Turn the active HVAC system behavior into a repeatable acceptance test.
Use the Plant Test scenario stored in the active .modbussim project, run deterministic Step and Ramp phases, evaluate measurable criteria, preserve the complete evidence bundle, and analyze completed behavior before proposing draft tuning.
Use the Plant Test scenario in the active project
The workflow below covers system preparation and testing. Engineering permits authoring; Starter permits it for learning and evaluation. In Test, open and activate an existing prepared project and run its saved scenarios. Open the .modbussim project, review and activate its System, then open Plant Test. The design is inherited from Configurator; New test starts an empty timeline and acceptance list. Import test can bring a legacy .modbustest scenario into the current project without replacing the shared design.
Define timed phases and mapped stimuli
Create ordered phases with explicit durations. Step applies the ending load immediately; Ramp interpolates from the starting load to the ending load over the phase. Map controller commands, operating conditions, faults, resets, and other stimuli to active project points.
Add measurable acceptance criteria
Define ranges, timing limits, settled conditions, event expectations, and recovery checks. Each criterion should resolve to an explicit Pass, Fail, or Incomplete outcome instead of relying on visual judgment.
Run, pause, resume, or stop safely
Start only after communications and the active system are ready. Use the runner controls to pause, resume, or stop without editing the activated project; an incomplete run remains distinct from failed acceptance.
Read time-based trends and outcomes
Review commands, feedback, calculated values, events, warnings, and criterion markers on the same time axis. Use the traces to explain both the final outcome and the phase where a deviation began.
Export and retain the evidence bundle
Retain the final .modbussim project, active-project identity, sampled data, event and communication logs, criterion results, final outcome, generated report, and application version. Evidence includes a frozen plan.modbustest snapshot, but recorded execution evidence is not embedded in the project.
Analyze evidence and export only a draft tuning proposal
Load completed evidence into Analyze / Tune, verify deterministic replay, assign calibration and validation roles, compare bounded parameter candidates, and inspect capacity, thermal, controller, and refrigerant response. Export remains a separate inactive draft for engineering review; analysis never applies or activates System Integration.
Configure Alarm / Fault Injection
Included in every edition. Prepare the intended active system and communications first. Select a supported compressor point, equipment, supply group, or endpoint; configure the stimulus and an independent observed response. Directly forcing a response bit does not prove detection.
Schedule faults, communication errors, and recovery
Use Start now for one immediate event, or save timing, repetitions, occurrence probability, and seed in the project's Plant Test scenario. Communication tests can apply complete loss, response suppression, delay, jitter, Modbus exceptions, or explicit write-loss behavior. Pause stops future starts; active faults, backup exhaustion, return, and recovery continue.
Review injection evidence separately
Inspect actual event boundaries, response deadlines, recovery, and Passed, Failed, Incomplete, or Not exercised checks. Preserve raw observations and the injection report with the full Plant Test bundle. Intentional communication-error injection is a test stimulus; separately review listener state, request counters, rejection counters, and last-request age when assessing real communication health.
Plant Test definition, execution, evidence, and analysis
Use the localized Plant Test workspace to define the plan, follow timed trends and evidence, review the recorded outcome, and prepare a safe draft-only tuning study.
