Good afternoon,
I'm trying to use my own AutoCAD floor plan in Energy Simulator and I have some questions.
Is there a document which has hints/tips for how to formulate an AutoCAD floor plan so it integrates well/correctly with OBD Energy Simulator? Such as making sure the bottom left of the floorplan is at the origin in AutoCad, making sure dimensions are in metres etc.
Also, when trying to 'define a room' it seems a continuous internal traced outline of the room is required to select, do these internal tracings of rooms need to overlap to indicated shared walls, or is it ok if there is a gap between them, how does the software know which thermal zones 'different rooms' are adjacent to each other?
Basically If I have rooms along a corridor for example, as per the second screenshot below (my own floor plan), do the traces of the room outlines need to overlap so that the software knows they are adjacent and share a wall? If there are shared walls between zones for example, surely the floorplan room perimeter traces need to overlap for the software to pick up on this rather than the software assuming each zone has its own independent wall.
Screenshot of the lobby floor plan example
Screenshot of my ground floor plan. The internal room traces do not overlap, does this mean the software will assume all zones have their own walls rather than shared walls?
Hi John,
The software will take care of this for you, as it automatically changes external walls to partitions if there is an adjacent room within the distance set in your Adjacent Tolerance setting, as below:
Adjacent Tolerance setting - Bentley Communities
Also in relation to guidance on creating new floors/defining rooms; you can find details of the associated settings in the following sections of the Energy Simulator manuals:
New Floor
Define Room
Hope that helps, if you need anything else just let us know.
Shane Regan | Principle Building Performance Support EngineerHevacomp to OpenBuildings - A complete guide for every user | Bentley Communities
Answer Verified By: John Hastings