When I export my idf I get a Subsurface error and when I try to find subsurface I cannot

So when I run my model, I get some errors with my idf file. When I search the errors in my model I get the following, when I try to find this problem subsurface, I cannot find it anywhere! I said to search the whole model, and nothing comes up, is there a way to fix this by applying some sort of measure, I already tried running diagnostics and removing orphan subsurfaces:

Error: Currently unable to translate Object of type 'OS:SubSurface' and named 'Sub Surface 200', because it has more vertices than allowed by EnergyPlus. Error: Currently unable to translate Object of type 'OS:SubSurface' and named 'Sub Surface 200', because it has more vertices than allowed by EnergyPlus. Error: Currently unable to translate Object of type 'OS:SubSurface' and named 'Sub Surface 200', because it has more vertices than allowed by EnergyPlus.

Sub-surfaces in EnergyPlus should be rectangles or triangles. I didn't realize we stop the IDF from making sub-surfaces that would fail in EnergyPlus, but it looks like we do. That is why you don't see it in your IDF.

The surface search in SketchUp plugin does also work on sub-surfaces. It lets you set the max number of vertices to allow without a warning. This wouldn't catch a non orthogonal four sided sub-surface which I think is also invalid in E+. I doubt we even check for that in translator.

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If you delete the sub-surface in SketchUp. double click it so you also get the edges. If it is a door, un-check the bottom edge of the door before you delete so you don't mess up your base surface.

A measure could very easily be written to find and remove these windows, and with a little more would could try to replace it with a new valid sub-surface that has the same area.

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David Goldwasser

answered 2015-12-03 11:17:49 -0500

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There are methods in the OpenStudio API to triangulate surfaces, we could add a feature request to do that automatically in the translator. Only issue is that you would not be able to link results from multiple sub surfaces in E+ to the original surface in OSM. I'd prefer a measure that triangulated the windows in OpenStudio for you, that way the geometry is the same in OSM and IDF.

macumber (2015-12-03 12:16:55 -0500) edit

Hey guys, thanks. I actually got some in person help from someone at my school and I have actually been missing some serious points about using the OpenStudio application to find things also. So sorry for the stupid question, and thank you for all of the help!!!