Introducing MLE+ 1.0

I have released a new Matlab toolbox: MLE+ 1.0. For more information, check out its web-page.

MLE+ is a Matlab toolbox for co-simulation with the whole-building energy simulator EnergyPlus. It is designed for engineers and researchers who are familiar with Matlab and Simulink and who want to use these software tools in building energy simulation. MLE+ is particularly useful for:

• Controller design: the energy simulation is carried out by EnergyPlus while the controller is designed and implemented in Matlab or Simulink.
• Data acquisition: a large number of simulations, with different scenarios, can be carried out and their execution data is read, stored and processed in Matlab. The data can then be used for learning the building system, e.g. for training a regression model or a neural network model.
• Simulation-based optimization: a non-linear optimizer, e.g. one in the Matlab’s Global Optimization Toolbox, can be used to find optimal (or sub-optimal) parameters or control sequences of the building system, by considering the building as a black-box whose execution is performed by simulations by EnergyPlus.

MLE+ toolbox provides a set of Matlab functions and classes, as well as a Simulink library, for performing co-simulation with EnergyPlus.