Envelope Thermo-Physical Properties

 

 

 

This navigator category consists of a number of sub-categories and tasks designed to take users through the process of assigning ASHRAE baseline & proposed building envelope information.

 

Essentially users are prompted to follow three main steps;

 

1. set baseline construction requirements

2. create proposed model constructions

3. Assign proposed model constructions for both above & below ground surfaces

 

 

Step 1: The user must first select the Building Type (residential, Non-residential or semi heated)

Step 2: Subsequently both Opaque & Fenestration construction category types must then be selected from the provided drop down boxes. By pushing the ‘ok’ button pre-defined construction materials will then be imported into the ApCdb construction data base manager, with default values corresponding to the relevant ASHRAE Climate Zone requirements.

 

 

Note: If a US climate zone location has been selected back in the ‘site, location & climate’ step the relevant ASHRAE 90.1 baseline construction will be automatically imported into the ApCdb construction data base manager’.

 

 

 

Manual edits must be made to the baseline ground floor construction type in order to account for ground contact factor, see below;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ground floor contact U-value adjustment interface should be populated accordingly. For further information use the search facility.

 

Within this section the user can choose to assign proposed building constructions from one of two options.

The user can choose to select & edit any default ASHRAE 90.1 baseline construction type for use in the proposed model. Clicking the “Show Baseline” button will display a list of the baseline constructions, so you can assess how your proposed construction compares to the baseline requirements.

 

 

 

Improved baseline constructions for use in the proposed building can be imported into the ApCdb construction data base manager once manual edits have been made. Note that a copy will be made for the proposed building and the baseline construction itself will not be edited.  Clicking the “Apply” button will automatically assign your improved construction assembly to the entire proposed building.

 

 

Alternatively the user can choose to create proposed building envelope constructions as per known project specifications. When choosing this option the user is taken straight to the ApCdb construction data base manager were they can create custom construction types for the proposed model from scratch.

 

 

 

 

Note: For future reference when using the VE.  The line items in the dialog above that are highlighted in green mean that those external wall types (in this case) are being used in the model.

 

Alternatively the “create target construction” option could be selected if detailed proposed construction information is not available, see below;

 

 

 

 

 

This feature allows users quickly create construction types with minimum effort for early stage analysis.

 

 

 

This command allows the user to assign proposed construction types to model surfaces. Note that baseline constructions will be automatically assigned to the baseline model once created (later step in the PRM Navigator Process).

 

Assign above ground proposed constructions

 

 

Assign below ground constructions. (As per ASHRAE 90.1 calculation method)