Ladybug Tools is a collection of computer applications that support environmental building design and planning, with the goal to develop cloud-integrated services that enable existing users to model larger districts and explore greater numbers of design options more rapidly.
THE IMPACT
Ladybug Tools is the only open-source interface that evolves through the consensus of an open community of experts. As such, Ladybug Tools has already made energy simulation accessible to a larger community of students and professionals who would not have used it otherwise. Experts and researchers are free to edit the code to experiment with new and unique energy efficiency solutions as long as they publicly share their code revisions, thereby contributing to a growing body of knowledge across the community. Ladybug Tools will ultimately enable a greater level of understanding to developers, corporate property management groups, and building owners seeking to understand whether and how to invest in energy efficiency. Learn more by visiting their website at https://www.ladybug.tools/.
HOW IN2 IS HELPING
NREL is helping Ladybug Tools by improving key back-end features of the OpenStudio energy modeling software development kit. These improvements will allow Ladybug’s JSON schema to support energy modeling in OpenStudio, including running models using cloud services, strengthen results by introducing error-checking features, and develop custom data output formats that will enable Ladybug to integrate energy modeling results directly into its platform. Overall, this more streamlined integration of OpenStudio into the Ladybug workflow will help Ladybug to serve more high-end architectural analyses that can help influence design during the most crucial stage of a building’s life.