Modelling variable wall construction in single element

Question

I am trying to model a room in which part of the external wall is below ground level and the remaining part is above ground level. Anyone know how to do this please?

Stephen Brown · Accepted Answer

Hi Roy, it may depend on the type of calculation you are doing as to the best solution. The simplest option is to create an Exposed Wall in Fabric Data using the layer data for the above ground wall. Once created you can adjust the calculated U-Value to account for the percentage that is basement wall via a simple ratio calculation. The basement wall U-value can be calculated in the Uval program on the main Hevacomp menu under Mechanical Design. 
 
 Another alternative is to break out of CAD Input mode and use the Room Data option where you can edit any surface area and add additional surfaces to get exactly what you require. This method should be used with caution and I'd recommend taking a backup of your project as you will lose certain CAD functionality once you go into Room Data. You should also not use this method if you plan on performing Dynamic Simulation calculations.