Skylights need to be modelled within a Project for their solar gains, heat-loss & ventilation effects to be modelled.
Skylight Type
The term “Skylight” is used both as a generic term for all Skylight / Roof Window objects, however there are actually three distinct Types of Skylight available for use in Hero. This property is shown in the Skylight Data-Grid Type column.
Type | Description |
|---|---|
Skylight | |
Tubular | |
Roof Window |
Skylight Shape
Skylights uniquely have two possible Shapes: Polygon & Circular. The shape is determined by the initial Skylight Drawing Sub-Mode and can be changed after creation by changing the value in the Shape Column of the Skylight Data-Grid.
SKYLIGHTS IN THE VISUAL VIEW
Creating
Skylights are created using the Skylight & Hole Drawing Mode
Selecting
Skylights are shown on the Visual View and can be selected as per normal objects. Holes are added to the Floor Data-Grid as a child row under the Parent Floor and can be likewise selected there.
You can also use the Visual View’s Select Parent context-menu action for a Hole (or it’s 🖱 Double Left-Click mouse shortcut). In this case, the action selects the parent Floor of the Hole.
Deleting
Skylights can be Deleted as per normal model objects using the ⌨ Delete keyboard shortcut, or 🖱 Right-Click Context-menu action Delete or via the Data-Grid’s Delete button. Points can be deleted off the Hole polygon shape by 🖱 Right-Clicking the Point and selecting Delete Point.
Moving Skylights
Skylights can be moved in the Visual View by selecting them and then 🖱 Dragging them into their position.
You can also 🖱 Drag the Points of a Polygon Skylight to move that Point and extend or shrink the length.
Skylights cannot be moved outside the bounds of the Zone
You can move a Skylight or a Skylight Point in a straight ↔ or ↕ direction by holding ⌨ Shift.
Adding Points
Points can be added to a Skylight by 🖱 Right-clicking the Skylight near it’s edge and selecting the Add PointContext Menu action.
Selecting
You can Select a Skylight either within the Visual View or the Data-Grid.
Skylight also share the common context-menu actions of Select Parent (which will select the Parent Ceiling of the Skylight) which can also be called by 🖱 Double Left-Clicking the Skylight.
Deleting Skylights
Skylights can be deleted by:
selecting the Skylight within the Visual-View or Data-Grid and pressing
⌨ Delete; orby using the 🖱
Right-ClickContext-menuDeleteaction within the Visual View
Moving Skylights
Skylights can be moved in the Visual View by selecting them and then 🖱 Dragging them into their position.
You can also 🖱 Drag the corner Points of an Opening to extend or shrink the Width of the Opening.
Skylight cannot be moved outside of their Parent Ceiling and in these situations, Hero will block any attempts to move further.
Resizing
Adding & Deleting Points
SKYLIGHTS IN THE DATA-GRID
Property | Description | Edited Within |
|---|---|---|
Name | The Name of the Skylight | Name Column |
Type | The Type of Skylight (Skylight, Roof Window or Tubular). Available options depend on Ceiling Assembly Type (see Type section above for more details) | Type Column |
Shape | Change the Shape of the Skylight between Polygon or Circular | Shape Column |
Specification | Specification Column | |
Pitch | The Pitch or Incline of the Skylight on the Roof (in degrees) with 0 being Horizontal / Flat and 90 degrees being Vertical | Pitch Column |
Orientation | The Direction the Face of the Skylight is facing (it’s normal face direction). Ignored if Pitch is 0 degrees. | Orientation Column |
Area | The Pitched Area of the Skylight (in m2) | Not editable |
Openable Percentage | Roof Windows only | Openable % Column |
Internal Shade Device | Roof Windows only | Internal Shading Column |
External Shade Device | External Shading Column | |
Shaft Sub-Properties | ||
Shaft Length | Skylight & Tubular Types only | Shaft Length Column |
Shaft Reflectivity | Skylight & Tubular Types only | Shaft Refl % Column |
Shaft Insulated | Skylight & Tubular Types only | Shaft Insulated Column |
Shaft Diffuser | Skylight & Tubular Types only | Shaft Diffuser Column |
Skylight Library
The Skylight Library holds the complete library of all Skylight & Roof Window Specifications available for NatHERS Simulation. The Selected Skylight list within the Library is what is presented to Users within the Skylight Data-Grid’s Specification column (as well as filtering by Skylight Type).
Further Information: Skylight Library