This allows the surface properties of the constructions that are defined in the model to be edited.
The Open and Save buttons can be used to save and retrieve this data from a Radiance.map file. However, these buttons do not generally need to be used, because the Radiance properties of the constructions are edited via the Apache Constructions Database (ApCDB), and constructions can be imported from one project to another. The Assign button is defined below in Section 5.1.2: Assign Materials to Surface. The Summary button creates a .txt file with properties of all materials used in the model.
The construction names and the properties that are assigned to each surface are listed in the table. To view or edit a construction, double-click on that construction, The ApCDB Project Construction editing window will open:
For an opaque construction, select the Type, either Plastic or Metal:
Manually adjust the Red, Green and Blue (RGB) Reflectance values. The Reflectance value will be updated automatically when RGB values are changed. Alternatively, edit the colour directly to change these values, by double-clicking on the colour. A standard Windows colour dialogue will open. Note: in Radiance, colours are defined by RGB values in the range 0.0 - 1.0 and the dialogue below uses standard Windows colour intensities in the range 0 – 255.
Select a colour or customize one by changing displayed properties and click OK. The individual reflectance values (red, green and blue) and the total reflectance will be updated accordingly.
The Specularity and Roughness values can also be set. The material can also be changed by selecting one from a list of pre-defined materials by clicking on the Pre-defined Materials button:
Plastic and Metal both have the same set of parameters.
For opaque materials, there are External, Mid and Internal tabs to edit those layers’ properties. The Mid tab can be used to set a colour which will be shown for window and hole reveals in Radiance images. Alternatively, click on the External and Internal buttons to toggle between the External and Internal tabs.
If a glazing construction is selected, the glazed construction editing dialogue will open:
Toggle between the Glazed Surface, Frame and Glazed Surface w/Blind (sDA) to change glazing properties, frame properties, glazing and blind properties respectively. The blind properties tab is used for sDA analyses. For more information about sDA analyses, please refer to Section 13.2 Spatial Daylight Autonomy (sDA)
Again, there is an option to select from a list of pre-defined materials (all glass). Click on Pre-defined Materials to open the window below:
The material Type offers a drop-down selection of three options - glass, trans or dielectric. These all have different parameters. Please see Appendix Section 6: Materials in Radiance for more information.
