Load Design Process
Starting with the Plus sign on the opening menu here are the steps for creating a Load Design only project. The user is encouraged to save frequently throughout the process.
1. Setup Project Defaults and enter any Details available. All items that are not grayed out on this screen except for Wall Thickness can be edited later in the program.
2. Select a Project Theme. This provides defaults options for Building Construction, Zone Types and Room Types. Templates can be accepted as is or edited before proceeding.
3. Select the Location and Weather combination. Use a Built-in locations or import a custom location.
4. Import a building, draw a building with or without a floorplan, or use one of the five built in Building Wizard to create your building. Any of these options can be manually edited after creation.
1. Importing a floorplan – Only one image per a floor can be imported. Please merge multiple images together into a single image with a consistent scale factor. Once the scale ratio for a floor plan is set, changing it will not update any portion of the building that is already drawn.
2. Rooms spanning multiple levels can be created using the Room – Span to Top of Level option.
3. Use the Building 00 line on the menu tree to edit level heights.
5. Edit and apply Internal Loads, setup Airflows, and manage constructions on a room by room basis through the menu tree, or by using the Room Type templates. Room Types and room type assignments can be edited in the menu tree on the left. Building geometries and details such as doors, windows and skylights, and roofs are edited using the tools in the top menu bar located under the Weather,
1. All buildings drawn or created through the building wizard default to flat roofs as created.
2. Complex rooflines such as Sheds, Gables, or Hip roofs that span multiple rooms will require larger upper-level rooms that span multiple rooms. These additional rooms can be either retained or merged into the lower levels rooms below to create multi-height rooms. Review the use of the Multi-Select tool along with Retain Roofline tool under the Room Geometry Category for eliminating internal attic floors.
6. Create Zones – This section allows one or more rooms to be combined into single zones. A single zone regardless of how many rooms it contains, will be used as a single space for HVAC equipment.
1. The Auto Assign options creates one zone for each room. It will not automatically exclude Unconditioned spaces.
2. Zones can be manually created, and rooms manually assigned using either the Manage button or clicking on the plus sign in the image area, or by clicking and holding the left mouse button and dragging the dashed box onto a zone.
3. Leftover or empty zones should be deleted using the Delete Empty Zones button before moving to the next step.
7. Create Site - This section allows additional site objects to be drawn to recreate actual shading arrangement for the target building, and move or rotate the building by selecting a new North orientation.
1. External Energy Generators and External Electrical Equipment are not allowed as part of the Load Design only interface.
8. Select System – Load Design will not perform any calculations without a System assigned to all rooms except those assigned to Unconditioned Space in the Zone tab.
1. Zone Based Systems – will create 1 system for each zone assigned. If there are 10 rooms in a building and each gets a VRF terminal, the System just needs to be selected once and then 10 zones get applied to the system. Creating 10 copies of a zone based and assigning 1 zone to each of them will increase calculation time.
2. System Level Units – These types of systems will create 1 main set of system level coils plus 1 piece of any zone level subcomponents assigned for each zones. System level units can have multiple types of terminal units and different zones can be assigned to each terminal type using different Zone Groups
9. Configure System – System level equipment is edited in this tab. Depending on the equipment chosen there are up to 3 subtabs for Sizing, Components, and Controls.
1. Outdoor Air Control subtab is not available in Load Design as items such as Economizing are not included in the Load Design calculations. This subtab is only available in Energy & Economics interface. Additional System level components such as Heat Exchangers and Series Heat Exchangers can be added but are not included in the load design calculations.
2. Zone level equipment items are only edited in the Configure Zone Equipment Tab. This equipment will only be editable after Zones are assigned to the equipment type.
10. Assign Zones – All Zones that are not listed Unconditioned Spaces must be assigned to a system for the calculations to run. This section uses the same tools that are found in the Create Zones tab for assigning Zones to Systems.
11. Configure Zone Equipment – All Systems with their associated Zones are shown in the left hand tree menu. Edit the Zone level equipment present by clicking on the pencil icon on any Zone Group line.
1. Additional Zone level equipment can be assigned to all zones in a group by highlighting the Zone Group line in the menu tree then adding the Zone level equipment from toolbar.
2. If only some zones need the additional equipment highlight one of those zones and click on the addition tool. The existing Zone Group will be split off into a second zone group. Additional Zones can be moved between Zone Groups using the Zone Group Manager.
3. System level systems can have their Air Terminal Devices edited as well as Zone level equipment adding in this section. This process is done in the same manner as adding Zone level equipment.
12. Plants – Depending on your project systems Plants can be required or not. When moving to the Plants tab a banner will inform you if plants are not necessary. Mandatory Plants can be created Automatically, using a Plant Wizard, or Custom Created.
1. Automated Plants are considered perfectly efficient and size to fit any system.
2. Plant Wizard has multiple plant configuration types available. Once selected they can be customized by adding extra components via the Configure Plants tab. This option also manages the assign loops tab.
3. Custom Plants can be built as desired. Depending on your configuration you may need to assign Some Loops to each other in the Assign Loops tab.
13. Configure Plants – This is where default values can be edited, and additional equipment added. The equipment available for customization will vary depending on each individual loop. Click on the Loop name in the menu tree and the options available will vary.
1. Click the pencil icon on each loop to edit the default properties. The pencil icon opens the subtab list. Any tabs grayed out are not available.
2. Right clicking on menu tree items provides you the option of renaming each loop.
3. Demand Loads and Sequencing of multiple components can be done from the main image area using the two round buttons. These buttons will only function when the equipment can handle the selection. This will create additional subtabs for the loop settings.
14. Assign Loops – This step is not always necessary. Examples of where this step is necessary are a Primary-Secondary Chilled water loop, or Water based chillers that need a cooling tower.
1. This step is done by the Manager button on the bottom of the menu tree. When activated clicking on each loop in the menu tree on the left, a list of assignable loops shows up on the right-hand column with a Plus sign. Equipment that cannot be assigned to a loop does not show up on the right-hand loop.
2. A Scan for Errors button is provided for checking for missing loop assignments before proceeding to the last step.
15. Assign Systems tab – All systems that are not DX based must be assigned to a plant. This tab has an Autoassign button along with a Manager button and a Scan for Errors button.
1. This step is done by the Auto Assign button on the bottom of the menu tree, or it can be done manually through the Manager button.
2. More complex arrangements such as Water-cooled chillers with Primary-Secondary loop, or multiple chiller plant loops will need to have the systems manually assigned.
3. Using the Manager button, as you click on the different line items in the menu tree, the options to assign will dynamically update. Equipment that can be assigned to a loop shows up on the right-hand column with a Plus sign.
4. A Scan for Errors button is provided for checking for missing loop assignments before proceeding to the last step.
16. The Calculate Results tab is reached from the Project Summary button.
1. Click on Project Summary tab. If all tabs have a green checkmark or a yellow circle on the left the alternative is ready to calculate. Yellow circles can be clicked on to provide warning messages. Warnings will not prevent calculations.
2. If any sections have a Red circle on the left that section has an error. Clicking on the Red circle will bring up an error message. Use the arrow on the right of a section to jump to that section.
17. Calculate Results tab. Individual Alternatives can be selected to run. Select all alternatives desired then press the Start Analysis button.
1. A Status light is available for each alternative. Passed indicates a calculation was completed. Failed indicates error prevented calculation. Click on the square under the Errors button to see all error messages.
2. Saving the file after calculations will preserve the results.
3. The Summary Tab will now show the peak cooling and heating size along with the last Simulation Date and Method.
18. Reports tab will provide access to all Load Design Reports and Entered Values Reports. Reports can be viewed in the program or exported.
1. In program results review are obtained using the buttons on the bottom of the report list. The Quick View button only works for one report at a time. Preview works for all multiple reports at a time.
2. Export Information option becomes available after one or more Alternatives and Report Titles are selected from the list. Multiple export formats are available such as pdf, csv, docx, html, txt, jpg, xlsx. If selecting pdf there is an option to export all reports as a single pdf.
3. Once reports are selected for viewing an additional toolbar becomes available underneath the program tabs. These tools cover movement within a report, Zoom, Screen navigation. All buttons have tooltip descriptions if the Show Tooltips checkbox is within Settings – Interface is checked.
4. Use the Document Map Section of the Reports tab to quickly jump between different portions within a document or search for the individual zone or system lines using the text search box.
5. The footer of each report page indicates the Alternative, File Name, Trace 3D+ version number and Calculation date.