Sefaira Getting Started Guide August 22, 2014 Empowering designers to deliver high-performance buildings Getting Started Guide 2 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Table of Contents Sefaira Getting Started Guide Welcome to Sefaira 3 Knowledgebase & Support 5 First Time Login 6 Sefaira for SketchUp Installing Sefaira for SketchUp 8 Real Time Analysis for SketchUp 9 Sefaira for SketchUp Modeling Guidelines 12 Sefaira for Revit Installing Sefaira for Revit 17 Real Time Analysis for Revit 18 Sefaira For Revit Modeling Guidelines 19 Sefaira Web Application Starting a Sefaira Project 23 Explore Strategies and Bundles 27 Generate Reports 28 Getting Started Guide 3 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Welcome to Sefaira Sefaira Plugin for SketchUp & Revit Inside your design environment Sefaira provides performance analysis where you need it: inside the 3D modeling environment. Sefaira interprets models on the fly, delivering results while you design. Incredibly intuitive Sefaira makes it easy to understand how a design is performing, and helps you connect the dots between geometry, energy use, and potential improvements. No energy modeling expertise is needed. Combining energy & daylighting The Sefaira Plugin provides constant feedback on both energy & daylighting metrics as you work. This frees you to test unlimited design options without worrying about the time or cost of analysis. Cutting edge daylight analysis With DAYSIM and Radiance-based rapid daylight analysis, gain rapid insight into the daylight performance of your buildings while you design. Visualize Daylight Use daylight visualization to improve daylight distribution and communicate with clients. Available metrics include Daylight Autonomy, Daylight Factor, and time-of-day visualizations. Getting Started Guide 4 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Sefaira Web Application Integrates with Revit & SketchUp Integrate with your favorite design tools by quickly uploading existing models. Compare design options Quickly compare multiple design options and iterations to find the best designs, explore trade-offs between options, and see whether you’re heading in the right direction. Use comparisons to set the project on the right track early, refine the design as it progresses, and test the effects of design changes (including value engineering) in the later stages. Find the best design strategies Sefaira’s industry leading Strategies and Bundles framework helps you identify the design strategies that will have the biggest impact on performance, so you can focus on the Strategies that matter most, and find the combinations (“Bundles”) that deliver breakthrough performance. Parametric Analysis Sefaira’s Response Curves can be used to optimize orientation, glazing ratios, shading devices, thermal mass, R-values, and everything in between within seconds. Collaborate with your team With all your sustainability data in one place, collaboration within your practice and external consultants has never been easier. Add as many relevant team members to your chosen project as you want. Getting Started Guide 5 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Knowledgebase & Support Our online knowledgebase at support.sefaira.com is the first place to look for training, support, and education. We have a number of great articles and video tutorials to help you with getting started and understanding the inputs/outputs for your energy analyses. You can also access the knowledgebase at anytime while in Sefaira Concept (1) or by clicking ‘Help’which allows you to quickly search the knowledgebase (2). If you still need help after searching the knowdelge base you can contact support by clicking ‘None of these are helpful - get in touch’ (3) or by emailing [email protected]. Sefaira Blog Video tutorials, product updates, case studies, and more can be found on the Sefaira Blog. Weekly Webinars We hold a webinar at 12pm Eastern Standard Time (New York) every Tuesday, where one of our support engineers can address any questions on how to use Sefaira or how to interpret analysis results. Sign up here. Getting Started Guide 6 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. First Time Login The following browsers can be used to access Sefaira web application: Google Chrome Safari Internet Explorer 9+ Login at apps.sefaira.com, using the temporary password you received via email from a Sefaira customer success engineer. To change your password, open the drop down menu under your user-name, and select Account Management to edit profile details (1). Change your password by entering the temporary password, and then your new password (2). What’s next? Depending on which platform you use, proceed to the SketchUp plugin install or the Revit plugin install... Sefaira for SketchUp Installing the Plugin Understanding the Real Time Analysis Interface Modeling Guidelines Getting Started Guide 8 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Installing Sefaira for SketchUp Download and install the plugin from plugin.sefaira.com Run the installer, agree to the terms, and start or restart SketchUp, the plugin will load automatically when sketchup is launched. Enter your email and password used for Sefaira web application to login to Sefaira for SketchUp plugin. SketchUp Versions Supported: 2013 & 2014 2013 & 2014 One of the following browsers must be installed on the machine: z Internet Explorer (for basic entity tagging only) z Internet Explorer 9 (for entity tagging and Real Time Analysis) z Internet Explorer 10+ (for all features: entity tagging, Real Time Analysis, and Daylighting Visualizations) z Safari (for all features: entity tagging, Real Time Analysis, and Daylighting Visualizations) What’s next? Our RTA for SketchUp will give you an overview of the plugin interface... Getting Started Guide 9 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Real Time Analysis for SketchUp Understanding the RTA Interface... A The Performance Dashboard plugin window sits right inside SketchUp and will open automatically when SketchUp opens. B Opens Daylight Visualization. C Create & Manage Design Iterations. (Available in SketchUp 2014 only) D Establish a Baseline. E Investigate Element Performance Graph. F Check Entity Types assigned. 1 Switch Units and check Assumptions or leave feedback. 2 ‘Upload to Sefaira’ allows you to add designs to new and existing projects in the web application, directly from inside the plugin. 3 Choose a building type of either Office, Residential, School, Healthcare or Laboratory. 4 Enter a location, Sefaira supports any location in the world. 5 Energy Use Intensity, (energy use per unit area), compared with the 2030 Challenge target for your building type & location. 6 Energy Breakdown shows what’s driving energy use in your design. 7 Daylighting is % of floor area that is “well lit” (Spatial Daylight Autonomy), “glare” (Annual Sunlight Exposure), and “underlight”. 8 History Graph shows whether design changes are moving energy & daylight numbers in the right direction. A - Performance Dashboard Getting Started Guide 10 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. B - Daylight Visualization 1 View multiple daylight metrics, such as daylight levels, at a given time: annual availability of good daylight (spatial daylight autonomy), annual risk of glare (annual sunlight exposure), as well as daylight factor 2 Control which floor plates you wish to view the results. 3 Legend shows corresponding colors to their value 4 Adjust the illumination threshold for the Spatial Daylight Autonomy visualization or if viewing Time of Day, set day and hour C - Design Iterations (Available for SU2014 only) Once you create or discover a design or an idea that you find interesting, create a project (1) & save that design as an iteration under the project (2). Once you save the iteration, the SketchUp file as well as associated properties (e.g. insulation values, glazing properties, etc.) are saved under your account on Sefaira’s cloud. This will allow you to retrieve this iteration at a later stage in the design process (3) assuming you want to continue designing from this iteration, or retrieve it later for comparing against other iterations. D - Baseline 1 Chose from either a Standard Baseline, includes default, ASHRAE 90.1 and Part L, or adjust the sliders to create your own custom baseline which can be recalled later on to quickly reapply to other projects. 2 Clicking on the slider will show the exact parameter value and units. 3 Daylighting Based Controls account for the impact of good daylight on your buildings lighting energy use. 4 Click to return to the Performance Dashboard. Getting Started Guide 11 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. E - Element Performance Graph The Element Performance Graph shows which building elements are responsible for heating and cooling loads. Red flows indicate negative contribution towards either the heating (on the left) or cooling (on the right) loads. Green flows indicate positive contributions towards either heating or cooling loads. Hovering the mouse over any of the elements will allow you to see the exact values of those loads, and clicking on the elements allows you to adjust the baseline proprieties which corresponded to the load. F - Entity Palette 1 In the background, as you’re modeling, Sefaira for SketchUp is automatically assigning entity types to planes. To display the assigned entity types, click ‘Show Entity Types’. 2 If you need to change an entity type, select the plane and from the drop down choose the correct entity type. You can change multiple planes at a time. 3 Show Normals will display planes not facing in the proper orientation in red. Select the plane and right click to reverse the plane face. Shading entity types can face any direction. What’s next? Refer to the Sefaira for SketchUp Modeling Guidelines to ensure your model is ready for Sefaira Web App Getting Started Guide 12 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Sefaira for SketchUp Modeling Guidelines Before You Begin Modeling... Keep in mind that the goal is to create a conceptual model -- your geometry can be very simple in order to run an effective energy analysis. Focus on creating the “outer shell” of your building with representative glazing; there is no need to model details such as window mullions, changes in materiality, wall/floor thicknesses, or interior walls. 1. Draw the Ground Floor Plane Start by drawing your building’s basic footprint at ground level; this plane is critical for the massing identification and upload. If you are using an existing 3D model as a starting point, sketch the outer perimeter of the ground floor at Z=0. 2. Extrude the Ground Plane to the Building’s Full Height This extrusion will approximate the building envelope. “Keep it simple” should be the theme for your conceptual massing. Each plane within this model will get its own set of heat transfer calculations, so the fewer the planes the faster the calculation. It is not necessary to model wall finishes, doors, mullions or molding. 3. Refine the Building’s Envelope Add any geometry that has significant effect on the building’s overall volume and exterior surface area. Small changes to the envelope, such as extrusions less than a foot, can be ignored. Add major extrusions and recesses Create angled walls and pitched roofs. Getting Started Guide 13 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. 4. Add Floors Model single-plane floor plates. If you have identical floors with a constant floor-to-floor height (i.e. an office tower), then the floors can be automatically massed in Sefaira Web App. 5. Add Glazing Draw in glazing planes and make them transparent; Sefaira’s parser interprets any material that has less than 100% opacity as glazing. TIP: You can test glazing ratios in Sefaira and optimize them for cost and energy savings. 6. Add Shading Devices Model shading devices and other elements of your design that cast a shadow on your building -- such as balconies, roof overhangs. TIP: You can also optimize different sizes, types, and orientations of shading devices across a facade in Sefaira Web App. 7. Create Contextual Massings Sefaira calculates shadows cast from the site context. Model the context buildings without floor plates, glazing, or any articulation -- simple block volumes are sufficient. Make sure each building is separated from your massing by a minimum of 15cm (6in), and that all ground floor planes are at Z=0. TIP: To add similar floors, the easiest method is to copy the ground floor plane up the distance of the floor-to-floor height. Before copying though, make sure to ‘Tag as Floor’ by selecting the floor plane and right clicking TIP: Contextual Masses planes should all have an entity type of shading. Shading planes affect your building’s heat and light gain but are not a part of the insulated envelope. Getting Started Guide 14 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. 10. Clean Up Model and Check Total Plane Count z Make sure all layers are turned on and unhide any hidden geometry. z Delete any models or planes that are not part of your project and its context. z Check that your total plane count is below 3,000. (1,500 planes is our recommended limit) z Purge the entire model of unused entities by going to window/model info(1), Statistics (2), then click Purge unused (3). 9. Make Sure Exterior Surfaces Face Outward Check that normals are correctly oriented by clicking ‘Show Normals’ (1) in the Sefaira plugin . Select any red planes (2), (don’t worry about shading planes) right click and select ‘Reverse Faces’ (3). 8. Define Entity Types in the Model In the plugin click ‘Show Entities’(1). Sefaira’s parser will automatically assign entity types to each plane. If a plane is tagged incorrectly, select it and change its entity type in the plugin. TIP: Floor entities will form the basis for lighting, plug and occupancy calculations while glazing entities are needed to have any daylighting feedback. Getting Started Guide 15 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. 11. Direct Upload to Web Application Sefaira for SketchUp includes an ‘Upload to Sefaira’ feature, which allows you to add designs to new and existing projects in the web application, directly from inside the plugin. Whenever your design is ready, select Upload to Sefaira (1). This will start the process of uploading your model. It should only take a few moments before you are prompted to continue to Sefaira’s Web App(2). A browser window will open giving you the option to either create a new project with this model, or add to an existing project (3). If this is your first time creating a project, refer to page 23 on starting a project in the web application. What’s next? Check out Starting a Sefaira Project to begin using Sefaira Web App... Sefaira for Revit Installing the Plugin Understanding the Real Time Analysis Interface Modeling Guidelines Getting Started Guide 17 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Installing Sefaira for Revit Download and install the plugin from revit.sefaira.com Make sure Revit is closed before clicking Next on the Sefaira for Revit installer. Once finished, open Revit and the plugin will be listed in the Add-ins section. Enter your email and password used for Sefaira web application to login to Sefaira for Revit Plugin. Revit Versions Supported: One of the following browsers must be installed on the machine: z Internet Explorer 9 z Internet Explorer 10+ (for Daylighting Visualizations ) What’s next? Our RTA for Revit will give you an overview of the plugin interface... Getting Started Guide 18 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Real Time Analysis for Revit Understanding the RTA Interface... 1 View multiple daylight metrics such as daylight levels at a given time, annual availability of good daylight (spatial daylight autonomy), annual risk of glare (annual sunlight exposure), as well as daylight factor. 2 Control which floor plates you wish to view the results for. 3 Legend shows corresponding colors to their value. 4 Adjust the illumination threshold for the Spatial Daylight Autonomy visualization or if viewing time of Day, set day and hour. 5 After making changes to the model, click ‘Refresh Visualization’ to update. A - Daylight Visualization A Opens Daylight Visualization. B Generate Sefaira Views to visualize how Sefaira interprets your Revit model. C Direct upload to Sefaira Web App. (See Sefaira For Revit Modeling Guidelines for more information on B&C) Getting Started Guide 19 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Keep In Mind While You Model... Sefaira for Revit uses information from elements built within Wall, Floor, Window, Curtain Wall and Roof families to generate an energy analysis. Other family categories will be ignored (e.g. Generic Models, Mass, Structure, Furniture, etc.). We focus on these elements as they are most important in providing you a good indication of sustainability early in your design process, even before you’ve thought through the more detailed aspects of your building. The following are NOT supported by Sefaira for Revit at this time: Sefaira For Revit Modeling Guidelines 1. Generating Sefaira 3D Views z Floors, Walls, Windows, or Curtain Walls created using Revit’s ‘Model In-Place’ tool. (NOTE: We do support instances and families from Revit’s default library, as well as elements created using the ‘Model-by-Face’ tools in the ‘Massing & Site’ dialogue.) z Models that include context buildings. z Dedicated shading devices. (Self-shading from walls and roofs is supported) z Design Options and Phases. When you press “Generate Sefaira View” button on Sefaira for Revit (1), Sefaira automatically creates five different views of how your model will be interpreted by Sefaira (2). The suggested workflow will help you quickly prepare your model to be uploaded to Sefaira Web App. Getting Started Guide 20 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. In view 1, the default 3D view, we can see the full model. View 2 is the Sefaira All Elements view, which has just the elements Sefaira will use for analysis. Since we currently have elements outside the building envelope this model needs a few revisions before uploading. 2. Compare Overall Views 3. Check the Floors View To ensure a proper analysis, all floors outside the building envelope need to be ignored. Select floors as shown in the example in red (1). Next, in the instance parameters properties, tick the check box for ‘Ignore for Sefaira’ (2). NOTE: The ‘Ignore for Sefaira’ parameter will only show for elements built within Wall, Floor, Window, Curtain Wall and Roof families. Additionally the parameter will only show after ‘Generate Sefaira Views’ has been run. 4. Check the Walls View Sefaira for Revit only includes walls that have their type function set to exterior. All highlighted walls in view 4 need to be changed to any other function type but exterior. View 5 is an updated view showing the walls after the function type has been corrected. You could also use the ‘Ignore for Sefaira’ as discussed in the previous step. TIP: Ignore all Wall, Floor, Window, Curtain Wall and Roof elements contained within design options, demolation or temporary phasing to ensure these elements are not anaylzed. Getting Started Guide 21 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Sefaira for Revit requires your model to have at least one roof. Make sure all roofs are modeled as a roof system family, and not as a floor or in-place mass. Also check the glazing view that no interior walls are being modeled as curtain walls. If an interior wall is a curtain wall, make sure to tick ‘Ignore for Sefaira’ in the instance parameters. 5. Check Roof and Glazing View 6. Refresh All Element Views During any step of this process you can repeat step one to create element views. Sefaira will overwrite any previously generated Sefaira views reflecting any changes made along the way. After these steps have been completed, make sure to save the model before uploading to Sefaira Web App. 7. Upload to Sefaira Concept The final step is to upload the model to the web application. Click Upload to Sefaira (1). The process should only take a few moments, when completed, the green text confirming your upload was successful will display with a web link. Clicking the link will automatically direct you to Sefaira Web App (2). If for any reason your web link does not appear Please contact [email protected]. What’s next? Check out Starting a Sefaira Project to begin using Sefaira Web App Sefaira Web Application Starting a Sefaira Project Response Curves Explore Strategies and Bundles Generate Reports Getting Started Guide 23 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. 1. New Project Starting a Sefaira Project If you have not previously installed the plugins, you can do so by clicking on either the Revit or SketchUp buttons. You can also refer to the Installing Sefaira for SketchUp or Installing Sefaira for Revit guides. While Sefaira’s Real Time Analysis plugins allows for rapid geometric design iterations and a highly visual energy analysis including Daylighting Visualization, with the Sefaira Web App you gain a higher level of control over baseline parameters and the ability to utilize response curves to create strategies and bundles to further optimize your RTA geometric iterations. The Sefaira Web App also allows you to quickly compare multiple mass options against each other. OR Sefaira Web App Refer to either the Upload from SketchUp Plugin or the Upload From Revit Plugin to upload a model to the web app. Getting Started Guide 24 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. 2. Space Uses Once the SketchUp model is uploaded, a Space Uses window will appear. Here you can define the ‘Use Settings’ , ‘Use Loads’, ‘Thermal Zones’ and ‘HVAC Settings’. If you do not have detailed information for each input, you can select a standard default setting from the ‘Use Type’ dropdown menu. The defaults are pre-populated with values, allowing you to quickly complete this step. Click ‘Save’ to proceed. You can add as many space uses as you wish to your massing with the ‘+ Add Use’ button. For example, your massing may be 80% office and 20% retail. Space Uses Overview A Add a new use, if the building has multiple use types. B Set the percentage of massing. For multiple uses, in order to proceed, the total percentage of massing must equal 100%. C Select a default ‘Use Type’ to get pre- populated values. D The maximum number of occupants in the space use. E Select the installed lighting power density (W/m2). F Select the rated plug load power density (W/m2) of each hour of the day. G An advanced feature whereby core thermal zones receive no solar gain. H The cooling and heating setpoints for HVAC systems. I Tick if the use type has a mechanical heating/cooling system in place. J Diversity factors represents the percentage of occupancy. Getting Started Guide 25 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. 3. Project Home Page Your project is now saved. You will be transferred to your project ‘Home page’. Project Home Page Overview A Space Uses. Here you can alter the Space Use data previously entered, by hovering above the title and selecting the pencil icon. B The Tariff is prepopulated with default values. You can alter them by hovering above the title and selecting the pencil icon. C The Resource Mix determines the carbon intensity of your project and is prepopulated with default values. You can alter them by hovering above the title and selecting the pencil icon. D ‘Manage Team’ lets you Add new members to the project for collaboration purposes. E A weather file has been assigned based on your site location. You can alter the weather file by hovering above the title and selecting the pencil icon. F ‘Action’ button, enables you to Compare Concepts, Clone Concepts, Delete Concepts and Clear Selection. G Massing 1 concepts: Click to view concept and begin analysis. Getting Started Guide 26 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. 4. Concept Dimensions Run Analysis To begin exploring different design strategies, click Baseline Concept. There are four Concept dimensions: z Renewables z Water Fixtures z Envelope z HVAC Each variable is prepopulated with a default value, so immediate analysis is possible. However, you can alter these values to suit your project requirements. Concept Dimensions Overview A Strategy Grid: Where your baseline and strategies results will be displayed. B ‘New Strategy’ button enables you to investigate independent strategies without affecting your baseline concept. C ‘Add Result’ drop-down enables you to add additional results to the strategy grid. The order of the results can also be customized. D Baseline Concept building inputs. Each input is prepopulated with a standard default value, so immediate analysis is possible. However, you can alter the values by adjusting the slider or drop-down to suit your project requirements. Getting Started Guide 27 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Response Curves 1. What are Response Curves The Sefaira Web App has the capability of producing response curves which will help you select optimal values to build strategies. Response curves help you quickly find the optimal R or U values for walls, roofs, and floors, or fine tune the building orientation without adjusting the model, or discover the perfect length for shading for a particular facade. These are just a few examples of the information response curves can provide. To run a response curve, hover above the variable you are interested in (1). A small graph icon will appear (2). Click on the icon. Once you have clicked the graph icon, the response curve feature will appear. You can now begin your analysis (3). 1. Response Curve Overview 1. Select the range 2. Select the number of steps (1-10) you want the graph to display. Steps is the number of simulations the response curve will run. 3. Select up to two outputs 4. Response curve Getting Started Guide 28 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Explore Strategies and Bundles 1. Create a New Strategy A strategy is a method of investigating the impact of a single (or multiple) variables relative to the baseline concept. To create a new strategy, click on the ‘New Strategy’ icon. 2. Pick a Strategy A strategy popup box will appear. Enter the strategy’s name and select the purple checkmarks next to building variables to add them to the strategy. Hit save when completed. 3. Edit the Strategy The new strategy will appear under the Baseline Concept. Here you can make alterations to your selected variables by hovering and clicking the pencil icon. 4. Save & Run Analysis Once you are satisfied with your strategies and bundles , hit ‘Save’ and then hit ‘Run Analysis’ to view the results. 5. Create Bundles You can combine a number of strategies together to create ‘bundles’. This feature allow you to see how the combination of strategies affect the overall performance of your design. To create a bundle, drag the strategies from the list and drop them in the bundle box. TIPS: Whenever you want to investigate a new design strategy, we recommend you do this by adding a ‘New Strategy’. This way you will avoid manipulating your baseline concept. Getting Started Guide 29 Copyright ©2014 Sefaira Ltd. Generate Reports 1. Baseline Graphs 2. Reports 3. Comparison Report At the bottom of the page, you can independently export different graph results to a pdf or excel file. You can do this by clicking the graph you are particularly interested in, and clicking the excel or pdf icons on the top right. Once you are satisfied with your analysis, Sefaira Concept enables you to produce detailed illustrated reports. You can do this by clicking the ‘Report’ tab on the left hand side. To review all charts related to your Baseline Concept, select the ‘view report’ link. Where you have multiple concepts, Concept enables you to create comparison reports. You can do this by going back to the project home page, selecting the concepts you are interested in, clicking the ‘Action’ tool bar and selecting ‘Compare Concepts’ button. A pop-up box will appear asking you to select the comparisons you are interested in.