The floors Floors of a zone Zone are distinct from the ceilings Ceilings of the zone, Zones even if they share similar geometry & many features.
A Floor is created automatically when a zone Zone is drawn and might be automatically split and connected to any ceilings on levels below on creation.
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FLOORS WITHIN THE VISUAL VIEW
Selecting
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Floors are selected in the visual view Visual View if the Floor / Ceiling Visual layer Layer is currently set to Floors on the top toolbarFloor on the Visual View’s Top Toolbar. For further information on the Floor / Ceiling Visual Layer see: Visual View Top Toolbar
Floors can also be selected within the Data-Grid within the Floor tab.
Floors share the select parent context Select Parent Context-menu item similar to most objects , or the double-click (or it’s 🖱 Double Left-Click mouse shortcut). In this case, the action selects the parent zone Zone of the floorFloor.
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Deleting
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Floors cannot be deleted Deleted, instead they must be merged Merged back together with any split floors Split Floors of the zoneZone. Floors are merged by using the Merge Drawing Mode which is explained in further detail in a separate section of this tutorial.
Geometry
The area of a floor is shown in the data-grid area column in square metres and represents gross area prior to the removal of any Hole area.
SplittingSplit & Merge Drawing Mode
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Splitting Floors
Floors can be split Split into separate floors within Floorswithin a zone Zone through various means.
Firstly they can be split Split manually by the user using the Split Drawing Mode feature (which is dealt with in a separate section of this tutorialSplit & Merge Drawing Mode ). This is typically performed when the floors Floors across a zone have differing properties such as floor coverings Assembly or Construction, or insulation or adjacency. For example, in this project shown, we have a floor where the kitchen & living area form one single zone, however the floor covering changes from tile to timber etc etc. Insulation or Floor Covering or Adjacency.
Automatic Splits
Floors are also split automatically Split Automatically by Hero when any adjacent ceilings Ceilings are detected on the level Level below. This can occur after a new zone Zone has been created or when floors Floors or ceilings Ceilings are moved.
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Offset Points
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Floors can have points Points added to their polygon shape after they’ve been created.
To do so, right🖱 Right-click Click near an edge of a floor Floor (not clicking a wallWall) and select the Add Point action.
This will add a floor point Floor Point at the location as well as to any adjoining floorsFloors, and to any ceilings at Ceilingsat that location if appropriate.
These points Points are not shared with any wall points…if Wall point, if you desire to add the point to a wall Wall point as well as a floorFloor/ceiling Ceiling point then you should use the Split Wall feature.
These floor points Floor Points can be deleted by right clicking 🖱 Right-Click them and choosing the Delete Point action. If the point Point can be validly deleted while keeping the floor Floor polygon regular, then the point Point will be deleted.
These floor points Floor Points are also created when floors Floors are automatically or manually split by Hero.
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Moving:
Floor points Points can be moved around by left-clicking & dragging the floor pointswithin the Visual View by 🖱 Left-Clicking & Dragging the Floor Points. If there is a ceiling Ceiling Point sharing this pointPoint, it will also be moved. Similar to many move Move actions, holding shift ⌨ Shift-key while moving will lock the move in a straight horizontal ↔ or vertical ↕ direction.
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Auto-Merge Note that at the end of a |
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Move, Hero performs a check for whether the |
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Floors within a |
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Zone should |
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Auto- |
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Merge. This feature is required to reduce the number of |
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Floors that get created through splits & moving points. A |
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Floor will automatically merge back into other similar |
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Floors if they share similar properties such as Assembly, Insulation, |
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Colour & Adjacency type. If you have just split a |
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Floor and then are trying to adjust the points of the |
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Split, to avoid this |
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Auto- |
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Merging of similar |
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Floor you should change the properties of the newly split |
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Floor to the different properties that it represents before doing the move point, otherwise you’ll merge the newly split |
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Floorand have to repeat yourself. |
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Floor Constructions
Similar to Walls & Ceilings, Floors have a Construction or Assembly as well as Insulation Options that defines the material makeup of the Floor for simulation. The Floor Covering of the floor also adds to this material build-up of the assembly.
Similar to Walls & Ceilings, Floors have a Construction or Assembly as well as Insulation Options that defines the material makeup of the Floorfor Simulation. The Floor Covering of the Floor also adds to this material build-up of the assembly. Theses are discussed in further detail in the Data-Grid section below.Assembly:
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FLOORS WITHIN THE DATA-GRID
Property | Description | Edited Within |
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Assembly | Hero has a variety of Default Floor Assemblies that can be used, and these are visible within the Construction column of the Floor Data-Grid. The current assemblies include:
It should be note that the Suspended Timber floors are referring to Timber only as the structural material and that the Floor Covering determines whether the floor has timber floorboards or not, not the assembly selected in the Construction column. The suspended timber & suspended concrete assemblies that are lined below are for use when the floor is suspended such as over a subfloor zone or over the external environment, and are not to be used when there is an actual ceiling from another zone below as the ceiling material will be added already to the assembly build-up. Changing the Assembly type in the Data-Grid may change the Adjacency type of the floor if required such as when changing from a Concrete Slab on Ground assembly which has a Ground Adjacency to a Suspended Timber assembly which changes the adjacency to Subfloor or External adjacency depending on level height, & vice-versa. Floors that have an adjacent ceiling below them will not be able to change to a Ground type assembly such as Concrete Slab on Ground or Waffle Pod slabs and these options are not shown. | |
Type | In addition to the Construction or Assembly of the floor, the Floor Data-Grid also contains a Type column that is used for reference & information but that if changed in the combo-box drop-down, will change both the assembly and adjacency type to the relevant defaults for that type as required. ** SHOW EXAMPLE ** | |
Insulation |
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Option | The insulation (if any) can added to a floor via the Insulation column of the Floor data-grid. There are variety of floor insulation options available depending on the Floor Construction. For Slab on Ground assemblies the options are several common R-value underslab insulation products. For Waffle Pod assemblies the options are the various thickness of EPS-foam waffle-pod void formers that lie below the slab. The R-values are the thermally bridged R-values that account for the concrete ribs or beams across the floor. There is also a uninsulated option in the list for non-foam based waffle-pods such as plastic void formers etc. For Suspended Floors there are a variety of Insulation options that represent common insulation systems including:
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Slab Edge Insulation |
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Concrete slab on ground & waffle-pod floors can have Slab Edge Insulation added to them via the Slab Edge Insulation column in the Floor data-grid. There are a fixed variety of typical R-value products that can be selected for the floor. | ||
Floor Covering |
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Floor covering are used to model the effects of various materials on top of the floor assembly such as Carpet, Timber, Tiles etc. The floor covering materials are added to the top of the floor in simulation. The variety of options of floor coverings in Hero include:
The material layers of these floor coverings is detailed further on the Hero web-site. |
Internal Floor/Ceiling Construction
When a floor has an adjacent ceiling below it, such as on a two-story dwelling, or between two apartment dwellings, the full material buildup for the assembly is determined by both the Floor & the Ceiling’s properties.
An internal ceiling can only have a plasterboard ceiling or exposed ceiling assembly applied to it; and the internal ceiling will not be able to have Insulation applied to it in the Data-Grid. If this internal floor/ceiling is to be insulated, the insulation gets applied to the floor above. The complete material build-up that will be simulated is the Floor Covering followed by the Floor Assembly followed by any Floor Insulation followed by the Ceiling Assembly below.
Floor Adjacency Types
Area | ||
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Subfloor Ventilation Type | Floors with a Subfloor adjacency can toggle the ventilation rate of that subfloor zone through the Ventilation column of the Floor data-grid. This is described in further detail in the Subfloor Zone section. | |
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Floor Adjacency Types
Adjacency Type | Description | Edited Within |
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Similar to Walls & Ceilings, Floors have a variety of different adjacency conditions that are determined by whether the floor is adjacent to actual model objects or that can be selected manually be the user. Floors that are adjacent to a Ceiling from the same dwelling, will have an Internal Adjacency type, and this adjacency type cannot be changed in the data-grid. Floors that are adjacent to a Ceiling from another dwelling will have a Neighbouring Adjacency type, again this cannot be changed in the data-grid. Neighbouring adjacency types are simulated as adiabatic boundaries in the simulation meaning that no effective heat transfer is modelled between them. Floors that are adjacent to a Carpark or Corridor zone will have a Carpark or Corridor adjacency type selected which again cannot be changed. For floors that are not adjacent to another ceiling below, then there are a variety of adjacency types that can be manually selected by the user to model specific conditions. Floors of a ground-type such as Concrete slab or Waffle-pod assemblies have a GROUND adjacency type and if the adjacency type is changed then the assembly will be automatically changed away from a Ground type assembly. Floors can have a Subfloor adjacency type, which when changed will automatically create a subfloor special zone underneath the floor, or if a subfloor zone already exists on that level, will expand the subfloor zone to encompass the area below the newly changed floor. Subfloor zones are detailed further in the Zone section of this tutorial and have many special properties. If the floor is sufficiently elevated such that area below it does not form a subfloor zone, then the EXTERNAL adjacency type should be used. This represents a floor that is simply adjacent to the External environment temperature. |
Subfloor Ventilation
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Floors with a Subfloor adjacency can toggle the ventilation rate of that subfloor zone through the Ventilation column of the Floor data-grid. This is described in further detail in the Subfloor Zone sectionInternal Floor/Ceiling Construction
When a floor has an adjacent ceiling below it, such as on a two-story dwelling, or between two apartment dwellings, the full material buildup for the assembly is determined by both the Floor & the Ceiling’s properties.
An internal ceiling can only have a plasterboard ceiling or exposed ceiling assembly applied to it; and the internal ceiling will not be able to have Insulation applied to it in the Data-Grid. If this internal floor/ceiling is to be insulated, the insulation gets applied to the floor above. The complete material build-up that will be simulated is the Floor Covering followed by the Floor Assembly followed by any Floor Insulation followed by the Ceiling Assembly below.
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Roofspace Soffit Floors
When a Ceiling has a Roof-space connection such as from an Attic assembly type, then a special Soffit floor will be automatically created for the roofspace and will become visible in the Floor Data-Grid tab. These are discussed further in the Roof-space Zone section.