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1.1 Windows Installation Steps

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Chris Mackey edited this page Jun 25, 2020 · 26 revisions

Windows Installation Steps

  1. Download the latest version of Ladybug Tools from Food4Rhino.

  2. Inside the download, you will find an installer.gh file. Open it in Grasshopper and and you will see two components with True/False toggles connected to them. Go to the first component and set it to True.

Run First Component

The component will take a few seconds to run while it downloads Python to your machine. Python is the computer language in which Ladybug Tools is written and is one of the fastest-growing programming languages.

  1. When the component finishes, it will tell you the next steps, the first of which is to set the second toggle to true:

Run Second Component

This component will take a few seconds to run as it downloads the Ladybug Tools core libraries into the Python installation that you just downloaded. This component also downloads all of the Ladybug Tools Grasshopper components. Lastly, a library of default assets (Energy Constructions, Radiance Modifiers, etc.) will be downloaded to \ladybug_tools\resources\standards.

  1. You are almost done but there's one more step that must be run WITH RHINO CLOSED! Close Rhino and you will see that there is a file named set_python_path.bat in your ladybug_tools folder:

set_python_path.bat

Double-click it and this will set Rhino to look for the Ladybug Tools core libraries in the ladybug_tools\python folder.

  1. Open Rhino and you should see the Ladybug Tools components available in new tabs. Congratulations! You now have a working version of Ladybug Tools.

Optional Steps

1. Install OpenStudio - If you want to be able to run energy simulations, you must install OpenStudio. OpenStudio is a programming interface for EnergyPlus, which is the engine that Honeybee uses for building energy simulation. Check the compatibility matrix to determine which version of OpenStudio is compatible with your version of Ladybug Tools. Download that version of OpenStudio from the OpenStudio Github. Run the OpenStudio executable and accept all defaults except, when you get to "Installation Folder," we recommend installing it in your [USERNAME]/ladybug_tools folder. Note that you should use your own username for [USERNAME].

Install OpenStudio Location

2. Install Radiance - If you want to be able to run daylight and solar simulations, you must install Radiance. Radiance is a physics-based rendering engine, which is what Honeybee uses for all daylight and spatial solar studies. Check the compatibility matrix to determine which version of Radiance is compatible with your version of Ladybug Tools. Download that version of Radiance from the Radiance Github Run the Radiance executable and accept all of the defaults except, when you get to "Choose Install Location," you MUST install it in your [USERNAME]/ladybug_tools folder. Note that you should use your own username for [USERNAME].

Install Radiance Location

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