ESDL Documentation
The documentation of the Energy System Description Language, an open source project on: https://github.com/EnergyTransition/ESDL.
Last updated
The documentation of the Energy System Description Language, an open source project on: https://github.com/EnergyTransition/ESDL.
Last updated
ESDL MapEditor and the ESDL based Energy System Simulator (ESSIM) are available as open source under the Apache 2.0 license.
ESDL is a modelling language created to describe complete (hybrid) energy systems in one uniform format. It allows to describe information about the individual energy system components, how they are connected, how they are used (e.g. using energy production or consumption profiles), where they are physically located (on the map), what they cost (now and in future). Furthermore information about buildings in an area, energy potential, KPIs (on buildings, areas, or any assets) can be described. Possible applications are facilitating interoperability between different energy transition models and publishing open data on energy systems.
ESDL is still being developed, with new versions being released periodically. The main structure will not change anymore. New attributes can be added to ESSL classes or new classes can be added, whenever a use case requires this. We are using ESDL in many different projects now to get experience in using it and collect feedback. Some parts are still subject to discussion. Feel free to start using it!
ESDL is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license, a permissive free software license written by the Apache Software Foundation. It allows users to use ESDL for any purpose, to distribute it, to modify it, and to distribute modified versions of the software under the terms of the license, without concern for royalties.
This documentation contains the following chapters:
Alternatively, you can download an eBook version in the following formats (will not be updated regularly!):
See if you'd like to know how to install this software stack on your local infrastructure
ESDL is used in many internal TNO projects each with a different focus. Several applications, tooling and simulation models have been developped during the last few months. More and more external projects with partners start using it. To get an impression of the possibilities have a look at for tooling and for projects
: General introduction into what ESDL is and for what purposes it can be used.
: Explanation of the general concepts of Energy Data Modelling
: Explanation of the what and why of different parts of the ESDL language
: Explanation of how to use ESDL, practical tips, example ESDL models
: An overview of ESDL compatible models and tools
: An overview of external projects we're involved in that relate to ESDL
: Introduction to software programming using ESDL
: Explanation of tooling to contribute to the developments of ESDL
Additional to this website, a browsable version of the reference documentation is generated from the ESDL model. In the reference documentation all the classes, attributes and references are shown in UML-based diagrams. This site can be found at .
