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Within most Energy-Modelling programs including Hero, simulated spaces are defined & organised into Zones. These Zones typically represents “Rooms” of a Building however they are more accurately are described as any Space or Volume of Air that should be independently modelled. In addition to normal “Rooms” such as Bedrooms & Kitchen , within Hero there a variety of Special Zones such as Roofspace Zones & Subfloor Zones (detailed below).
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Modelled Zone Coverage All Rooms within a Dwelling should be modelled as Zones , including Class 10a Garages attached to the rest of the modelled Dwelling. (Note if unconditioned rooms such as stores or garages are not attached directly then they still may need to be modelled as shading objects) |
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Within the Chenath Simulation Engine, the Zone holds all the information regarding not only the Floors, Ceilings, Walls, Openings & other model objects within the space, but also the Internal Heat Gains (such as Appliances, Occupant & Lighting), it’s Heating & Cooling Thermostat Setpoints & Profile, and the operation of Shade & Natural Ventilation features within the Zone. The Heating & Cooling Results of a Simulation are compiled at a Zone level, and it from this Zone Heating & Cooling Result that the Star-Rating is eventually derived from.
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ZONES IN THE VISUAL VIEW
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How they are visually represented in the Vizi (how to select them how to delete them)
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How they are created (link to Drawing Mode)
Their Properties:
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Zone Types (walk through each)
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Dwelling
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Fans (separate section)
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Penetrations (separate section)
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Creation
Zones are created within the Visual View using the Zone Drawing Mode. Roofspace Zones & Subfloor Zones are automatically created
Selecting
Zones can be Selected using the Select Parent Context-Menu Action ( 🖱 Right-Click → Select Parent) or it’s shortcut (🖱 Double Left-Click on a child such as Wall, Floor or Ceiling).
Deleting
Zones can be Deleted (after selecting them as described above) using the ⌨ Delete keyboard shortcut, or 🖱 Right-Click Context-menu action Delete or via the Zone Data-Grid’s Delete button.
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Don’t Try to Drag-Select all the objects of a Zone and Delete them to Delete a Zone. You select the Zone as described above & delete it. |
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ZONES IN THE DATA-GRID
Property | Description | Edited Within | ||
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Name | The Name of the Zone | Name Column | ||
Type | The Zone Type such as Bedroom or Living Room or Unconditioned. Zone Type determines the Heating & Cooling Thermostat Setpoints & Profile as well as Internal Heat Gain impacts (see Resources. See table below for all NatHERS Zone Types. | Type Column | ||
Dwelling | The Parent Dwellingof the Zone. Can be changed if Zone was initially created within the wrong Dwelling. | Dwelling Column (if >1 Dwelling) | ||
Volume | The Total Air Volume of the Zone (in m3). Can be Manually overridden by Users if desired to enter custom Air-Volumes. Volumes are typically automatically calculated by Hero for Zones. However there are situations where the User may wish to set their own Zone Volume figure due to unusual Zone geometry or other reasons. The Automatic Volume calculations can become less accurate for Non-Rectangular Zones (e.g. Zones with lots of split walls, floating walls and/or raked ceilings).
| Volume & Volume Automatic Columns | ||
Air Leakage | Total Air Leakage of all Penetrations within the Zone (in m3/hr)
| Air Leakage Column (hidden by Default) |
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