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Open Sustainable Technology

A curated list of open technology projects to sustain a stable climate, energy supply, biodiversity and natural resources.

Recent Releases of scout

scout - v1.1 (2025-04-10)

What's New

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by aspeake 17 days ago

scout - v1.0.1 (2025-01-30)

What's New

  • Fix errors in the implementation of fugitive emissions user settings and in the assessment of exogenous fuel switching rates when no early retrofit rate is assumed by the user.
  • Fix outdated else clause in run module.
  • Handle missing savings shape warnings for pool pumps and ice storage flexibility measures.
  • Update unit tests to depend only on files within the tests directory, instead of non-package data that might change with specific uses.
  • Extend CI integration test wall time.

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink 3 months ago

scout - v1.0 (2024-10-21)

Preamble

The first major release of Scout marks nearly a decade of development on the tool, going back to late January 2015. Scout has grown from its origins as a spreadsheet-based tool with a limited focus on prioritizing across energy-efficient technologies to an extensive Python-based framework for rapidly exploring multiple scenarios of U.S. building energy, emissions, and costs under many different types of technical, market, and policy interventions. Scout’s growth and flexibility has ensured that the tool continues to address the most pressing issues for program managers and policy analysts both within DOE and beyond—from building R&D prioritization to building-grid interactions and decarbonization pathways, among many others.

This release reflects the broad capabilities that are required to tackle such diverse analysis needs and sets a robust foundation for the tool’s future development. With this release, we introduce significant updates to enhance user functionality, increase code extensibility, and expand analysis capabilities.

What's New

  • Restructure the Scout project
    • Create Scout python package for easy and consistent installation of software dependencies.
    • Reorganize file structure of Scout directory.
    • Refactor assignment of file paths for consistency across the codebase.
    • Integrate the configuration file schema with the argument parser and documentation to maintain consistency when updating arguments.
    • Add integration testing that executes a full Scout run and checks results against reference data.
  • Add new execution capabilities
    • Introduce scenario configuration files (.yml) as inputs for Scout workflow steps.
    • Add batch run capability to run multiple scenarios in succession.
    • Facilitate user selection of subsets of measures/packages for a given scenario.
    • Enable measure definition shorthands for warm/cold regions and add new regional breakout options to performance/cost/market scaling inputs.
    • Refactor argument handling so that all inputs are passed via the command line or with a scenario configuration file, eliminating user prompts.
    • Pre-screen all measure inputs before preparation and continue processing measure set even when individual measure preparation errors.
  • Add new analysis and reporting capabilities
    • Assess sensitivity cases for fugitive emissions estimates.
    • Define specific pairs of heating/cooling segments in relevant measure definitions and restrict competition to other measures with the same pairing.
    • Link stock turnover calculations across multiple end uses within the same measure (e.g., heating/cooling/ventilation).
    • Report portion of efficient-case energy results that is attributable to measure (vs. remaining baseline technology).
  • Update input data
    • Grid emissions factors updated to Cambium 2023, state resolution added.
    • Baseline hourly load shapes updated to latest BuildStock EULP releases, state resolution added.
    • Updated mapping datasets for translation between different region settings.
    • Update to latest Social Cost of Carbon and Consumer Price Index estimates.
    • Corrections to commercial other/unspecified estimates.
    • Add scripts to pull state-level estimates from EIA API and update Cambium data.
  • Update documentation to reflect new capabilities.
  • Minor bug fixes and code refactoring throughout.

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink 6 months ago

scout - v0.9.1 (2023-12-18)

What's New

  • Revise method for allocating end use electricity baselines in AEO from census divisions to EMM regions and states by using End Use Load Profiles data
  • Add pyproject.toml file to enable one line installation of all packages required by Scout
  • Add CPU and memory profiling to continuous integration testing on GitHub Actions
  • Improve robustness of baseline data file preparation modules
  • Minor fixes to measure data preparation and run modules and Read the Docs configuration

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 1 year ago

scout - v0.9 (2023-10-10)

What's New

  • Update to AEO 2023
    • Update energy and stock and technology cost, performance, and lifetime data
    • Update site-source energy conversions, CO2 emissions intensities, and energy prices
    • Revise peak and take period definitions to be consistent with 2023 EMM projections
    • Add new commercial miscellaneous electric load (MEL) categories and update numeric encoding of commercial MELs
  • Update available AEO data and related infrastructure
    • Add federal and state cost incentives that reduce the initial cost of upgrades
    • For residential buildings, break out total installed costs for new versus existing buildings
    • For commercial buildings, begin pulling in "unspecified" building type and MELs technology type energy use data
    • Add tech_switch_to field to measures to ensure appropriate incentives are applied
    • Update measure definitions with tech_switch_to field
  • Update to EIA API v2
  • Update time series electricity costs and all emissions intensity data for moderate and high decarbonization scenarios to use 2022 Cambium scenarios and data
  • Fix minor bugs in stock units handling and fugitive emissions calculations

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 1 year ago

scout - v0.8.2 (2023-06-29)

What's New

  • Update ECMs
  • Add ground-source heat pump ECMs at ENERGY STAR and Best Available performance levels
  • Update supporting data
  • Fix assorted bugs and improve robustness of plotting code, savings calculations, and results breakouts

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink almost 2 years ago

scout - v0.8.1 (2023-02-28)

What's New

  • Update building envelope component cost, performance, and lifetime data
  • Account for technology efficiency in service-demand-weighting of commercial building energy use
  • Revise hourly price projections to approximate the effect of electricity prices being composed of fixed and hourly charges, and adjust them accordingly
  • Adjust TSV savings shape calculations to account for slight differences in the baseline between the savings shape CSVs and the main baseline file tsv_load.gz
  • Fix assorted bugs with plotting code, savings calculations, retrofit rate, and other features

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink about 2 years ago

scout - v0.8 (2022-08-31)

What's New

  • Update to AEO 2022
    • Remove DVD players and add over-the-top streaming devices
    • Split out residential pool heaters and pool pumps
    • Add new residential miscellaneous electric loads
    • Update site-source energy conversions, CO2 emissions intensities, and energy prices to 2022 projections
    • Revise peak and take period definitions to be consistent with 2022 EMM projections

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 2 years ago

scout - v0.7.3 (2022-08-31)

What's New

  • Update example measure set to be consistent with the latest Benchmark Scenarios
  • Add fugitive emissions accounting
    • Add accounting of CO2-equivalent emissions from fugitive sources, including equipment refrigerant leakage and natural gas supply chain methane leakage
    • Add user options to assess emissions impacts from either one or both of these sources in the ecm_prep.py module
    • Add user options to assess conventional refrigerants (including phase-out dates) as well as custom or low-GWP alternatives
  • Switch results figure generation code from R to Python
  • Revise commercial other energy handling to ingest all baseline commercial energy use data
    • Add 'other' end use for all fuel types to all commercial building types
    • Add unique commercial 'unspecified' building type used for electricity for water services and telecom systems, as well as other fossil fuel energy
  • Update hourly baseline load shapes and flexibility measures
    • Add distinct load/load savings shapes for all three residential building types
    • Revise flexibility measure characteristics to respond to updated peak/take periods consistent with 2022 EMM projections
    • Update hourly load data generated with ResStock v2.5.0 and DOE Commercial Prototypes run with OpenStudio v3.3.0

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 2 years ago

scout - v0.7.2 (2022-05-31)

What's New

  • Uncompeted, competed, captured stock reporting in results
  • Detailed results breakout user options
    • All regions (for states, EMM regions)
    • Building type (instead of building class)
    • Fuel type
  • Update to 2021 Cambium scenarios; add support for 95% by 2050 and 95% by 2035 Cambium scenarios
  • Incorporate T&D losses in EMM region and state emissions factors
  • Introduce support for technology diffusion parameters in ECM definitions to limit an ECM's adoption to below its maximum adoption potential
  • Updates to calculations
    • Competed stock shares for heat pumps
    • Envelope measure cost packaging
    • Cost conversions
    • Captured stock in the year of a measure's market exit

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink almost 3 years ago

scout - v0.7.1.1 (2022-02-14)

What's New

  • Update documentation to reflect new features added in v0.7.1
  • Update peak and take window documentation to system load shapes from 2020 AEO NEMS EMM data
  • Move test peak and take periods to a dedicated test file
  • Fix cost conversion calculations for measures that apply to all residential or commercial buildings

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink about 3 years ago

scout - v0.7.1 (2022-01-31)

What's New

  • Translate commercial baseline stock and stock cost data to service demand units (e.g., kBtu/h heating served, $/kBtu/h heating served)
  • Reduce data processing and write-out requirements for sector-level savings shape generation
  • Refine stock turnover calculations and handling of measures with later market entry years within measure competition routines
  • Fix bugs in the handling of building types and fuel splits in plotting routine
  • Add several new user options, including:
    • Introduce reference case technologies to measure competition
    • Select from four scenarios of exogenous fuel switching conversion rates to determine fuel switching measure market shares
    • Select an alternate forecast for electricity carbon intensity consistent with 80% grid decarbonization by 2050
    • Use an alternate baseline forecast of electricity carbon intensity
    • Assume early retrofitting of equipment at technology-specific rates that can be increased by the user over time
    • Generate data for separating equipment vs. envelope impacts in packaged measures
    • Report more detailed breakouts of results by region and/or building type

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink about 3 years ago

scout - v0.7 (2021-09-30)

What's New

  • Update all baseline data to the EIA 2021 AEO
  • Report onsite generation separately in results (in total and broken out by region/building type)
  • Separate distillate and propane CO2 emissions intensities and prices as part of residential "other fuel" technology calculations

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.6.1 (2021-09-28)

What's New

  • Add state-level breakouts of baseline data and electricity emissions and costs
  • Update EMM regions and default peak/take periods to AEO 2020, support regional emissions intensity/electricity price calculations
  • Rework the nature of measure packages with a focus on handling interactions between HVAC equipment, envelope, and controls
  • Support calculation of sector shape and time-sensitive valuation data for packages and fuel switching measures
  • Improve stock turnover calculations and measure cost-effectiveness calculations throughout
  • Add several new user options, including:
    • Select an alternate grid scenario consistent with full grid decarbonization by 2035
    • Impose exogenous fuel switching conversion rates to determine fuel switching measure market shares
    • Breakout results by fuel type (electric/non-electric) for heating, water heating, and cooking measures and packages
    • Specify measure performance and/or cost by IECC climate zone in addition to AIA climate zone
    • Restrict simulations to a single adoption scenario (max adoption potential or technical potential)
    • Impose a global measure market entry year (e.g., the first year in which any of the measures can have an impact)
    • Suppress calculation of secondary lighting impacts for commercial buildings

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.6 (2020-07-31)

What's New

  • Expand time sensitive efficiency and flexibility measure assessment capabilities.
  • Enable assessment of avoided public health costs from deploying building efficiency.
  • Update core ECM set definitions to the latest mandatory and voluntary specifications.
  • Update all baseline data to the EIA AEO 2020 reference case.
  • Add new MELs baseline cost, performance, and lifetime data.

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.5.1 (2019-12-19)

What's New

  • Improve robustness of savings split calculations across routines.
  • Break out envelope savings by heating and cooling contributions.
  • Users may optionally write out ECM market penetration fractions.
  • Users may optionally fix ECM relative performance across the time horizon.
  • Other small bug fixes and improvements throughout.

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.5 (2019-06-28)

What's New

  • All baseline data and ECM definitions reflect EIA AEO 2019 reference case.
  • Users may optionally specify site energy or captured source energy outputs.

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.4.3 (2019-04-12)

What's New

  • Updated and/or reorganized several ECM definitions.
  • Fixed bugs in heat pump cost calculations, secondary lighting calculations, and time-sensitive valuation data.

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.4.2 (2018-10-16)

What's New

  • Added best available and prospective target ECM definitions.
  • Enhanced time-sensitive efficiency valuation capabilities and underlying datasets.
  • Small bug fixes, refinements to ECM stock-and-flow and competition calculations.

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.4.1 (2018-07-13)

What's New

Fixed bugs with R v3.5, envelope/HVAC interactions

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.4 (2018-06-29)

What's New

Baseline technology stock/energy and cost/performance/lifetime data now correspond to the EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2018 reference case.

Time sensitive efficiency impacts (load shifting, shaping, etc.) are piloted through a new ‘time_sensitive_valuation’ field in the ECM definition.

Several new miscellaneous loads are broken out in the baseline technology stock and energy data, allowing ECMs to be applied specifically to these new loads.

Users may now assign ECM-specific baseline retrofit rates as part of the ECM definition.

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.3.1 (2018-04-25)

What's New

Fixed bug in calculation of captured stock’s relative performance.

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.3 (2018-04-20)

What's New

Baseline envelope data were updated to reflect expected code-driven changes in typical envelope characteristics over time.

Users may now assess ‘add-on’ ECM types when comparable baseline technology cost, performance, and lifetime data are missing (as is often the case for ECMs affecting Miscellaneous Electric Loads (MELs)).

Default ECM definitions were updated to reflect the newest available performance standards.

Other updates:

  • expanded time horizon to 2050,
  • site-source conversions now reflect AEO 2017 and residential cost conversions now reflect RECS 2015,
  • multiple bug fixes pertaining to the ECM preparation routine, stock-and-flow calculations, and plotting configuration,
  • expanded XLSX data generation in the R plotting routine, and
  • updates to the documentation that reflect the above changes.

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.2 (2017-06-18)

What's New

Notable changes based on an initial round of beta testing feedback include:

  • addition of a Quick Start Guide to the docs,
  • execution of R plots from within the ‘run.py’ analysis engine module, and
  • additional filtering options in ‘run_setup.py,’ the high-level simulation manager.

Baseline technology stock/energy and cost/performance/lifetime data now correspond to the EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2017 reference case: https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/.

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago

scout - v0.1 (2017-03-13)

Initial beta release

Consumption - Buildings and Heating - Python
Published by trynthink over 3 years ago