see the experiments you need to give them permission.

To do this, from the user list, click the Assignations button and this form is shown :

If we look at the columns, the first shows the first project, BIM Validation reports, which is a project that creates NECADA to validate each IDF file that is uploaded to the system. You can assign a results Viewer to this project, but it has no utility.

The rest of the columns are the projects that the user created. In our example there is only one project created, My First Project.

If we look at the rows, we have a row for each user results Viewer that the user created. In our case there is only one user, ResultsViewer1.

If you click on the second box, we assign the user ResultsViewer1 with the project My First Project:

If you click on the second box, we assign the user ResultsViewer1 with the project My First Project.

To save the changes you have to click on the button Assign users to projects

Now the ResultsViewer1 user can view all the experiments in the My First Project project.

And here ends the tutorial.