[Equest-users] Custom Building Zoning

Wed Jan 31 15:08:48 PST 2018

Nick from the past had a few things figured out and I wouldn’t chastise him too much :-).  Nick in the present would add a couple bullets:

  1.  When first tracing a footprint, snap only to CAD
  2.  When tracing zones, I set both CAD and Polygon snaps to have priority (leaving Grid to “no snap”).  I tend to prioritize Polygon (1st) over CAD (2nd) to help ensure I lock to and match with previously defined vertices for the footprint and/or other zones.  Will swap those around or toggle off Polygon snapping where vertices are tight and it makes snapping to CAD difficult however.
  3.  Snap ranges sometimes need tweaking when they aren’t tight enough.  I usually leave alone until I have trouble making a snap happen, then I’ll play with those settings.  Bigger = more time efficient and less chance for human error in missing an intended snap.  Smaller = better accuracy potential but more chance to miss a snap you meant to do.
  4.  The only other inputs of interest in the “Polygon View Properties” dialog are around the grid options, which you want to turn off entirely (as you’ve shown) if you are pulling in CAD for referencing.  Grids are helpful when you need to develop a simple box model and want to save some time from developing/tracing plans in CAD.

I suspect your original situation, where it seemed your CAD snaps were not aligning with the visual endpoint of a line, might be due to overlapping polygon/line endpoints.  If you were to re-open the CAD file and look closely I think you might find more than one “endpoint” around that corner you were focusing in on.  I think that’s what Bruce is referencing with “orphans.”  Another possibility is that you have a stray CAD layer imported and active – you can check and edit the layers turned “on” in the eQuest tracing view with one of the icons in the toolbar.

I haven’t had troubles however manually changing the numbers on the coordinates list and having those “overridden…”  that would be new behavior to my experience.

Hope this helps!

~Nick

[cid:image001.png at 01D39AAF.FA3332D0]
Nick Caton, P.E., BEMP
  Senior Energy Engineer
  Regional Energy Engineering Manager
  Energy and Sustainability Services
  Schneider Electric

D  913.564.6361
M  785.410.3317
F  913.564.6380
E  nicholas.caton at schneider-electric.com<mailto:nicholas.caton at schneider-electric.com>

15200 Santa Fe Trail Drive
Suite 204
Lenexa, KS 66219
United States

[cid:image002.png at 01D39AAF.FA3332D0]

From: Equest-users [mailto:equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of Bruce Easterbrook via Equest-users
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2018 1:35 PM
To: Faisal Sharif <fisharif at gmail.com>; equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org
Subject: Re: [Equest-users] Custom Building Zoning

I always dealt with polygons in the wire frame view so I could see visually what I was selecting.  Even that is deceiving.  It is hard to explain but a polygon has direction also.  A polygon, say defining a wall between 2 areas, will have a set of coordinates in one area but have the same numerical values but different order and possibly sign when referenced in the other area.
I played with this when deleting a zone and then changing an common interior wall to an exterior wall.  It was a brutal conceptual challenge and I do just about anything to avoid playing with polygons.  Again you need to keep track of all the vertices.
I don't think you need to go there with what your problem is.  You haven't snapped accurately to some vertices when inputting your CAD drawing.  You have some floating orphans in there.  eQuest will make polygons out of these tiny spaces.  If it runs it won't run properly.  My opinion is you need to deal with it at the CAD input stage right where you have the problem.  You also need to have a simple CAD layer to create a simple wire frame in eQuest.  Any CAD drawing you get has way too much information on it and way too many things to snap to at a corner.  You could take the drawing and mark the centre lines of all the walls you want to use for zones and give them points. +/- 1" is fine to the model.  Your CAD input has to be consistent and exact to .01.
I think it would be faster if you start over than try to get into the polygon thing.  With all the models I have done I have blown a 1,000 hours easy learning the hard way.  So even in 2018 I still follow my advice in the 2 emails.  Even 1 orphan missed will come back to haunt you later.
I put this back on the list, it is important and there is a ton of expertise there if I have missed anything and the current archive only seems to go back to 2015.
Bruce

On 1/31/2018 11:37 AM, Faisal Sharif wrote:
Good Morning Bruce

Thank you so much for the useful advices... I had reviewed both emails ... appreciate y'r time

I am looking for a reference regarding the Polygon View Properties .. I still do not understand the concept of the inputs
I don't have a pre-experience with AutoCAD or similar ... I do need to understand what are those entries all about.
Unfortunately; there is no help in R-click ... and can't find much in the guidelines pdf files

[Inline              image 1]

Kind
Regards,

Faisal Ibrahim Sharif

On Wed, Jan 31, 2018 at 11:13 AM, Bruce Easterbrook <bruce5 at bellnet.ca<mailto:bruce5 at bellnet.ca>> wrote:
Morning Faisal,
I couldn't search back far enough in the equest archives but found this in mine from 2010.
It may be a little more appropriate to your problem.  I think between the 2 that you may clue into what is causing your problem.  I always snap to CAD as you mentioned but I always found a few vertices not exactly the same and with my plot and vertices map adjust then immediately.  It seemed to prevent your last problem.
Bruce Easterbrook P.Eng.
Abode Engineering
Subject: Re: eQuest walk through tutorial, advice to beginners

From: Bruce Easterbrook <bruce5 at bellnet.ca><mailto:bruce5 at bellnet.ca>

Date: 10/22/2010 2:14 PM

To: Jose.L.Correa at jci.com<mailto:Jose.L.Correa at jci.com>, "equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org"<mailto:equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org> <equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org><mailto:equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org>

  There are tutorials which come with the eQuest program.  Go to your Document folder on your computer, you will see eQuest 3-6x Data, and eQuest 3-6x Projects.  Go into the eQuest 3-6x Data folder  and you will see a Tutorials folder, there are 3 in the All folder, also in the DetailedUI folder there is information on the Detailed Simulation Reports, it explains the SIM output.
  After that you just have to start a project, work through it and learn.  I'm not sure which of my replies you read but do lots of "save as" on your model so you don't lose a lot of input information and always have a back up file.  Believe me when I say you will need it/them many times.  Stay in the wizards as much as possible.  Ignore the warnings about losing data when you go back into the wizard after you are done.  Just don't input any information in the detailed edit and then you have nothing to lose.  I sit at this point for a long time, at the finish point of the wizards, and keep going back into them and completing/tuning my model.  Start simple, leave windows to last, just put in one kind and do % of wall until your model is built and running.  Use the Autocad drawing file option and be very careful inputting your vertices, they have to be exact.  Also use exact coordinates, start your building at 0,0.  Enter your vertices in a counter clockwise fashion.  I add in all the intersection points on the perimeter as well when doing the shell.  That way you can snap to them later when you are doing your interior zones.  I normally copy the original cad file and then use a copy to simplify it to make it easier to use.  I make a new layer and put my simplification on it.  I also print it out and mark all the vertices on the plot so I can check them as I enter them.  Get the building structure in first, let everything else default, get the program running with no major building errors.  And get a back-up ASAP!  Then start working on your systems.  Each time you finish a section finish the wizard, run a simulation, fix important errors, many you can ignore and with experience you will know which ones.  Save a copy, and go back into the wizard and do another section.  Round and round.  Windows last.
  It is a rough learning curve but worth it.  eQuest is an excellent program once you learn how to use it.  The key is not to jump in with both feet, ie input an entire building, systems, windows, everything in one go.  It won't go.  There is also a 99% chance eQuest will just freeze and you will lose your input.  You can blow many days to weeks of work and not have a clue what the error was that crashed eQuest.  It is impossible to get an error free input so don't try.
    The next important resource is your Projects folder, the BDL file, and the INP file.  You can open both with a text editor.  If things aren't running you can get valuable clues from the BDL file as to what eQuest was processing when it kicked out.  If it runs through it will create the INP file, also good for checking for inconsistencies.  The other important file is the PD2, that is your wizard input.  Last but not least, if your simulation runs, which is processing the INP file you will get the SIM file which can also be opened with a text editor.
  There may be a few errors/gaps in this response, I have not had eQuest open in a month or 2 and this is off the top of my head.  Hopefully if anything is glaring one of my fellow modellers will point it out.
Good Luck and have lots of patience.
Bruce Easterbrook P.Eng.
Abode Engineering

On 22/10/2010 12:40 PM, Jose.L.Correa at jci.com<mailto:Jose.L.Correa at jci.com> wrote:

Hi Bruce,

I am new to eQuest and wonder if you can send me the walkthrough tutorial, or any other material, you talked about in the eQuest blog

Thank you,

José Luis

On 1/30/2018 4:37 PM, Faisal Sharif via Equest-users wrote:
Hi,

I am facing errors when trying to simulate the energy model
A CAD file is imported
When trying to review the vertices ... I find many vertices are not aligned with each other
trying to tune a vertice, say for x coordinate 15.94 to 15.96 to match the previous vertice ... the vertice shift to totally different location
I only make snapping on the CAD file to custom the zones ...
Not sure where the problem is exactly coming from ..

the other issue is about the CAD Drawing Properties  AND the Polygon View Properties
I can't find much details about how to use or adjust in the eQuest reference

This became as persistence problem when importing a CAD File ... which hider my efforts to perform simulation

R
egards,

Faisal  Sharif

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