Download: Revit Space Tag.rfa (can be used if your Revit model template doesn't have a family for Space Tags)

The detection in CAMEL⁺Cnect relies on using Revit Spaces as a basis for defining the CAMEL⁺ Rooms boundaries.

As such, Revit Spaces need to be set up in your Revit model before you can start the CAMEL⁺Cnect workflow. A brief guide for this will be provided below. For further detail, refer to the Autodesk Revit help documentation.

1. Revit Spaces are typically added to the Mechanical or MEP Revit model, rather than directly into the Architectural Revit model. If you haven’t already, we recommend setting up a Mechanical or MEP model so that you have greater control, and then link in the Architectural model.

   Ensure that the linked architectural model is set to have Room Bounding enabled. To do this, select the linked model, click Edit Type in the Properties pane, and tick the Room Bounding box under the Constraints heading. This will allow you to place Spaces based on the rooms set up in the architectural model.

   Figure 1: Enabling Room Bounding on the Linked Architectural Model

   Ensure that the levels are set up in your Mechanical or MEP Revit model (eg. Copy/Monitored from the Architectural Model, as these are used for geometry detection in CAMEL⁺Cnect. Ensure that the Roof Level is also set up as well as all Floor Levels within the building.

2. To place Revit Spaces, navigate to the Analyze tab in Revit and click the Space button.

   Figure 2: Accessing the button to place Revit Spaces

   Note that if you try to add a Space to an Architectural Revit model, you may find that there is no Space Tag family loaded in the model template. If this is the case, an explorer window will appear asking you to point Revit to the Space Tag family you want to use.

3. You can place individual Spaces manually, or click the Place Spaces Automatically button to places in all closed and bounded areas on the current level.

   Figure 3: Placing Spaces Automatically

4. Once all your Spaces have been created, can click the Space Naming button under the Analyze tab. This will copy the names and numbers from the rooms set up in the architectural model and automatically assign them to the associated Spaces.

   Figure 4: Copying the Room Names and Numbers for the Architectural Model

5. You can subdivide the Spaces using Space Separation Lines to create the required HVAC zoning for your load calculation. To do this, click the Space Separator button under the Analyze tab in Revit. Note that each Revit Space will represent a Room in CAMEL⁺.

   Figure 5: Adding Space Separation Lines to suit the required HVAC Zoning

 

The Project Setup input screen contains several project-wide parameters that should be configured before proceeding further with the CAMEL⁺Cnect workflow.

Select your CAMEL⁺ Company Name from the dropdown list. This will be the Company Account that your project is exported to at the end of the CAMEL⁺Cnect workflow.

Specify your Project Title using the 3 available fields (in line with the Project Title format in CAMEL⁺).

Specify your Building Rotation. This functions the same way as the Building Rotation in CAMEL⁺ and will be exported along with your building geometry to CAMEL⁺ at the end of the workflow. The Building Rotation angle is defined as the clockwise rotation angle from True North to Building North. The True North arrow shown here in CAMEL⁺Cnect should match the orientation of the True North arrow shown on your Floor Plan in Revit.

Select any Linked Models that contain relevant building geometry information that you want CAMEL⁺Cnect to detect.

Select which levels you would like to consider for the CAMEL⁺Cnect workflow. De-select any levels that you want to exclude for your load calculation to speed up the process.

You can also specify the Upper Limit of the rooms on each level by selecting the floor/roof level above.

Specify a width/height tolerance in mm for the Window Type detection for the purposes of grouping windows with similar dimensions. The intention of this feature is to reduce the required number of Window Types (may be particularly useful for large projects).

The AHU and Zone Management is where you create your AHU, Zone and Room structure. It features a Tree Structure layout with much of the same functionality as the one in CAMEL⁺, and a colour-coded Preview window of your floor layout(s).

AHUs can be created by clicking the + button next to an existing AHU. The new AHU will be created with the same System Type as the existing AHU. You can click the button repeatedly to create multiple AHUs at the start of your workflow.

To edit the properties of an AHU, click the AHU on the Tree Structure pane and click the A Button to switch to the AHU Single View.

Here you can change the System Type for the selected AHU, as well as the Room Design Conditions. If you would like to create multiple zones under each AHU, you will need to select a System Type that is compatible with multiple zones (as is the case in CAMEL⁺).

Input of the Room Design Conditions can be skipped here and entered in CAMEL⁺ if desired. You can change the selected AHU via the AHU Dropdown list.

If an AHU has a System Type that is compatible with multiple zones, you will be able to add additional zones using the + button next to the existing Zone.

Both AHUs and Zones can be deleted by Right Clicking them in the Tree Structure pane and then clicking the Delete option. Note that there must be at least one Zone per AHU, and at least one AHU in the project.

Rooms can be assigned to any Zone under an AHU by either one of the two following methods:

1. Click the Zone you want to assign rooms to on the Tree Structure pane and then click the Assign Rooms button above the Preview window. You will then be able to click on all the rooms in the preview window that you would like to assign to that Zone. When you are finished making your selection of rooms to assign, click the green tick in the header bar above the Preview window.
   Figure 4: Using the Assign Rooms button
2. Alternatively, rooms can be assigned to zones by selecting one or more rooms in the Preview pane, right clicking within in the pane, and then selecting which AHU/Zone to assign the rooms to in the menus that appear. Multiple rooms can be selected in the Preview pane by holding down the Ctrl key and Left Clicking each room.
   Figure 5: Assigning Rooms using the Preview Pane Right Click Method

The Level shown in the Preview pane can be changed at any time (including while using the Assign Rooms button) by selecting a new level from the dropdown list in the top right corner of the window.

Both AHUs and Rooms can be renamed by Right Clicking them in the Tree Structure pane and then clicking the Rename option.

Any rooms that aren't assigned to AHUs/Zones will automatically be assigned as Unconditioned Rooms upon clicking the Save button at the end of the workflow in this window (a warning prompt will be displayed to this effect). Press Continue to confirm assigning the remaining unassigned rooms as Unconditioned Rooms, and then be sure to click the Save button again to confirm all changes on this input screen.

Unconditioned Rooms will be ignored for the remainder of the CAMEL⁺Cnect workflow and will not be exported to CAMEL⁺.

 

 

This input screen is divided into two tabs: The Wall & Roof Types tab, and the Window Types tab. Each of these comprise the list of Wall Types and Window Types that will be exported to CAMEL⁺.

All Wall and Roof Types detected in the Revit model will be shown in a list under the Detected Wall/Roof Types heading. A separate Wall/Roof Type will be shown for each Revit Type under each Revit Family.

By default, the Detected Wall/Roof Types list will only show the Wall and Roof Types on the level selected via the dropdown list in the top right corner of the window. This is to make reviewing the list more manageable for large projects where many Wall/Roof Types have been used.

If the Show All box is ticked, all Wall and Roof Types across all levels in the project will instead be displayed.

Type:	This is the unique reference for the Wall or Roof Type (as per CAMEL+)
Construction Detail:	Title of the Revit Type, provided for user reference
Thickness (mm):	Thickness of the wall, provided for user reference
U-Value (W/m².K):	U-Value of the wall/roof for the CAMEL+ load calculation (manual input)
Surface Density(kg/m²):	Surface Density of the wall for the CAMEL+ load calculation (manual input)

It is common that the architectural model may have used many different wall types that aren’t required to be differentiated for the purposes of the heat load calculation. In these cases, the Merge function can be used to consolidate multiple Wall/Roof Types into a single type.

To do this, select multiple types from the list by either using Ctrl + Left Click to add individual items to the selected list, or Shift + Left Click to add a range of items to the selected list. Then either click the Merge button at the top of the list, or Right Click on a selected item and click the Merge Wall/Roof Type option. The properties of the Wall/Roof Type selected first will be applied to the remaining selected Wall/Roof Types.

The Add button can be used to create new Wall and/or Roof Types that were not detected in the model. A common example may be where the architect has not modelled in a roof and this needs to be added manually. Click the Add button and then enter the required Wall/Roof Type properties to create a new entry.

In the Preview window, External walls will be shown in a dark grey colour, and internal walls will be shown in a light grey colour.

There are some circumstances under which the detection logic may fail (typically on projects with complex geometry). Incorrectly detected External Walls can be manually re-classified as Internal Walls (and vice versa) by:

1. Selecting the wall(s) in the Preview window. Multiple walls can be selected at a time by holding down Ctrl and clicking each wall, or via box selection by Left clicking and dragging to draw a box to select multiple walls at once. With box selection, as per the native Revit functionality, if you drag the box from left to right, all walls that fall entirely within the box will be added to the selection. If you drag the box from right to left, all walls that intersect the box will be added to the selection.
2. Once all the required walls are selected, Right Click and select Assign to External Walls or Assign to Internal Walls.

All Window Types detected in the Revit model will be shown in a list under the Detected Window Types heading. A separate Window Type will be shown for each Revit Type (which is typically where the window size is specified) under each Revit Family. As with CAMEL⁺, a separate Window Type is required for each size of window in the heat load calculation (or windows of the same size with differing thermal properties).

By default, the Detected Window Types list will only show the Window Types on the level selected via the dropdown list in the top right corner of the window. This is to make reviewing the list more manageable for large projects where many Window Types have been used.

If the Show All box is ticked, all Window Types across all levels in the project will instead be displayed.

Type:	This is the unique reference for the Window Type (as per CAMEL+)
Construction Detail:	Title of the Revit Type, provided for user reference
Height (mm):	Detected height of the window
Width (mm):	Detected width of the window
U-Value (W/m².K):	U-Value of the window for the CAMEL+ load calculation (manual input)
Shade Factor:	Shade Factor of the window for the CAMEL+ load calculation (manual input)

Frame S.Fact Correction:Frame Shade Factor Correction for the CAMEL⁺ load calculation (manual input)

It is common that the architectural model may have used many different window types that aren’t required to be differentiated for the purposes of the heat load calculation. There also may be some windows whose dimensions are similar, and you may wish to simplify the head load calculation by consolidating these windows. In these cases, the Merge function can be used to consolidate multiple Window Types into a single type.

To do this, select multiple types from the list by either using Ctrl + Left Click to add individual items to the selected list, or Shift + Left Click to add a range of items to the selected list. Then either click the Merge button at the top of the list, or Right Click on a selected item and click the Merge Window Type option. The properties of the Window Type selected first will be applied to the remaining selected Window Types.

The Add button can be used to create new Window Types that were not detected in the model. Click the Add button and then enter the required Window Type properties to create a new entry.

There is also the option to add a window to a wall. This can be used if CAMEL⁺Cnect fails to detect a window in your project (eg. if it was not modelled using the Window Revit Category)

1. To add a window, first ensure that you have created the required Window Type that you would like to assign to it.
2. Click the Add Window button in the toolbar at the top to begin the process.
3. Select the desired Window Type in the Selected Window Type Properties pane.
4. In the Preview window, click the location on the wall where you want to add the window.
5. Set the window's Vertical Offset as required under the New Window Properties pane.

Detected windows can be divided into multiple smaller windows, totalling the same area. For example, you may have a 3m wide window that you want to model in 3 x 1m modules, or you may need to split a window up into many small sections for the purposes of applying louvred-type shading schemes.

1. To split a window, click the Split Window button in the toolbar at the top to begin the process.
2. In the Preview window, click on the window you would like to split.
3. Select the desired number of rows and/or columns to split the window into. The window will be divided equally, and the resulting window segment size will be displayed below.
4. The Window Properties pane will show the Window Type that will be created as a result of the split operation. The Window Height (mm) can also be adjusted here if necessary.
5. Click the Green Tick at in the toolbar at the top to complete the operation.

 

 

The final input screen is the Room Data screen, which is where all the detected Room Details and External Surfaces can be reviewed and adjusted if required. In addition to this, Partitions can be added for heat transfer through internal walls, ceilings and roofs.

In the top right corner of the Room Data window, the selected AHU and Room is shown. The workflow of this screen should be to review each Room one by one to ensure that the correct information has been detected, and adjust or add any further inputs required before exporting the data to CAMEL⁺.

The Level Selector is in the top right corner of the Room Data window. It is generally recommended to review and finalise one Level at a time to ensure that no rooms have been omitted in the process.

Note that Room Information will only be shown if the Selected AHU and Room is located on the level that is currently selected by the Level Selector.

Zone:	The Zone No. to which the Room has been assigned
Floor Area (m²):	Detected Floor Area of the room
Ceiling Height (mm):	Detected Ceiling Height of the room
Roof Tick box:	Whether the Room has a Roof above it (if so, this will be shown on the External tab). Ticked by default if a Roof has been detected. Can also be manually ticked by the user to add a roof.
Ceiling Partition Tick box:	User to nominate whether the Room has a Ceiling Partition for heat transfer purposes (if so, an entry will be shown on the Partitions tab).
Floor Partition Tick box:	User to nominate whether the Room has a Floor Partition for heat transfer purposes (if so, an entry will be shown on the Partitions tab).

Shows the detected External Walls, Windows and Roofs for the selected room for user review.

Type:	Wall/Roof Type as per the Wall & Window Types Screen.
R-Value (K.m²/W):	R-Value of the Wall/Roof Type displayed for user reference.
Exposure:	The outward normal orientation of the wall as per the Floor Plan in Revit
Height (mm):	The detected height of the wall (adjustable for engineering purposes)
Width (mm):	The detected width of the wall
Area (m²):	The area of the wall/roof (provided for reference only)
Windows:	The number of windows detected on the wall. Click this to open a pop-up showing further details of the detected windows and their positioning.

The Partitions Tab is used to account for internal heat transfer through walls, ceilings and floors, and mirrors the layout and inputs that appear in CAMEL⁺.

For the Floor and Ceiling columns to appear in this tab, the associated tick boxes must have been ticked on the Rooms Details tab. As with CAMEL⁺, there are 5 slots available for internal wall Partitions.

The internal walls of the selected room will appear in yellow in the Preview Window (in CAMEL⁺Cnect, yellow is the colour that denotes internal walls not treated as partitions).

To assign internal wall(s) to a Partition:

1. Select one or more walls in the Preview Window (multiple select is via Ctrl + Left Click)
2. Right Click on one of the selected walls to bring up the menu options
3. Select one or more walls to assign (multiple select via Ctrl + Left Click)
4. Right Click, select Assign Wall To and then select the Partition No. to assign to.
5. CAMEL⁺Cnect will calculate the partition area based on Wall Width x Ceiling Height and automatically fill the Area field.

 

 

After you have completed the CAMEL⁺Cnect workflow and have reviewed all the inputs, the Export Data button is used to send all the information to CAMEL⁺. This will create a new project in CAMEL⁺ and will pre-fill all the relevant CAMEL⁺ input fields in line with what has been detected and reviewed in CAMEL⁺Cnect. Note that there will still be some additional engineering inputs required to be entered in CAMEL⁺ before running the heat load calculation.

 

The Reset button can be used to clear all previously entered CAMEL⁺Cnect inputs and restart the workflow. For example, if you have already started the CAMEL⁺Cnect workflow and then make some changes to the Revit model, you would need to use the Reset button for CAMEL⁺Cnect to re-read the updated building geometry.