Using Offset Snap to Draw Perimeter Zones
Did you know that you can use the Offset snap tool to draw partitions
and voids parallel to existing walls and partitions? This snap can be
especially useful when a string of partitions is to be located at a
fixe...
A common question on our Support Desk is about why partition and
other internal surface attributes aren’t available for edit at zone
level. The reason behind this relates to avoiding ambiguity when
different settings are made in adjacent zones. To underst...
Building designers are increasingly being asked to assess how their
buildings will perform in future climate conditions.
To help designers assess future building performance, organisations
such as CIBSE and CSIRO have issued sets of ‘future weather year...
At DesignBuilder we pride ourselves on providing a fast and easy
workflow to help you get your projects completed as quickly as
possible. One way you can further improve your modelling productivity
is to use keyboard shortcuts.
Our help page
[https://des...
New zones are created and adjacencies are regenerated when partitions
are added. You can speed this process up in large models by creating
all zones in a block only after all partitions have been placed.
Here's how:
1. Switch off the “Automatic block zoni...
Have you ever been frustrated at having to re-build a model because
you need to switch between net and gross building areas or volumes? Or
to include or exclude internal wall thickness partitions without
spending days editing your model geometry?
Whether...
It is quite common to be at zone level in a model and to want to
navigate to a surface that is sitting behind another surface. The
eastern wall surfaces in this post’s image is an example, as it sits
behind the ceiling surface.
You could of course orbit ...
• Clicking the appropriate entry in the Navigator panel is the most
versatile way because every construction in the building is listed
there.
• Double-clicking on an object such as a window or wall in the Edit
Screen takes you do it.
• Single-clicking o...
DesignBuilder results viewer is a free tool that works with
DesignBuilder and EnergyPlus results. It is a simple, quick and
effective way to view any EnergyPlus .eso and .htm results data.
It can be downloaded from the main Download > Release Software ar...
EnergyPlus provides literally thousands of different output report
types and DesignBuilder allows you to access the most useful of these
through the main Simulation results screen.
Sometimes however it can be useful to access some of the other reports
fo...
When it comes to optimising real-world building configurations, it can
be frustrating when the list of built in variable types and KPIs
provided with the software do not include exactly what you are trying
to assess in your analysis. To help you avoid run...
Connecting HVAC plant loops to equipment in Zone groups and Air loops
by hand can be a bit of a chore in large models. Here's a neat
productivity feature which allows all connections to be made in a
single click!
To connect Plant loops to HVAC loops an...
This top tip shows how to use the LOAD DATA FROM TEMPLATE TOOL
[https://designbuilder.co.uk/helpv7.0/#Load_Data_from_Template_-_Data.htm]
to quickly load data across the model. The MODEL DATA GRID VIEW TOOL
covered in this top tip also allows data to be l...
There are 2 ways to run EnergyPlus simulations in DesignBuilder:
* The default method directly within DesignBuilder, or,
* Using the SIMULATION MANAGER
[https://designbuilder.co.uk/helpv7.0/#SimulationManager.htm].
The DesignBuilder Support Desk re...
DesignBuilder's default daylight map outputs provide a detailed view
of the distribution of the daylight availability across the selected
internal area. Sometimes however it can be useful to view the areas in
each zone that comply/do not comply with the r...
If you've ever needed to access blocks which lie buried behind other
blocks you will appreciate the "Ghost selected block" tool which
allows you to set selected blocks in the model to be semi-transparent
so the blocks behind them can be selected for editi...
From time to time we receive questions on our Support Desk asking how
to model refrigerated spaces in DesignBuilder. This Top Tip explains
the process involved in cooling a zone down to a constant temperature
of -20°C using Detailed HVAC.
* Start with ...
One of the most common questions we receive on our Support Desk goes
something like this: “my annual summary simulation results are not
what I was expecting, what’s the problem?” The techniques listed
below are routinely used by the DesignBuilder Support ...
