Modelica Buildings Library 12.0.0, 11.1.0 and 10.1.1, and BuildingsPy 5.2.0 released

The Modelica Buildings Library 12.0.0, 11.1.0 and 10.1.1 were released on March 17, 2025.

The Modelica Buildings Library 12.0.0 is a major release. Version 11.1.0 is a minor release with new models, version 10.1.1 is a maintenance release, and both are backward compatible with 11.0.0 and 10.1.0, respectively. All three versions contain various model improvements and versions 12.0.0 and 11.1.0 also include new models.

BuildingsPy 5.2.0 adds features for Continuous Integration testing of Modelica libraries, for automation of Dymola simulations without a window connection, and it contains various bug fixes.

The following major changes have been done for the Modelica Buildings Library 12.0.0:

• The EnergyPlus coupling has been updated to EnergyPlus 24.2.0, and the implementation that uses EnergyPlus 9.6.0 has been moved to the Obsolete package.
• The package Buildings.Fluid.Geothermal.ZonedBorefields has been added that allows modeling geothermal borefields in which groups of boreholes are operated with different mass flow rates and inlet temperatures, for example to create a hot core and warm perimeter.
• The template models for air-source heat pump and chiller plants have been updated to allow an optional side-stream water-to-water heat recovery heat pump, and to allow optional buffer tanks on the hot or cold side. Also, its control has been updated.
• The control sequences in the package Buildings.DHC.ETS and Buildings.DHC.Plants have been updated to comply with ASHRAE Standard 231P (Control Description Language).
• For pumps, fans, valves and dampers, changed the model for the actuator position. The new implementation changes the actuator position at a constant speed defined by the rise time (fans and pumps) or the stroke time (valves and dampers) rather than a second order filter. This gives more realistic response, and also simplifies the control loop tuning.

For a detailed list of changes, see https://simulationresearch.lbl.gov/modelica/releases/v12.0.0/help/Buildings_UsersGuide_ReleaseNotes.html

The library has been tested with Dymola 2025x, OpenModelica 1.24.0, OPTIMICA 1.55.11 and recent versions of Impact.

The following major changes have been done for the Modelica Buildings Library 11.1.0:

A new package with heat pump models has been added. The models can be operated in reversible mode to provide heating or cooling, and can be configured to use various approaches to compute performance, such as data tables or Carnot analogy.

Also, various minor model improvements and bug fixes have been implemented.

For a detailed list of changes, see https://simulationresearch.lbl.gov/modelica/releases/v11.0.0/help/Buildings_UsersGuide_ReleaseNotes.html

The library has been tested with Dymola 2024x Refresh 1, OpenModelica 1.24.0, OPTIMICA 1.55.11 and recent versions of Impact.

The following major changes have been done for the Modelica Buildings Library 10.1.1:

Models have been updated to improve performance, to ensure compliance with the Modelica Language Standard and to correct model errors.

For a detailed list of changes, see https://simulationresearch.lbl.gov/modelica/releases/v10.1.1/help/Buildings_UsersGuide_ReleaseNotes.html

The library has been tested with Dymola 2024x Refresh 1, OpenModelica 1.24.0, OPTIMICA 1.55.11 and recent versions of Impact.

The following changes have been done for BuildingsPy 5.2.0:

• Updated pyfunnel requirement to version 1.0.2 to avoid a problem with regular expressions. (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/issues/594.)
• In buildingspy/simulate/Dymola.py and in buildingspy/development/regressiontest.py, switched simulator from dymola to dmc unless a gui window is requested. (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/issues/590.)
• In buildingspy/simulate/OpenModelica.py, added support for setNumberOfIntervals. (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/issues/585.)
• In buildingspy/simulate/OpenModelica.py, changed loading of Modelica libraries. (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/issues/586.)
• In buildingspy/simulate/base_simulator.py, corrected statement for error reporting. (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/issues/583.)
• In buildingspy/development/merger.py, added a new comment format to allow excluding Modelica code for certain libraries. (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/issues/566.)
• In buildingspy/development/regressiontest.py, add option to create reference results in batch mode. (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/issues/560.)
• In buildingspy/development/regressiontest.py, add option to get the coverage rate, i.e., what percentage of examples are covered by regression tests. (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/issues/253.)
• For Optimica regression tests, added check for Integers that are too large to be represented
• In buildingspy/development/refactor.py, corrected moving images to avoid creating a directory if the target directory already exists. (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/pull/548.)
• In buildingspy/development/validator.py, added method validateHyperlinks() that searches for broken hyperlinks. (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/issues/544.)
• For Optimica regression tests, added check for connector to itself (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/issues/504.)
• In buildingspy/development/refactor.py, updated writing the Modelica package.order file to avoid changing the UsersGuide order. (See https://github.com/lbl-srg/BuildingsPy/issues/541.)

For more information and download of the Modelica Buildings Library and of BuildingsPy, visit https://simulationresearch.lbl.gov/modelica/.