Screens

Overview

Screens are Vertical Shade Objects that are Connected to Walls they are in Parallel to so that their Shading Impacts (i.e. reduced Solar Gains) can be Simulated.

Screens should be used to model Fences, Balustrades, Adjacent Buildings as well as any Opposing Walls (see Opposing Wall Screens section below).

Screens are modelled as Line like objects within Hero, and must be Manually Connected by the User to each Wall that the User determines they may shade.

Screens & Openings

Note all Openings (Windows & Doors) on a Wall will also have the Screens of their Parent Walls applied to them during Simulation

Screens as Wing-Walls

Screens can also get Auto-Detected by Hero as Wing-Walls when they lie Perpendicular to a Wall.

For more details see: Wing Walls

Modelling Screens over Multiple Levels

Currently if a Screen’s Height is such that it stretches across multiple Levels, it must be modelled separately on each Level with the Total & Top Heights adjusted as required relative to each Level.

In future versions of Hero, we will move to make Screens Level-Independent and allow Levels whose heights are sufficient to project into other Levels shown so that you don’t need to duplicate Screens across multiple levels (see our Trello Features Roadmap for further details).

SCREENS IN THE VISUAL VIEW

Creating

Screens are created using the Screen Drawing mode (Screen & Eave Drawing Modes)

Attaching / Connecting to Walls

Screens currently must be Manually Connected to Walls by the User for their Shading Impacts to be Simulated.

There are a variety of ways to Attach a Screen to a Wall which are detailed further in the Attach Drawing Mode section of Screen & Eave Drawing Modes

Connection Lines

When a Screen & Wall are Connected, a Connection Line is shown between them on the Visual View, and the Wall is added as a row within the Screen Data-Grid.

The Connection Line is only Visible within the Visual View when the Wall or Screen is Selected or Hovered.

Selecting

Selecting Screens

You can Select a Screen within the Visual View & Screen Data-Grid by Left-Click.

Selecting Connections

A Connection Line can be Selected within the Visual View once is Visible (see above) by Left-Click

The Connected Wall Row of a Screen within the Screen Data-Grid is also analogous to selecting the Connection within the Visual View

Deleting

Deleting Screens

The Screen itself can be deleted by:

selecting the Screen within the Visual-View or Data-Grid and pressing ⌨ Delete; or
by using the Right-Click Context-menu Delete action within the Visual View;

Deleting Connections (Disconnecting Screens & Walls)

A Screen can be Disconnected (i.e. it’s Connection is Deleted) from a Wall through several means including:

Selecting the Connection Line between the Screen & Wall (shown in the Visual View when a Wall or Screen is Hovered or Selected & pressing the ⌨ Delete
Selecting the Connected Wall Row within the Screen Data-Grid & pressing ⌨ Delete

Moving

Screens can be moved in the Visual View by selecting them and then Dragging them into their position, and likewise their Start & End Points can be moved in a similar fashion.

You can move a Screen or Screen Point in a straight or direction by holding ⌨ Shift.

Parallel View of the Screen

Screens are modelled within the Chenath Simulation as a Vertical Shade Object Parallel to the Connected Wall. The Projection of the Screen from the Wall is based on the Parallel Distance between the Centre of the Wall & the Centre of the Screen.

Therefore Screens that have an angle different to any Connected Walls may not be Simulated as they look Visually, but rather to their Parallel View. This Parallel View is shown as a thin line when a Connected Wall is selected in the Visual View (see image below).

SCREENS IN THE DATA-GRID

Property	Description

Property	Description
Name	The Name of the Screen	Name Column
Connected Wall	The Name of each Wall connected to the Screen	Connected Wall Column
Projection	The parallel horizontal distance between the Wall (inside face) & the Parallel View line of the Screen in mm (see Parallel View section above).	Projection Column
Screen Total Height	The Total Height of the Screen (in mm) (i.e. Top Height - Base Height)	Screen Total Height Column
Screen Base Height	The Base/Bottom Height of the Screen relative to Level Height (in mm)	Screen Base Column (hidden by Default)
Screen Top Height	The Top Height of the Screen relative to Level Height (in mm)	Screen Top Column
Wall Top Height	The Top Height of the Connected Wall relative to Level Height (in mm)	Wall Top Column
Vertical Offset Height	The distance between the Top Height of the Screen & Top Height of the Wall (in mm) Negative if Top of Screen is below Top of Wall	Vertical Offset Column
Summer Opacity	The shading percentage of the Screen (in %) during Summer Months Spring/Autumn months have the average of Summer & Winter Opacity for Simulation	Summer Opacity Column
Winter Opacity	The shading percentage of the Screen (in %) during Winter Months Spring/Autumn months have the average of Summer & Winter Opacity for Simulation	Winter Opacity Column
Length	The Length from Start to End of the Screen (in mm)	Length Column (hidden by Default)
Left & Right Horizontal Offset	The Distances between the Left & Right Edges of the Connected Wall & the Closest of Edge of the Screen (in mm)	Horizontal Offset Column (hidden by Default)