Loading a Single Simulation File#

Quick Answer: You can load and test a single simulation file directly without creating a full scenario.

Simplest Method#

from gat.simulations import SiennaSimulationParser

# Load the file
parser = SiennaSimulationParser("/path/to/your/simulation.h5")

# Select a model
parser.selected_model = "UC"

# List what's available
datasets = parser.list_datasets()
print(datasets.keys())

# Get a dataset
data = parser.get_dataset("ActivePowerVariable__ThermalStandard")

Step-by-Step Example#

from gat.simulations import SiennaSimulationParser

# 1. Load your simulation file
parser = SiennaSimulationParser("results/simulation_1.h5")

# 2. See what models are available
print(parser.simulation_models)
# Output: ['UC', 'ED', 'emulation_model']

# 3. Select the model you want to work with
parser.selected_model = "UC"

# 4. List all available datasets
datasets = parser.list_datasets()

# 5. See what datasets exist
for name in list(datasets.keys())[:10]:  # First 10
    print(name)

# 6. Load a specific dataset
dispatch = parser.get_dataset("ActivePowerVariable__ThermalStandard")

# 7. Work with the data
print(f"Shape: {dispatch.shape}")
print(f"Date range: {dispatch.index.min()} to {dispatch.index.max()}")
print(f"Generators: {list(dispatch.columns)}")

Interactive Exploration (IPython/Jupyter)#

# Start IPython or Jupyter
from gat.simulations import SiennaSimulationParser

parser = SiennaSimulationParser("simulation.h5")
parser.simulation_models  # See available models

parser.selected_model = "UC"
datasets = parser.list_datasets()

# Explore
list(datasets.keys())  # See all dataset names

# Load some data
data = parser.get_dataset("ActivePowerVariable__ThermalStandard")
data.head()  # Preview
data.plot()  # Visualize

Using the Test Script#

We provide a ready-to-use script:

# Basic test
python examples/test_simulation_file.py your_simulation.h5

# Test specific model
python examples/test_simulation_file.py your_simulation.h5 --model UC

# Load specific datasets
python examples/test_simulation_file.py your_simulation.h5 --datasets dispatch commit

Comparison: Scenario vs. Direct Loading#

Loading Through Scenario (Full Setup)#

from gat.scenariohandlers import SiennaScenario

scenario = SiennaScenario(
    solution_data=["sim1.h5", "sim2.h5"],
    system_file="system.json"
)

# Access through scenario
data = scenario.parser.get_dataset("generator_dispatch")

Use when: You need full analysis with system data, reports, multiple files

Direct File Loading (Quick Testing)#

from gat.simulations import SiennaSimulationParser

parser = SiennaSimulationParser("sim1.h5")
parser.selected_model = "UC"

data = parser.get_dataset("ActivePowerVariable__ThermalStandard")

Use when: You want to quickly test, explore datasets, or work with a single file

Common Dataset Names (Sienna)#

# Thermal generation
"ActivePowerVariable__ThermalStandard"
"OnVariable__ThermalStandard"

# Renewable generation
"ActivePowerVariable__RenewableDispatch"
"ActivePowerVariable__RenewableFix"

# Hydro
"ActivePowerVariable__HydroDispatch"

# Storage
"ActivePowerVariable__BatteryDischarge"
"EnergyVariable__Battery"

# System
"ActivePowerVariable__Load"
"ServiceSlackVariable__ReserveUp"

Finding Dataset Names#

If you don’t know the exact dataset names:

parser = SiennaSimulationParser("simulation.h5")
parser.selected_model = "UC"

# Get all datasets
datasets = parser.list_datasets()

# Search for what you need
thermal = [k for k in datasets.keys() if "Thermal" in k]
print("Thermal datasets:", thermal)

renewable = [k for k in datasets.keys() if "Renewable" in k]
print("Renewable datasets:", renewable)

power = [k for k in datasets.keys() if "Power" in k]
print("Power datasets:", power)

Working with Multiple Files#

If you have multiple simulation files and want to test them together:

from gat.simulations import SimulationAggregator, SiennaSimulationParser

# Automatically combines multiple files
agg = SimulationAggregator(
    file_paths=["sim1.h5", "sim2.h5", "sim3.h5"],
    parser_class=SiennaSimulationParser,
    parallel=True  # Fast parallel loading
)

# Same interface as single file!
agg.selected_model = "UC"
data = agg.get_dataset("ActivePowerVariable__ThermalStandard")

Tips#

Always select a model first before calling list_datasets() or get_dataset()

Use context managers for automatic cleanup:

with SiennaSimulationParser("sim.h5") as parser:
    data = parser.get_dataset("...")

List datasets first to see what’s available before loading
Use the test script (examples/test_simulation_file.py) for quick exploration

More Information#

Complete examples: examples/simulation_interface_example.py
Quick reference: docs/simulation_interface_quick_reference.md
Detailed guide: docs/testing_single_simulation_files.md
API documentation: See docstrings in gat/simulations/base.py

Loading a Single Simulation File

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