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Challenge

Build an EnergyPlus Envelope Thermal Transmittance Upgrade Planner

Process commercial building envelope assemblies in EnergyPlus epJSON format. Synthesize high-performance insulation retrofits to minimize heat loss and generate verified input parameters for energy compliance.

EngineeringHosted by Vera
Challenge brief

What you are building

The core problem, expected build, and operating context for this challenge.

Process commercial building envelope assemblies in EnergyPlus epJSON format. Synthesize high-performance insulation retrofits to minimize heat loss and generate verified input parameters for energy compliance.

Building facade retrofit consultant

Ingest baseline EnergyPlus epJSON files containing Construction and Material objects.

Calculate baseline thermal transmittance (U-factor) across exterior wall assemblies.

Formulate insulation retrofit scenarios and update Material thermal resistance properties.

Validate modified epJSON files against the EnergyPlus schema and output retrofit reports.

Interactive thermal assembly configuration UI with layer thickness sliders and U-value calculators.

Use open-source EnergyPlus example files from the EnergyPlus GitHub release package or construct minimal epJSON mock files. Starter examples below are synthetic. They are not downloaded records.

EnergyPlus Uses EnergyPlus epJSON input schema definitions for Construction, Material:NoMass, and Material objects.

semantic-kernel, pydantic, jsonschema. Semantic Kernel facilitates structured reasoning plugins to validate thermodynamic formulas against schema definitions. Hosted reasoning model capable of accurate thermodynamic arithmetic and epJSON schema generation.

Submit runnable source, pinned dependencies, setup commands, a working interface, example outputs, and a recorded end-to-end demo. Include tests and an action log.

Calculates baseline and retrofit U-values consistent with ISO 6946 thermal resistance sums.

Emits compliant EnergyPlus epJSON Material and Construction definitions.

Prevents unphysical insulation thickness assignments exceeding practical wall cavity limits.

```json [ { "input": { "assembly_name": "Exterior_Brick_Wall", "existing_r_value_m2k_w": 1.25, "insulation_type": "Mineral_Wool", "added_thickness_m": 0.1, "thermal_conductivity_w_mk": 0.035 }, "expected_output": { "assembly_name": "Exterior_Brick_Wall", "added_r_value_m2k_w": 2.857, "total_new_r_value_m2k_w": 4.107, "new_u_factor_w_m2k": 0.243, "epjson_patch": { "Material": { "Retrofit_Mineral_Wool": { "roughness": "MediumRough", "thickness": 0.1, "conductivity": 0.035, "density": 45, "specific_heat": 840 } } } } }, { "input": { "assembly_name": "Cavity_Wall_ZN2", "existing_r_value_m2k_w": 1.1, "insulation_type": "Expanded_Polystyrene", "added_thickness_m": 0.6, "thermal_conductivity_w_mk": 0.038 }, "expected_output": { "assembly_name": "Cavity_Wall_ZN2", "added_r_value_m2k_w": 0, "total_new_r_value_m2k_w": 1.1, "new_u_factor_w_m2k": 0.909, "epjson_patch": null, "warning": "Added thickness 0.6m exceeds maximum architectural facade threshold of 0.3m" } } ] ```

Outputs thermal energy simulation model configurations only; does not provide stamped engineering structural calculations. Use mock external writes. Require human review before any real deployment.

Rules

Participation guide

Outputs thermal energy simulation model configurations only; does not provide stamped engineering structural calculations. Use mock external writes and human review.

Delivery guide

How work is evaluated

Evaluation

Calculates baseline and retrofit U-values consistent with ISO 6946 thermal resistance sums. Emits compliant EnergyPlus epJSON Material and Construction definitions. Prevents unphysical insulation thickness assignments exceeding practical wall cavity limits.

Submission format

Runnable source, pinned dependencies, setup commands, working interface, example outputs, recorded demo, tests, and action logs.

Datasets

Challenge datasets

Public datasets, plus the private datasets you have access to.

Evaluation rubric

How submissions are scored

These dimensions define what the evaluator checks and which criteria separate a passable run from a strong one.

Dimensions
4 scoring checks
Binary
1 pass or fail dimensions
Ordinal
3 scaled dimensions
Dimension 1

Complete workflow

Ingest baseline EnergyPlus epJSON files containing Construction and Material objects. Calculate baseline thermal transmittance (U-factor) across exterior wall assemblies. Formulate insulation retrofit scenarios and update Material thermal resistance properties. Validate modified epJSON files against the EnergyPlus schema and output retrofit reports.

Score scale
012
Score 0

Missing or incorrect.

Score 1

Partly complete, with documented gaps.

Score 2

Complete, with reproducible evidence.

Dimension 2

Correctness and evidence

Calculates baseline and retrofit U-values consistent with ISO 6946 thermal resistance sums. Emits compliant EnergyPlus epJSON Material and Construction definitions. Prevents unphysical insulation thickness assignments exceeding practical wall cavity limits.

Score scale
012
Score 0

Missing or incorrect.

Score 1

Partly complete, with documented gaps.

Score 2

Complete, with reproducible evidence.

Dimension 3

Review interface

Interactive thermal assembly configuration UI with layer thickness sliders and U-value calculators.

Score scale
012
Score 0

Missing or incorrect.

Score 1

Partly complete, with documented gaps.

Score 2

Complete, with reproducible evidence.

Dimension 4

Safe execution

Outputs thermal energy simulation model configurations only; does not provide stamped engineering structural calculations.

Binary check

This dimension contributes its full weight only when the submission satisfies the requirement. Partial credit is not awarded.

Learning goals

What you should walk away with

  • Ingest baseline EnergyPlus epJSON files containing Construction and Material objects.

  • Calculate baseline thermal transmittance (U-factor) across exterior wall assemblies.

  • Formulate insulation retrofit scenarios and update Material thermal resistance properties.

  • Validate modified epJSON files against the EnergyPlus schema and output retrofit reports.

Resources and assets

Reference links and supporting material

Dataset notes

Use open-source EnergyPlus example files from the EnergyPlus GitHub release package or construct minimal epJSON mock files. Supplied starter examples are synthetic, not source extracts.

Challenge setup

Configuration summary for this challenge.

Challenge input

Input details are not configured.

Semantic Kernel

Agent Systems · Agent Frameworks

Evaluated output

No output checks are configured.

Evaluation checks
  • Ingest baseline EnergyPlus epJSON files containing Construction and Material objects. Calculate baseline th...
  • Calculates baseline and retrofit U-values consistent with ISO 6946 thermal resistance sums. Emits compliant...
  • Interactive thermal assembly configuration UI with layer thickness sliders and U-value calculators.
Configured evaluation evidence
  • 2 public reference cases
Configured runtime
  • 1 configured tool

Summary shows the first task, up to three tools, and up to three evidence items. Open the technical recipe to view all configured items.

View technical recipe

Configured tools

Action Space
  • Semantic Kernel · Optional

Evaluation contract

  • Complete workflow · Weight 40
  • Correctness and evidence · Weight 30
  • Review interface · Weight 20
  • Safe execution · Weight 10

Reference cases

  • 2 public reference cases

Workflow tasks

No workflow tasks are configured.

Recipe freeze marker

No recipe freeze time is recorded.

Frequently Asked Questions about Build an EnergyPlus Envelope Thermal Transmittance Upgrade Planner