Build the application

## Build
Formulate building envelope retrofit proposals and translate thermal insulation upgrades into valid EnergyPlus epJSON inputs. Calculate thermal resistance increases to summarize potential HVAC energy reduction impacts.

## User
Building Retrofit Consultant

## Workflow
1. Ingest baseline building surface geometry and existing insulation parameters from simplified synthetic app records.
2. Map proposed insulation material additions to new EnergyPlus epJSON schema objects.
3. Calculate added thermal resistance (thickness divided by conductivity) to validate thermal envelope improvements.
4. Deliver a comparison summary showing the calculated heat loss resistance increase and the draft epJSON delta.

## Interface
Multi-pane comparison view displaying baseline versus retrofitted envelope properties alongside a draft epJSON editor.

## Data
Utilize standard DOE Commercial Reference Building epJSON models distributed with EnergyPlus for baseline structural configurations.
Starter examples below are synthetic. They are not downloaded records.

## Source
[EnergyPlus](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NREL/EnergyPlus/develop/README.md)
Leverages EnergyPlus epJSON input schema documentation to structure construction materials and surface thermal properties.

## Tools
anthropic-claude, pydantic, fastapi.
Anthropic Claude excels at analyzing technical thermal specifications and generating strictly structured JSON for schema-compliant building models.
Claude hosted via Anthropic API for complex multi-layer material thermal reasoning and JSON formatting without pinning a specific version.

## Deliverables
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.

## Acceptance
- Generated epJSON material and construction objects conform to EnergyPlus schema structural rules.
- Accurately calculates the envelope thermal resistance increase (R-value) using thickness divided by conductivity.
- Flags and rejects physically invalid parameters such as negative thickness or non-positive conductivity.

## Starter Examples
```json
[
  {
    "input": {
      "baseline_envelope": {
        "wall_name": "Exterior_Brick_Wall",
        "layers": [
          {
            "material": "Brick_Standard",
            "thickness_m": 0.1,
            "conductivity": 0.89
          },
          {
            "material": "Air_Gap",
            "thickness_m": 0.05,
            "conductivity": 0.25
          }
        ]
      },
      "proposed_addition": {
        "material": "Mineral_Wool_Board",
        "thickness_m": 0.08,
        "conductivity": 0.04
      }
    },
    "expected_output": {
      "status": "valid",
      "epjson_patch": {
        "Material": {
          "Mineral_Wool_Board": {
            "thickness": 0.08,
            "conductivity": 0.04,
            "density": 100,
            "specific_heat": 840
          }
        },
        "Construction": {
          "Retrofit_Exterior_Wall": {
            "outside_layer": "Brick_Standard",
            "layer_2": "Air_Gap",
            "layer_3": "Mineral_Wool_Board"
          }
        }
      },
      "thermal_resistance_increase_m2K_W": 2,
      "note": "Simplified synthetic app record"
    }
  },
  {
    "input": {
      "baseline_envelope": {
        "wall_name": "Exterior_Concrete",
        "layers": [
          {
            "material": "Concrete_Heavy",
            "thickness_m": 0.2,
            "conductivity": 1.7
          }
        ]
      },
      "proposed_addition": {
        "material": "Defective_Foam",
        "thickness_m": -0.05,
        "conductivity": 0.03
      }
    },
    "expected_output": {
      "status": "rejected",
      "error_message": "Negative thickness supplied for material Defective_Foam",
      "epjson_patch": null,
      "thermal_resistance_increase_m2K_W": null,
      "note": "Simplified synthetic app record"
    }
  }
]
```

## Safety
Simulation parameter outputs are engineering drafts; a registered professional engineer must certify final load calculations.
Use mock external writes. Require human review before any real deployment.