Lab 2

Materials and activity

You can download really handy guides to help with this tutorial from:
https://www.iesve.com/content/downloadasset_7303
https://www.iesve.com/content/downloadasset_7282
https://www.iesve.com/content/downloadasset_7292

This tutorial will show how you can create your own construction
materials (these define the thermal performance of the building
envelope) and apply them to the elements you defined when
building the geometry of your model in the last tutorial.

Task 1
Open your model of the tower building

We will start by opening the model of the ground floor created in the last tutorial.

Select File from the toolbar

Select Open Project

Navigate to the folder

containing the model of the
ground floor

Open the folder

Find and select the .mit file

Open the file

Opening the .mit file should start VE and should provide you with a plan view of the office
building ground floor.

Select the Axiometric view

so that we can get a better
idea of what the model
looks like

Task 2
Creating new constructions

We are going to build new materials for the walls, floor, roof and windows in the tower block.
We will use the Building Template Manager to start this process and from this access the
Materials Database

Click on the Building

Template Manager in the
toolbar

Select Constructions

Select Constructions
database

You should be able

to see all the default
construction types
used when you
originally assembled
the geometry

We will start by creating a new material for the external walls. This will be 150mm of cast
concrete.

Click on the Add a new construction button

A new construction
type should appear in
a purple ribbon
1

Click on the Edit

construction
button

You should see the

different options
that VE already has
for this structural
element none of
these meet our
needs

Select External Wall from the different

construction categories available via the
tabs at the bottom of the window

This new construction

is called External Wall

It comprises a single
220mm leaf of brickwork
we need to change this

and to make the change we

need to click on the System
Materials button

Click on the blue bar

that says Asphalts and
other roofing

Select Concretes from

the drop down box

Click the Copy button

to copy the material
properties to your
computers memory

Select Cast Concrete

from the list of
concrete materials

Click on the Close

button to return to
the construction you
are creating

Cast concrete should now replace the

brickwork that was originally in the list of
materials used in this construction type

Click on the Paste button

Rename the material Tower External

Wall so that we can find it easily later

Double click on the

220 and change the
thickness to 150mm

Click on the OK
button to return to
the Template
Manager

Check to make sure that your

new construction is showing

If it is, click on the OK button to

leave the Building Template
Manager

You need to save your new

construction before leaving the
Construction Database so click
on the Yes button

Task 3
Applying a new construction to your model geometry

The process of replacing the construction assigned to a building element involves:

1. Selecting the element
2. Replacing the construction
We have created a new wall material and we will work our way around the model replacing the
existing 2013 External Wall construction with our new Tower External Wall

Select one of the Wall

elements by clicking on
it in the tree

The wall element should turn

red to indicate it has been
selected

Click on the Assign

thermal
constructions
button.

The element using this construction

type will show red in the sketch

Select the construction you wish to replace

from the Assigned Construction Type window

Select the construction you wish to use as the

replacement from the Possible Replacement
Construction types window

Click on the Replace button

The wall associated with the construction

should be indicated in red

The default material remains in the Assigned

Construction types list to check it is not
assigned to our wall.
The Tower External Wall should now appear
in the Assigned Construction types window

.. and check that the wall element in the

sketch turns black this indicates this
construction type is not being used
1

.. click on the 2013 External Wall .

We will now work our way around the building perimeter replacing the remaining external wall
elements

Check that it turns red in the model

Both construction types

should appear in the
4
window this time

5
1

Select the next wall

Select the
construction
you wish to
replace

Select the construction

you wish to use as the
replacement

Click on the Replace

button

Check that the wall is indicated in red

when the Tower External Wall is selected
in the Assigned Construction types

Click on the Close button

Keep working your way around the external walls

replacing the 2013 External wall construction with the
Tower External Wall construction

Task 4
Applying more new constructions to your model geometry

We will start by creating a material for the ground floor.

Rename the construction the

Tower Ground Floor

Select the new

construction

Replace the London Clay with

300mm of Cast Concrete by
selecting the replacement
material from the System
Materials database

3
2

Select the Floor element by

clicking on it in the tree

The floor element should turn

red to indicate it has been
selected

Click on the Assign thermal

constructions button.

The process for replacing the floor construction is the same as the one we used to replace the
external wall construction

Select the construction

you wish to use as the
replacement

Click on the Replace

button

Select the
construction you
wish to replace

The floor slab should now

show red when the Tower
Intermediate Floor is
selected

Click on the
Close button

We will next look at the material formed to create the roof of our model

Click on the
New
construction
button

Click on the Edit

Construction
button

Select the new

roof
construction

Click on the
Roof tab

Repeat the process you followed to create the Tower External Wall and make another new
construction of 300mm cast concrete and call it Tower Roof

Use the new construction

to replace the 2013 Roof

We will look next at the glazing we want to use single glazed windows for the initial variant of
the tower

Click on the Add new

construction button
3

Select the new

window construction

1
4

Click on the Edit

construction button

Click on the
Glazed tab

The External Window construction type is exactly what we want all we need to do is to
change its name to Tower Window
1

Rename the
new window
construction
Tower Window

Click on the OK
button

Following exactly the same procedure as for the previous new materials, the final task is to work
your way around the model replacing the default glazing with the Tower Glazing construction

Click on the Replace

button

Select the
construction you
wish to replace

Select the construction

you wish to use as the
replacement

The final material we are interested in is the one we are using for the internal partitions

Select the 2013

Internal Partition

Click on the Edit

construction button

Click on the
Internal
Partition tab

The default Internal Partition construction is fine for our purposes so we will leave it as it is.

Task 5
Using profiles to control heating/cooling and represent occupant,
lighting and ventilation behaviours

VE allows you to define 2 types of profile:

1. Absolute use this to define temperatures that you wish the
heating/cooling system to maintain
2. Modulating use this to show how occupancy, lighting energy
and ventilation vary between a maximum value and zero
We will have a go at building both types of profile

To access profiles, you need to click on the Buildings Template Manager button and then select
the Thermal option
The default Internal Partition construction is fine for our purposes so we will leave it as it is.
1

Click on the Building

Template Manager button

Make sure Thermal is

selected

Select the Profile Database

Manager

Profiles control how your building will behave over the course of a
year.
In order to build an annual profile, you need to build a weekly
profiles in principle you could have 52 different weekly profiles. In
practice, you may have different weekly profiles for each season:
spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Weekly profiles are built up from daily profiles that describe how the
buildings behavior varies over the course of 24 hours. Again, in
principle, you could have 7 of these one for each day of the week.
In practice, you typically have weekday and weekend profiles.
For this tutorial, we will keep things very simple and assume all days
are the same.

We will begin by building a profile that controls the set points for the heating system. This will
be an Absolute profile, as we will be specifying the temperatures that we wish the heating
system to maintain. We will begin this by building the daily profile.
1

Check to make sure that

Daily Profiles is showing in
the Pattern box

Give the profile a name

that will allow you to find
it easily

Tag the profile as a Heating

profile this makes it
easier to find when you
are looking for it later

Click on New to open the

Edit Project Daily Profile
window

We wish to build an
Absolute daily profile so
ensure the Absolute
button is selected

We will use our keyboard to build this schedule (you can also build schedules using your mouse
we will look at this method later)

This table allows you to

specify a time of day and
define what happens to
the building in our case,
the the temperature we
wish to achieve

Use the green cross to add

4 new rows

We will use our keyboard to build this schedule (you can also build schedules using your mouse
we will look at this method later)

Double click the cells in

the table and type in the
times and temperatures
shown below

A plot of your temperature

profile should start to
appear in the graphic
window

Click on the OK button

when you have finished

Check to make sure your

new profile appears in the
list of daily profiles

Next we will use our daily profile to create a weekly profile

Click on the New button

Select Weekly Profiles

from the drop down list

Give the profile a new

name: Weekly Heating
Profile

Classify the profile as

Heating so you can filter
for it if needed at a later
date

For this profile all days will

be the same click on the
Same Profile for each day
check box

Define the profile

as Absolute

Double click the

Tower Heating
Day profile

5
4

The table of week days, weekends

and holidays should be populated
with your new daily profile then
click on the Save button

Note: you could have built 2 (or more)

daily profiles eg weekday and weekend,
and then moved these across to the
Weekly profile separately if you wanted
to simulate more complex building
behaviour

Next we will finish by using our weekly profile to build an annual profile

Click on the New button

The Edit Project Annual

Profile window should
open
1

Select Yearly Profiles from

the drop down list

Give the profile a new

name: Tower Annual
Heating

Classify the profile as

Heating so you can filter
for it if needed at a later
date

If you wanted to have

additional/different weekly profiles,
you need to click on the Insert
button to add more rows, change
the end date and then add the
appropriate weekly profile we are
not doing this in this exercise
3

This will run from 1 Jan to

the date shown in the
ribbon (ie 31 Dec)

Select your
Heating Weekly
Profile

Double click the Weekly

Profile ribbon to access the
drop down box of weekly
profiles

Click on the
Save button

We will now build a new schedule

leave the Profiles Database Manager
for now by clicking the close cross at
the top right of the window

You should be able to see

the new annual schedule
in the table

Make sure you save your work when

prompted

We will now build a profile that controls the occupancy on the building. This will be a
Modulating profile. We will specify the maximum number of people in the building later and we
will use this profile to define the percentage who are present at any given time
This time, we will build the daily profile using the mouse rather than the keyboard
1

Select Daily Profiles

Make sure this is a

Modulating profile

Click on the New button to

create a new Daily Profile

Rename the profile

Occupant Daily Profile

Classify the profile as

Occupancy

Click on the Graphically

Edit Daily Project Profile
button

We are going to insert

points so make sure the
button is checked

Click on the Save button to

escape

Use the Move points

function if your first
attempts are not perfect

Use the Delete points

function if you wind up
with too many

Repeat the process until

you have completed the
profile

Left click on the red line in the graph,

hold the button down and drag the
mouse to the tome/percentage
combination you want then release.

When you return to the profile

window, the points you created
using your mouse should
automatically appear in the table

If you want to make

changes to any of them,
just double click and enter
the new values using your
keyboard

Click on the OK
button

Next we need to build a weekly profile from

our daily profile.

Select the Weekly Profiles

from the drop down box

Rename the profile as Occupant

Weekly Profile and classify it as
Occupant
2

Click on the New button

Next we need to build a weekly profile from

our daily profile.

Click on the
Same profile for
each day button

Click on the Save button

The table should be

populated with your new
profile

Double click your new

Occupant Daily profile

Finally, we can build our annual profile.

Select the Yearly Profiles

from the drop down box

Rename the profile as Occupant

Annual Profile and classify it as
Occupant
2

Select your
Occupant Weekly
profile

Double click the Weekly

Profile ribbon to access the
drop down box of weekly
profiles

Click on the
Save button

Click on the New button

Repeat these steps to build a Lighting Profile Daily, Weekly and Annual

Use the data in the Lab sheet that accompanies this Follow Me to get the
values to build the profile

Repeat these steps to build a Cooling Profile Daily, Weekly and Annual

Use the data in the Lab sheet that accompanies this Follow Me to get the
values to build the profile

Task 6
Assigning Schedules to activities and processes

We will start with the heating and cooling profiles

Open the Building

Template Manager (if you
are not in it already)
3

Click on the Room

Conditions tab

Change the Heating set

point to Timed

Select the Thermal

category
5

Change the Cooling set

point to Timed

Select the Tower Annual

Heating profile from the
drop down list

Select the Tower Annual

Cooling profile from the
drop down list

Click on the OK
button

Next we will tell the software how we wish to model ventilation

Click on the System tab

Click on the Use same as

HVAC check box

We will now add some occupant and lighting gains.

.starting with occupants.

Click on the Internal

Gains tab

We will define occupancy

on an occupants/m2 basis
select this from the
Occupancy Units drop
down box

Click on the
Add/Edit button

Select the
Occupancy Annual
Profile profile
3

Click on the Add

to Template cell

Make sure this is set to

10m2/occupant
7

Click on the OK button

.and ending with the starting with lighting

We will define lighting

using Lux select this from
the Units drop down box

Click on the Add

to Template cell

Select the Lighting

Annual Profile
profile

Make sure this is set to

400 lux

Click on the OK button

Finally we will add our ventilation..

Click on the Air

Exchanges tab

.starting with Auxiliary Ventilation..

If its not in the table

already, select Auxiliary
Ventilation from the drop
down box
2

Set the Max Flow to

10 l/s/person

Set the units to

l/s/person

Double click the Add to

template cell to include
Auxiliary Ventilation in
your model

.we will apply a profile to control our ventilation rate this will follow the
same profile as the occupancy as these are the people we are providing
ventilation for. If we have lots of people we need lots of ventilation.

Click on the Filter button so

we can search for our
occupancy profile

Add Occupancy to the list of

profile types you want to
search for

Select Occupancy Annual

Profile from the drop down
box

Click on the OK button

The final air change mechanism we need to include is Infiltration..

Select Infiltration from the

drop down box

Make sure this is defined as

being On Continuously ie,
we cant control it

Set the Max Flow to 1

ach
3

Click on the OK
button

Double click the Add to

template cell to make the
green tick appear

Task 7
Rebuilding your tower

Having completed the materials, conditions, gains and profiles for one storey,
we can copy the information to form the tower block

Start by saving your

work, just in case
something goes wrong

Click on Selection in
the main toolbar

Select the model by

clicking on the Room
branch of the tree

Select Create
Storeys

The geometry should

turn red

Set the Storey height to

3.6m and the Number
of storeys to 10

3
2

Make sure the Add floor

voids and the Add ceiling
voids buttons are
unchecked

Click on the OK button

We will finish by changing the material used for the ground floor to recognise it
is in contact with the ground

2
1

Select the ground floor

geometry by clicking on
it in the tree

The ground floor

geometry should turn
red

First select the ground floor slab

2
1

The floor geometry

should turn red

Within the tree for this

room, select the Floor

Note: all the other rooms have

been deselected to hide them in
this slide for purposes of clarity
you do not need to do this

Next make a new ground floor construction

Click on the Building

Template Manager

Click on the Add new

construction button

Select the Ground

Exposed Floor tab

A new floor construction should

appear in a purple ribbon in the
constructions table

Click on the Edit

Construction button

Rename the
construction Tower
Ground Floor

2
3

Increase the layer

thickness to 300mm

Click on the Insert

Layer button to add our
slab

Use the System

Materials button to add
a Cast Concrete layer

Finally apply the new material to the ground floor geometry

Select the Model view

to see all the storeys
again

Select the element you

wish to replace it with

Click the Replace

button

Select the element you

wish to replace

Click the Close button

We have now completed our conditions, gains and profiles finish the exercise
by saving your model. You get to choose the name.
1

Select Save Project

from the File menu and
save the model with a
name of your choice