Consider revamping how we set parameters and units at the config and framework level

Consider revamping how we set parameters and units at the config and framework level

Currently in H2I a lot of the technologies assume you are inputting parameter values with a certain unit in mind. Some technologies are very explicit (e.g. pysam_solar ingesting pv_capacity_kWdc in the config) whereas other parameter names might not include units in the name.
This is probably an unnecessary limitation in the framework, but if we solve this in a general way, I'd want to make sure it's very clear to users and reasonably easy to maintain.

Proposed solution

We've previously discussed the idea of receiving config values in value-unit pairs. I like this idea. Implementing it across all models uniformly would be challenging in a tedious-but-possible way.

We could then loop through the tech_configs and call prob.model.set_val at setup() time for each config value, using the units provided in the config file. We can't do that as-is across all models because not all converters have all config values exposed to OM; that'd be a pretty big framework overhaul idea. But doing it this way removes the need to include val=self.config.<parameter> in all the add_input calls.

Alternatives considered

Additional context

I originally had this thought while reviewing #334.

Start by tracing setup(), the tech_configs loop, prob.model.set_val, and the converter add_input calls described in the issue. Review how configuration values and units are currently passed across models; done would require an agreed general approach that handles exposed and unexposed config values consistently.