LadybugTools

Sandbox repository to test core Ladybug Tools Python libraries for building energy modeling workflows, with a focus on Honeybee and Dragonfly.

What This Repo Is

This project is a practical playground for:

• Creating simple building geometry in Python.
• Assigning basic energy properties (programs, HVAC, loads).
• Converting models to simulation-ready formats.
• Exporting IDF and Honeybee JSON files.

The codebase currently contains exploratory scripts and work-in-progress files, so treat it as a prototyping environment rather than a production package.

Repository Structure

• building.py: Small custom Building class used for local geometry metadata experiments.
• main.py: Minimal Python entry point placeholder.
• idf1.idf: Example EnergyPlus IDF output file.
• scripts/individual-building-simulation-using-Honeybee-Dragonfly.py: Working Dragonfly to Honeybee to IDF example.
• scripts/individual-building-simulation-using-Honeybee-Only-ToDo.py: Honeybee-only draft script (French comments).
• scripts/individual-building-simulation-using-Honeybee-Only-ToDo2.py: Honeybee-only draft script (incomplete/broken imports and execution path).
• scripts/individual-building-simulation-using-Honeybee-Only-ToDo3.py: Honeybee Energy draft for generating a base IDF.

Requirements

• Python >=3.12 (as declared in pyproject.toml).
• Ladybug Tools Python packages (current project dependency includes lbt-dragonfly).
• For full EnergyPlus simulation runs in some scripts, a valid EnergyPlus installation may also be required.

Setup

This repo appears to use uv for environment management.

uv sync
source .venv/bin/activate

If you prefer pip, install at least:

pip install lbt-dragonfly

Depending on which script you run, you may also need additional Honeybee-related packages (for example honeybee-energy, honeybee-radiance, honeybee-openstudio).

Quick Start

Run the Dragonfly example:

python scripts/individual-building-simulation-using-Honeybee-Dragonfly.py

Expected result:

• One or more idf*.idf files are created in the repository root.
• Terminal output ends with IT WORKS!!!.

Notes About Script Status

• scripts/individual-building-simulation-using-Honeybee-Dragonfly.py: Best candidate for a first run.
• scripts/individual-building-simulation-using-Honeybee-Only-ToDo.py: Educational draft, useful as reference.
• scripts/individual-building-simulation-using-Honeybee-Only-ToDo2.py: Contains unresolved issues and should be fixed before use.
• scripts/individual-building-simulation-using-Honeybee-Only-ToDo3.py: Draft API usage that may require adjustments to match installed Honeybee package versions.

Typical Outputs

• idf*.idf: EnergyPlus input files generated by scripts.
• mon_batiment_honeybee.json: Honeybee model export from the Honeybee-only draft.

Roadmap Ideas

• Normalize script naming to snake_case.
• Turn scripts into a small importable package with a CLI.
• Add pinned dependencies for reproducible environments.
• Add automated checks (lint/type/test) and at least one regression test script.

License

This repository is licensed under the terms of the LICENSE file.