Variable Naming in CEA
This is a guide on how to name variables in CEA. Please do read / print before adding new variables to the code.
Demand Side Load Nomenclature
The variables that fall under this classification follow the syntax provided below:
(LOAD TYPE)(LOAD)_(LOSSES)_(UNITS)
The different values these parameters can take are enlisted below. The list is not exhaustive but will serve as a guide
Load Type:
Q |
Thermal |
E |
Electrical |
Load
al |
appliances |
cdata |
data cooling |
cs |
space cooling |
cre |
refrigeration |
hs |
space heating |
l |
lighting |
pro |
industrial processes |
T |
total |
ww |
hot water |
Losses
sys |
including losses (emission, distribution and storage inside the building) |
‘’ |
if not used, then it is an end-use demand without losses |
Units
W |
Watt |
kWh |
kilo Watt hour |
MWhyr |
Mega Watt hour per year |
For Example:
El_sys_W : End-use demand of electricity required for lighting including system losses (in Watts)
El_W : End-use demand of electricity required for lighting without system losses (in Watts)
ET_sys_MWhyr : Total end-use demand of electricity required including system losses (in MWh per year)
Supply Side Load Nomenclature
The variables that fall under this classification follow the syntax provided below:
(LOAD TYPE)(LOAD)_(GENERATION UNIT)_(LOAD DIRECTION)_(UNITS)
The different values these parameters can take are enlisted below. The list is not exhaustive but will serve as a guide
Load Type:
Q |
Thermal |
E |
Electrical |
Load
al |
appliances |
cdata |
data cooling |
cs |
space cooling |
cre |
refrigeration |
hs |
space heating |
l |
lighting |
pro |
industrial processes |
T |
total |
ww |
hot water |
Generation Unit
PV |
Photovoltaic |
PVT |
Photovoltaic Thermal |
SC |
Solar Collector |
CCGT |
Combined Cycle Gas Turbine |
FC |
Fuel Cell |
GSHP |
Ground Source Heat Pump |
BASEBOILER |
Base Boiler |
PEAKBOILER |
Peak Boiler |
BACKUPBOILER |
Backup Boiler |
VCC |
Vapor Compression Chiller |
Load Direction
GRID |
to the local grid |
DIRECT |
to the direct load |
Units
W |
Watt |
kWh |
kilo Watt hour |
MWhyr |
Mega Watt hour per year |
For Example:
Qww_PVT_DIRECT_MWhyr : Heat generated by PVT supplied to the directload of hot water demand (MWhyr)
ET_PV_GRID_MWhyr : Total electricity generated by PV which is supplied to the local power grid (MWhyr)
Supply Side Cost Nomenclature
The variables that fall under this classification follow the syntax provided below:
(COSTS TYPE 1)_(COSTS TYPE 2)_(COSTS TYPE 3)_(GENERATION UNIT)_(UNITS)
The different values these parameters can take are enlisted below. The list is not exhaustive but will serve as a guide
Costs Type 1
Capex |
Capital Expenditure |
Opex |
Operational Expenditure |
Costs Type 2
T |
Total |
A |
Annualized |
Costs Type 3
Var |
Variable |
Fix |
Fixed |
Generation Unit
PV |
Photovoltaic |
PVT |
Photovoltaic Thermal |
SC |
Solar Collector |
CCGT |
Combined Cycle Gas Turbine |
FC |
Fuel Cell |
GSHP |
Ground Source Heat Pump |
BASEBOILER |
Base Boiler |
PEAKBOILER |
Peak Boiler |
BACKUPBOILER |
Backup Boiler |
VCC |
Vapor Compression Chiller |
Units
USD |
US Dollar (2015) |
MUSD |
Million US Dollar (2015) |
For Example:
Capex_A_Fix_CCGT_MUSD : Annualized CAPEX (fixed component) for CCGT equipment (in million USD)
Opex_T_Var_FC_USD : Total OPEX (variable component) of FC equipment (in USD)
Supply Side Fuel Nomenclature
The variables that fall under this classification follow the syntax provided below:
(FUEL TYPE)_(FUEL DIRECTION)_(GENERATION UNIT)_(UNITS)
The different values these parameters can take are enlisted below. The list is not exhaustive but will serve as a guide
Fuel Type
NG |
Natural Gas |
Wood |
Wood |
Fuel Direction
used |
Fuel is used by the generation unit |
gen |
resource is generated by the generation unit |
Generation Unit
PV |
Photovoltaic |
PVT |
Photovoltaic Thermal |
SC |
Solar Collector |
CCGT |
Combined Cycle Gas Turbine |
FC |
Fuel Cell |
GSHP |
Ground Source Heat Pump |
BASEBOILER |
Base Boiler |
PEAKBOILER |
Peak Boiler |
BACKUPBOILER |
Backup Boiler |
VCC |
Vapor Compression Chiller |
Units
W |
Watt |
kWh |
kilo Watt hour |
MWhyr |
Mega Watt hour per year |
For Example:
NG_used_HPSew_W : Natural gas used by sewage heat pump (in Watts)
Wood_used_Furnace_W : Wood used by Furnace (in Watts)
Supply Side Emissions Nomenclature
(LCA TYPE)_(GENERATION UNIT)_(UNITS)
LCA Type
GHG |
Green house gas emissions |
PEN |
Primary Energy |
Generation Unit
PV |
Photovoltaic |
PVT |
Photovoltaic Thermal |
SC |
Solar Collector |
CCGT |
Combined Cycle Gas Turbine |
FC |
Fuel Cell |
GSHP |
Ground Source Heat Pump |
BASEBOILER |
Base Boiler |
PEAKBOILER |
Peak Boiler |
BACKUPBOILER |
Backup Boiler |
VCC |
Vapor Compression Chiller |
Units
tonCO2 |
tons of CO2 equivalent |
MJoil |
Mega Joules of oil equivalent |
GJoil |
Giga Joules of oil equivalent |
For Example:
GHG_PVT_tonCO2 : Green house gas emissions of PVT (in tons of CO2 equivalent)
PEN_PV_MJoil : Primary Energy corresponding to PV (in Mega Joules of Oil equivalent)