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Example 01: Convert CSV to Brick

Convert building data from CSV format to Brick Schema models.

What You'll Learn

  • ✅ Convert a single building to Brick
  • ✅ Batch convert multiple buildings
  • ✅ Specify input CSV files
  • ✅ Auto-detect system types

Overview

This example demonstrates the core conversion workflow:

graph LR
    A[CSV Files] -->|CSVToBrickConverter| B[Single Building]
    A -->|BatchConverter| C[Multiple Buildings]
    B --> D[Brick .ttl File]
    C --> E[Multiple .ttl Files]

    style A fill:#e3f2fd
    style B fill:#fff9c4
    style C fill:#fff9c4
    style D fill:#c8e6c9
    style E fill:#c8e6c9

Prerequisites

Test data is included in tests/fixtures/:

  • metadata.csv - Building characteristics
  • vars_available_by_building.csv - Sensor availability

Part 1: Single Building Conversion

Convert one building to a Brick model:

from pathlib import Path
from hhw_brick import CSVToBrickConverter

# Prepare paths
fixtures = Path("tests/fixtures")
metadata_csv = fixtures / "metadata.csv"
vars_csv = fixtures / "vars_available_by_building.csv"
output_dir = fixtures / "Brick_Model_File"
output_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)

# Convert building #29
building_id = "29"
converter = CSVToBrickConverter()

result = converter.convert_to_brick(
    metadata_csv=str(metadata_csv),
    vars_csv=str(vars_csv),
    building_tag=building_id,
    output_path=str(output_dir / f"building_{building_id}.ttl")
)

print(f"✓ Created {len(result)} RDF triples")

Output: 

✓ Created 60 RDF triples
✓ Output: building_29.ttl

Part 2: Batch Conversion

Convert all buildings at once:

from hhw_brick import BatchConverter

# Batch convert all buildings
batch_converter = BatchConverter()

results = batch_converter.convert_all_buildings(
    metadata_csv=str(metadata_csv),
    vars_csv=str(vars_csv),
    output_dir=str(output_dir),
    show_progress=True  # Show progress bar
)

print(f"Converted: {results['successful']} / {results['total']}")
print(f"Total triples: {results['total_triples']}")

Output: 

Converting buildings: 100%|██████████| 10/10
✓ Converted: 10 / 10
✓ Total triples: 842

Key Features

Auto-Detection

System type is automatically detected from metadata.csv:

Building System Column Detected Type
29 District HW District Hot Water
53 Condensing Condensing Boiler
105 Non-condensing Non-Condensing Boiler

Output Files

Generated Brick models follow naming convention:

building_{tag}_{system_type}_{org}.ttl

Examples: - building_29_district_hw_z.ttl - building_53_condensing_x.ttl - building_105_non_condensing_h.ttl

Complete Example

Run the full example:

python examples/01_convert_csv_to_brick.py

Expected Output:

Example 1: CSV to Brick Conversion
============================================================

============================================================
Part 1: Convert Single Building
============================================================

✓ Converting building 29...
✓ Success!
  - Building ID: 29
  - RDF Triples: 60 statements
  - Output: building_29_district_hw_z.ttl

============================================================
Part 2: Batch Convert Multiple Buildings
============================================================

✓ Converting all District HW buildings...
Converting buildings: 100%|██████████| 10/10

✓ Success!
  - Buildings converted: 10 / 10
  - Total RDF triples: 842 statements

  Generated files:
    - building_29_district_hw_z.ttl
    - building_34_district_hw_z.ttl
    - building_53_condensing_x.ttl
    - building_55_condensing_bf.ttl
    - building_56_district_steam_x.ttl
    - building_58_district_steam_x.ttl
    - building_105_non_condensing_h.ttl
    - building_110_non_condensing_ad.ttl
    - building_124_boiler_ar.ttl
    - building_127_condensing_m.ttl

============================================================
Summary
============================================================
  - All Brick models are saved to: tests/fixtures/Brick_Model_File

✓ Done! You can now use these Brick models for analysis.

What's Generated?

Each .ttl file contains:

  • 🏢 Building entity (RealEstateCore)
  • ⚙️ Equipment (Boilers, pumps, heat exchangers)
  • 🌡️ Sensors (Temperature, flow, pressure)
  • 🔗 Relationships (hasPoint, feeds, isPartOf)

Example RDF triples:

:Building_29 a rec:Building .
:Boiler_Primary a brick:Boiler ;
    brick:hasPoint :HW_Supply_Temp, :HW_Return_Temp .
:HW_Supply_Temp a brick:Hot_Water_Supply_Temperature_Sensor .

Next Steps

📂 Source Code: examples/01_convert_csv_to_brick.py