Overview · Features · Documentation · Workflow · Quick start · Fundamentals · Examples · FAQ · Installation · Demo
System requirements
EPOS-Plan is a standalone Windows application and does not require Excel. Calculation, data storage and presentation all take place within the program.
Operating system and hardware
Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit) is required. A standard office PC is sufficient. Recommended are a current processor, 8 GB of RAM (4 GB minimum), about 1 GB of free disk space for program, database and climate data, and a screen resolution of at least 1,600 × 900 pixels – the result views with annual profiles and key figure tables need width. The annual simulation covers 8,760 hourly values on the heat side and 35,040 quarter-hourly values on the electricity side and runs in a few seconds on current hardware.
Required components
EPOS-Plan brings its own program runtime; a separately installed .NET runtime is not required. What it does require is the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime – the newer dialogues and views of the program run on it. On Windows 11 it is part of the operating system; on Windows 10 and in LTSC and server editions it is not necessarily present. If it is missing, the setup installs it and needs a brief internet connection for that.
No additional component is needed for data storage: the parameter database is a SQLite file that EPOS-Plan reads and writes without a third-party driver.
Network and internet
All calculations run locally. An internet connection is used to retrieve climate data, for the place name search, for the online documentation and for updates. The optional help assistant only uses it when an own access key has been entered; the local help search works offline.
Data storage and multi-workstation use
Project and master data are held together in the database file Kenndaten.sqlite. The default folder is %ProgramData%\EPOS_PLAN; the folder actually set is shown under Administration › Settings. In addition there are two data directories under %ProgramData%\WP-Plan and %LocalAppData%\WP-Plan.
While EPOS-Plan is running, the two companion files Kenndaten.sqlite-wal and Kenndaten.sqlite-shm lie next to the database. They belong to the database and must never be copied, moved or deleted on their own; when the program is closed properly they disappear by themselves.
The database belongs on a local drive and not on a network drive – this file format does not work reliably on network shares. Several Windows accounts on the same machine can share one database, provided all users may write in the database folder; the setup arranges that. Simultaneous editing of the same project should be avoided. Backups should include the database file and both data directories – the database is copied while the program is closed.
Rights and installation
Administrator rights are required for installation; normal user rights are sufficient for operation, and settings are stored per user. A configured printer is useful for reports and licence texts but not mandatory. Further information, including troubleshooting at first start, is given under Installation and update.