12. Output format

When a simulation is running, it generates a directory named Eplus-env-<env_name>-res<num_simulation>. The Modeling module also manages the directory tree generated during a simulation. The content of this root output directory is the result of the simulation and includes:

Eplus-env-<env_name>-res<num_simulation>
├── Eplus-env-sub_run1
├── Eplus-env-sub_run2
├── Eplus-env-sub_run3
├── ...
├── Eplus-env-sub_runN
│   ├── output/
│   ├── environment.epJSON
|   ├── weather.epw
│   ├── monitor.csv
|   └── monitor_normalized.csv (optional)
├── data_available.txt
└── progress.csv

  • Eplus-env-sub_run<num_episode> directories that record the results of each episode in the simulation. The number of these directories depends on the number of episodes and the maximum episode data value (see Maximum Episode Data Stored in Sinergym Output).

  • Within these directories, the structure is always the same:

    • A copy of the environment.epJSON used during the simulation episode. This does not have to be the same as the original hosted in the repository, as the simulation can be modified to suit specific user-defined settings when building the gymnasium environment.

    • A copy of the Weather.epw used during the simulation episode. This file does not have to be the same as the original (when using variability).

    • monitor.csv: This records all Agent-Environment interactions during the episode, timestep by timestep. This file only exists when the environment has been wrapped with Logger (see Wrappers for more information).

    • monitor_normalized.csv: This file is only generated when the environment is wrapped with logger and normalization (see Wrappers). The structure is the same as monitor.csv, but the observation_values are normalized.

    • output/: This directory contains the EnergyPlus simulation output. To learn more about these files, visit the EnergyPlus documentation.

  • data_available.txt: This file is generated when the EnergyPlus API initializes all callbacks and handlers for the simulation. In this file, you can find all the available components of the building model, such as actuators, schedulers, meters, variables, internal variables, etc.

    Warning

    Some lists of components, such as Output:Variable’s, do not fully appear in data_available.txt because they must be declared in the building model first. If you want to see all the variables or meters specifically, you should look for them in the correct Energyplus output file. If you specify a correct variable in the environment, Sinergym will add the Output:Variable element in the building model before the simulation starts.

  • progress.csv: This file contains information about general simulation results. There is a row per episode and it records important data such as mean power consumption or mean comfort penalty, for example. This file only exists when the environment has been wrapped with Logger (see Wrappers for more information).

12.1. Logger

The files monitor.csv, monitor_normalized.csv, and progress.csv belong to the Sinergym logger, which is a wrapper for the environment. This logger is responsible for recording all the interactions that occur in a simulation, regardless of the training technique being used or any other external factor.

Recording is managed by an instance of the CSVLogger class, which is present as a wrapper attribute and is called at each timestep and at the end of an episode. This class can be replaced by a new one (see Logger Wrapper personalization/configuration).

Warning

The CSVLogger requires the info dict with specific keys to log the information correctly. If you change the info dict structure in Sinergym, you should check this logger or use a custom one.

Note

Normalized observation methods are only used when the environment is wrapped with normalization previously.

Note

You can activate and deactivate the logger from the environment whenever you want, using the activate and deactivate methods, so you don’t need to unwrap the environment.