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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Ross,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>So if I understand this
correctly you are starting with a thick wall model used for 3d daylighting.
Tracing the exterior geometry is the correct approach for EnergyPlus modeling. The
heat transfer surfaces should be at the exterior face of the wall vs. the interior.
You are correct that the volume EnergyPlus calculates will change based on
where you draw that boundary. Drawing the heat transfer surface at the interior
face of wall, while creating more accurate volumes, introduces bigger issues
such as changing the surface area of the heat transfer surfaces exposed to the
outside air and ground.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Just as you can set the ceiling
height in EnergyPlus, you can also set the zone volume. So if you use tools in
SketchUp to help get this volume, you can manually enter it in your IDF. You
will have to use an IDF or text editor for this vs. the SketchUp Plugin. Note
that if you do this the volume is not dynamic. If you change your zone geometry
EnergyPlus will still use the volume you set earlier. There is a warning when
you run the simulation if the volumes differ drastically, but I’m not
sure what that threshold is. Search for “field: volume” in the link
below to learn more about the volume field.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><a
href="http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus/pdfs/inputoutputreference.pdf">http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus/pdfs/inputoutputreference.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>So, now on to the tools to use
in SketchUp to determine accurate interior volume. If you are using SketchUp 7
one option you have is to make a copy of your zone floors outside of the EnergyPlus
group and then use the offset too. The offset tool icon looks like two arcs
with a red arrow. Click once near the edge of the tool, and then click again
where you want your offset path to be. You can also type a distance after the
initial click. If you select your new face you can right click and choose “entity
info” to view the area of your new face. Multiply that times the height
to get your volume. If you plan to do this on a model that is still changing I would
locate these floor copies geometrically inside of the zone, but not
physically in that group. You can also put the copies on a unique layer so that
you can turn their visibility on and off. In SketchUp 8 you can use that same
approach, or you can extrude the floor to a volume, and make it a group. Now
you can right click to choose “entity info” and it will give you
the volume of the group, assuming it is a clean manifold solid, airtight shape
without extra surfaces or lines. Another option is to use a plugin called the “Joint
Push Pull” plugin that among other things will perform a 3d offset. So if
you have a 10 foot cube. You can offset all walls by 15 inches, and then get
the volume of your new smaller cube (in SketchUp 8). Here is a link to the
plugin, but you may have to register with the site to download the plugin and
see the documentation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><a
href="http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=6708">http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=6708</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Having shown you how you can use
SketchUp to calculate the volume, and manually enter them into the IDF, I want
to point out there are probably better places in the energy model for you to
spend your effort rather than adjusting volumes. For example the effects of the
internal mass in a zone would likely have a great impact on your energy analysis
than minor adjustments to zone volumes. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>I hope this helps, let me know
if you have any additional questions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>David,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>--<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>David Goldwasser, LEED AP<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>National Renewable Energy
Laboratory<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><a
href="mailto:david.goldwasser@nrel.gov"><span style='color:blue'>david.goldwasser@nrel.gov</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div style='border:none;border-left:solid blue 1.5pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 4.0pt'>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>
bldg-sim-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org
[mailto:bldg-sim-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Harding,
Ross<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, October 27, 2010 10:00 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> bldg-sim@lists.onebuilding.org<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Bldg-sim] Wall thickness<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB>Hi All,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB>I am working with energy plus in sketchup
on the quest for one model.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB>What I am trying to do is to trace the
external geometry from a 3d daylighting model and to build my energy plus model
and then apply thicknesses internally afterwards to account for the volume
accurately.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB>I know I can apply the floor to ceiling
height in energy plus, but I am struggling to find where I can apply the wall
thickness without individually changing each co-ordinate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB>Does anyone know if it is possible to
assign a wall thickness specifically to go internally so ensure the internal
volume will be accurate if I trace external walls?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB>Thanks in advance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-GB><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>Kind Regards<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#498871'>Ross Harding</span></b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#498871'>Built Ecology Specialist</span><span lang=EN-AU
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.1in'><span style='font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>WSP House<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.1in'><span style='font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>70 Chancery Lane<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='text-indent:.1in'><span style='font-size:8.0pt;
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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#8CB4A1'>T.</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'> </span><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#8CB4A1'>F.</span><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'> </span><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>+44 20 7314 5111<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#8CB4A1'>M.</span><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:black'>+44 7795 256 549</span><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:
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<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='margin-right:.05in;text-align:right'><span
style='font-size:7.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#8CB4A1'>E.</span><span
style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'> <a
href="mailto:joshua.kates@built-ecology.com">ross.harding@built-ecology.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=right style='margin-right:.05in;text-align:right'><span
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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
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