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Cases in Aire

Many values—like prices, system design choices, or financial assumptions—aren’t fixed. Rather than commit to a single input, Aire lets you define multiple cases for any term or block. Cases are named options that represent different possible values or structures. They allow you to reason through ambiguity, model what’s known and unknown, and compare outcomes—all without duplicating your model.

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What is a Case?

A case is an alternate value or configuration attached to a term or block. You might define cases like:
  • low, base, and high for a price or efficiency
  • battery_base vs no_battery for a system design
  • aggressive vs conservative for cost or incentive structures
Each case reflects a distinct modeling assumption. Case names are local to each block—there’s no global list—so different parts of the model can express uncertainty in ways that match their logic.

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Where Cases Are Used

Cases can be applied to:
  • Terms – to express alternate values for a single variable
  • Blocks – to represent different configurations or logic paths
They’re modular, transparent, and don’t require duplicating formulas or restructuring your model.

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How Cases Connectto Scenarios

Scenarios are built by selecting specific cases for different blocks in the model. For example:
  • One scenario might use the high case for electricity price and the no_battery case for storage
  • Another might use the base case for inputs and the battery_base case for a bundled system design
This lets you explore structured combinations of assumptions, analyze risk, or build defensible narratives for project partners and investors.

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What Cases Enable

Cases are central to Aire’s modeling system. They allow you to:
  • Represent uncertainty without hardcoding or duplication
  • Model divergent assumptions across different parts of the system
  • Run side-by-side comparisons and structured scenario analysis
  • Reflect the probabilistic, evolving nature of project development
  • Make models easier to debug, communicate, and update over time
Cases help you go from “what’s the number?” to “what are the possible futures?”—and make decisions with a clearer view of what’s at stake.