Zones
- Hero Software
Overview
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 described as any Space or Volume of Air that is independently modelled. In addition to normal “Rooms” such as Bedrooms & Kitchen there are a variety of Special Zones within Hero such as Roofspace Zones & Subfloor Zones (detailed below).
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)
For Class 2 Apartment Projects, Hero recommends modelling all Common Area spaces including Carparks & Corridors for complete coverage (see Corridor & Carpark Zone Type descriptions below)
Zones are the Parent object of the Floors, Ceilings & Walls, that are contained within them, and also the Zone’s Ceiling Fans & Penetrations
Within the Chenath Simulation Engine, the Zone holds all the information regarding not only the Floors, Ceilings, Walls, Openings & other Model objects 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 measured at the Zone level, and it from this Zone Heating & Cooling Result that the Star-Rating is eventually derived from.
ZONES IN THE VISUAL VIEW
Creation
Zones are created within the Visual View using the Zone Drawing Mode.
Roofspace Zones & Subfloor Zones are automatically created by Hero when a Ceiling or Floor is changed to have a Roofspace or Subfloor Adjacency respectively.
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.
Don’t Try to Drag-Select all the objects of a Zone and Delete them to Delete a Zone. You shoul select the Zone as described above & then delete it.
ZONES IN THE DATA-GRID
Property | Description | Edited Within |
|---|---|---|
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. | Type Column |
Dwelling | The Parent Dwelling of 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. 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 Hero 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) |
Zone Types
Hero contains the following Zone Types, many of which are exactly the same as the NatHERS Technical Notes definitions with several exceptions.
Zone Type | Description |
|---|---|
Kitchen/Living | Examples: Kitchen, Kitchen/Living, Kitchen/Dining “Any room shown on a plan as a kitchen or a kitchen combined with one or more living areas. This zone must include the main kitchen area and may include a lounge, meals or dining area. |
Living | Examples: Living, Lounge, Dining, Family, Rumpus, Media, Theatre “This is the default zoning for internal zones not covered by any other zone type. |
Bedroom | Examples: Bedroom or Study with Wardrobe “Any room shown on the plan as a bedroom, whether or not it has any built-in wardrobes. |
Day Time | Examples: Laundry or WC or Bathroom with No External Window/Door, Study, Hall, Corridor, Store, Pantry “This is the default zoning for internal zones not covered by any other zone type. |
Night Time | Examples: Ensuite, WIR accessed from Bedroom “This applies to areas that can only be accessed from a bedroom or from a zone, which itself, is only accessed from a bedroom. These include ensuites, walk-in wardrobes, parent’s retreats and WCs accessed from an ensuite.)” |
Unconditioned | Examples: Laundry or Bathroom or WC or Powder, with External Window/Door |
Unconditioned Garage | Examples: Unconditioned Garage |
Conditioned Garage | Examples: Garage with Heating and/or Cooling |
Corridor (Class 2) | Hero decides automatically (based on whether the Corridor Zone has Glazing) as to whether to Simulate the Zone within Chenath as a Special Chenath “Glazed Corridor” Zone, or as Neighbouring Adjacency |
Carpark (Class 2) | Examples: Basement, shared carpark (Class 2 or 4 only) |
Void | The Void Zone Type is used to model a special situation where a Zone resides over Multiple Levels. The Void Zone should be the Upper Zone. Modelling a Zone as a Void means that all of it’s child objects such as Walls, Ceilings & Openings are modelled as a Single Zone within Chenath. |
Special Zones | Description |
|---|---|
Roofspace Zone | A Roofspace Zone automatically created by a Ceiling with a Roofspace Adjacency. Zone Type cannot be changed within Zone Data-Grid |
Subfloor Zone | A Subfloor Zone automatically created by a Floor with a Subfloor Adjacency. Zone Type cannot be changed within Zone Data-Grid |
ROOFSPACE ZONES
A Roofspace Zone is automatically created by Hero whenever a Ceiling is of an Attic Type (which sets the Adjacency Type of the Ceiling to Roofspace).
This Roofspace Zone is modelled as a separate Zone within Chenath to account for the complex interactions of radiation, ventilation & convection within such a space.
Roofspace Zones have two additional attributes beyond normal Zones that users should be aware of: a Shape & a Soffit Floor (and in future customisable Roofspace Walls)
Roofspace Shape
A Roofspace Zone can have several Shapes applied to it to approximate the volume and roof layout of the Zone, including:
Roofspace Shape | Description |
|---|---|
Hip Roof | A Standard Hip Roof where all roof sections slope downwards to the Walls. Default 23 degree roof pitch. Very common in Australian homes particularly for Volume Builders. |
Gable (Ridge-Line N to S & Ridge-Line W to E sub-types) | A Gable Roof that creates a Roofspace Air Volume between the Roof & Ceiling. Default 23 degree roof pitch. Two end walls are created automatically by Hero on the North & South or West & East ends of the Roofspace Zone for N-to-S & W-to-S Gable Roofs respectively. |
Mono-Pitch (creating a Roofspace) | A single pitched roof (default is a North to South 10 degree pitch) similar to a Skillion roof but that explicitly creates a sizeable Roofspace Air Volume between the Ceiling & Roof lines. |
Roofspace Walls
Roofspace Walls for Gable & Mono-Pitch Roofspace Shapes are created automatically by Hero but currently cannot be seen or edited by the User (coming soon). A Hip Roofspace Shape has no external walls in the Roofspace Zone.
Roofspace Soffit Floor
All Roofspaces have an optional Soffit Floor automatically created and shown in the Floor Data-Grid (not shown within Visual View). This Floor is used to allow users to approximate the effects of areas of Roofspace such as Eaves or Overhangs where Heat Transfer from the External Environment into the Roofspace Zone will occur.
The Soffit Floor is shown initially with a 0m2 Area Floor (ie empty) in the Floor Data-Grid with Name “Roofspace 1 Soffit” etc.
To use the Soffit Floor, enter a manual area into the Area Column of the Floor Data-Grid. If you do not enter a non-zero area, then no Soffit will be modelled in the Simulation
The Soffit Floor can have Insulation added to it to reduce Heat Transfer into the space however the Assembly cannot be changed.
Roofspace Ventilation Rates
Each Roofspace Zone can have a variety of Ventilation Rates to approximate the openness & wind flow through the Zone.
These are changed within the Ceiling Data-Grid’s Roofspace Ventilation column. If one Ceiling connected to the Roofspace changes the Ventilation rate then all Ceiling Ventilation columns will update accordingly.
Ventilation Rate | Description |
|---|---|
Min Vent | Attic Roofspace with Minimal Roofspace Ventilation (e.g. no dedicated roofspace ventilation system) |
Nat Vent | Naturally Ventilated Attic Roofspace (e.g. Eave Vents & Whirly Ventilator/Ridge Cap Vents) |
Mech Vent | Mechanically Ventilated Attic Roofspace (e.g. Eave Vents & Powered Roof Ventilator) |
SUBFLOOR ZONES
A Subfloor Zone is automatically created by Hero whenever a Floors is of a Suspended Type with a Subfloor Adjacency Type.
This Subfloor Zone is modelled as a separate Zone within Chenath to account for the complex interactions of radiation, ventilation, ground-layer & convection within such a space.
Subfloor Zones can have customisable Subfloor Walls.
Subfloor Walls
An External Subfloor Wall will be automatically created for each External Wall on the normal Zone above.
Subfloor Walls are shown within the Wall Data-Grid typically with a “SF” prefix to their name.
The initial Total Height of a Subfloor Wall will be the Level Height, with a negative Base Height & a Top Height of 0mm to indicate it is lower than the Level relative height. Heights of Subfloor Walls however can adjusted within the Wall Data-Grid.
The Construction, Insulation, Colour can also be changed within the Wall Data-Grid as per normal walls.
The Wall Data-Grid showing 4 External Subfloor Walls created automatically for a square single Zone on a Level with Height above Ground of 1m (1000mm).
Subfloor Ventilation Rates
Each Subfloor Zone can have a variety of Ventilation Rates to approximate the openness & wind flow through the Zone.
These are changed within the Floor Data-Grid’s Subfloor Ventilation column. If one Floor connected to the Subfloor changes the Ventilation rate then all Floors Ventilation columns will update accordingly.
Ventilation Rate | Description |
|---|---|
Enclosed (Disc.) | A Completely Enclosed Subfloor with Subfloor Wall Ventilation to Minimum NCC Requirements, and No Air-Cavity through any Wall Cavities above into a Roofspace |
Enclosed (Conn) | A Completely Enclosed Subfloor with Subfloor Wall Ventilation to Minimum NCC Requirements, with an Air-Cavity through any Wall Cavities above into a Roofspace |
Open | Additional Ventilation to Subfloor above NCC Requirements |
Very Open | Very well ventilated / highly open subfloor |