This Section will cover some of issues that Users may come across when using the application and helpful guidance on understanding these issues and resolving them.
FenestraPro for Revit identifies previous versions of the application and will manage the database files which are stored on your machine (previous Solar Load Calculations, Custom Groups and Codes, and Log files etc). Once installed, FenestraPro will rename older folders and save this data.
If an error message appears, try clearing the cache files in the FenestraPro folder. This contains folder contains previous data and calculations from projects which have been analysed. If the project has been modified or was previously viewed in a different version of FenestraPro, this database may need to be deleted to start afresh.
- The folder may be found in this location on your machine:
C:Users\< User Name>\AppData\Local\FenestraPro.
All the files may be deleted here. New files will be created when FenestraPro is opened again in Revit.
This means that there is a problem connecting to the internet. Please check your network connection and retry. FenestraPro for Revit requires an internet connection to calculate Solar Loads for the glazing.
Masses are analyzed separately. When you choose the Conceptual Mass option when loading the application, a message will appear to Choose the Mass. If there are several masses in the project analysis will occur on each one separately. Surrounding buildings may be modeled as separate masses as these can be used for shading effect calculations.
Once the Energy Model is created, the masses will be merged by and you will see a warning message from Revit. We recommend modelling floor by floor (storey by storey) as it gives more control over the surfaces in FenestraPro. Zones may be created, and finer control is possible for each storey (eg. separate glazing specifications, glazed areas, fritting etc).
Masses modeled as one volume in Revit will be assigned one Surface over the entire orientation and individual control for each storey will not be possible.
Yes, when opening FenestraPro, choose which model type you wish to analyse eg. Conceptual Mass or Detailed. There is one option for analyzing Conceptual Masses and two for Detailed models (Spatial Elements or Building Elements).
Please ensure that the mode set in Revit’s Energy Settings is set to ‘Use Conceptual Masses and Building Elements’ so that the Energy Model will apply to all types.
For both model types, ensure that basic modeling checks have been performed eg. for Mass models – ensure that Mass Floors have been assigned etc. Detailed models should have thermal properties applied to the glazing and building elements if possible (walls, floors and roofs).
Under the Glass Database Tab, a list of glass products and sample glass types are provided for use in your model. If this list does not display, this may be due to your license authentication having expired. This may also happen if the application remains open for an extended period of time eg. over a weekend, and you attempt to resume a session. To resolve this, please sign out of the application and sign in again.
Open Building Manager and calculate the Solar Loads again .This will populate the latest results for the model in its current state. Possibly, the model was modified or there was an error contacting the web server to get the solar data.
For Conceptual Mass Models – check that a glazing percentage has been applied to the model. This may be done in the Performance tab or in Revit’s Energy Settings. For Conceptual Mass models – make sure that there is a glazing percentage assigned to the model in the Performance tab. This can also be set in Revit’s Energy Settings.
It is a good idea to extend the panel to the side and leave open the General Tab which will display any errors. You may check there to see if there are any messages about your internet connection or issues with the web server. A poor connection may not allow FenestraPro to calculate the Solar Loads or display the Charts.
Users should note that the selection of Surfaces will affect the results displayed. Choosing one Surface with 50% Glazing and another Surface with 0% Glazing will display an average of 25% Glazing. Solar Load and Daylight average values will also be different on the Dashboard than when a glazed surface only is chosen.
Where Surfaces may be grouped/filtered by Percentage Glazing, a user may wish to avoid any surfaces which have zero glazing for this reason.
If some Surfaces are not highlighting on the model, this may be due to model issues or missing properties for glazing elements.
Please ensure that model issues are reviewed before launching the application and that all glazed elements have thermal properties assigned.
Please see this article for model preparation issues and for how to assign analytical properties to glazed elements.
https://support.fenestrapro.com/knowledgebase/2-0-1-model-preparation/
In the Facade Navigator, each Facade should have a list of Surfaces with the same orientation. For example, Facade 1 South, should list all South Surfaces under that Facade.
If you expand an item such as Facade 1 South, and you notice some North Surfaces in this list, this may be due to building enclosure issues. This is where floors, walls, roofs or glazing allow significant gaps in the model. Shafts may penetrate floors or roofs and compromise the enclosure when Revit's Energy Model is generated.
If you notice that Surfaces under a Facade orientation have a mixture of different directions, this may also be due to elements that have have been placed inside out.
If elements such as Curtain Walls and windows are placed facing inside out, this can also affect the orientations in the list. When creating a Curtain Wall, this should be placed in a counter-clockwise direction to ensure that it faces outwards. Windows also have a toggle arrow to flip their directions if necessary.
There are more details from Autodesk here:
This is normal and is a helpful indicator that thermal properties need to be set for an element on this Façade. It may be that a door or window has no analytical property set. If one element is missing thermal properties, the warning indicator will appear beside the Façade name. Thermal Properties may be set in Revit by using the Edit Type tool.
Check that Revit’s Energy model is successful first and that there are no warnings. If there are, try to resolve these first before launching FenestraPro.
Make sure that you have not used Building Elements or Spatial Elements options with a Mass model. These options are for use with Detailed models only.
Glazing material, if assigned, should have the required transparency set in the materials browser, to be identified as glass.
Please refer to Section 12.0 above for information on typical modelling issues and recommended Energy Settings.
If is still an issue, please contact us for support: info@fenestrapro.com
This happens if the setting in Options for including ‘Surfaces smaller than..’ is set to a higher value than is appropriate for the project. This setting will filter out Surfaces which have areas below this value. In some projects, these may add up significantly. Try setting this value to a lower figure or even zero.
Check that the Revit View is not set to the Energy Model view. Rotation and highlighting functions are not compatible with this View. Change to a default 3D View in Revit to see highlights display and to use the rotation feature when selecting Facades or Surfaces. The application also needs to be relaunched after making changes to the settings.
If a colleague has the same version of FenestraPro, you may copy the results file and send it to them. If they paste this file into their FenestraPro folder, the results will be available in their Charts and Dashboard when they open the application on their machine.
The file can usually be found in this location: C:\Users\Your User Name\App Data\Local\FenestraPro\FProStore.db
There are also files in this folder called CustomStandards.db and CustomGroups.db and GlazingSpecs.db. These may also be copied and pasted to a colleague’s machine to display the same information if new Standards and Groups have been created. The colleague must have a current active license for FenestraPro.
FenestraPro should be closed down first as it will be accessing files in the FenestraPro folder. It is recommended that the person to whom you are sending the file, first close down FenestraPro if it is open and rename their existing database file as a backup eg. FProStore.db should become - FProStore.db.bak.
This original file can then be restored later by:
1. Moving the new database file that you sent them to another folder outside the FenestraPro folder
2. Renaming the Original file back to the original name so that it will be used by the application.
The new file that you are sending them may then be placed in the Folder and will be used instead. It contains all the results for the models analysed to date. If they have access to the same models, this will be recognized and the results will appear in the application.
The version number of the software should be the same on both machines, otherwise there may be errors in reading the file or FenestraPro may fail to load.
The new file may then be stored elsewhere and the older file renamed back to its original name so that the user can continue their work.
Results may always be shared normally using the Snapshot Excel Report also which contains all the relevant information on the project. The HTML Report may also be viewed in a browser and shared with a colleague or this data may be downloaded as a PDF and shared with colleagues.
Custom Groups created in one method relies on the Surfaces that FenestraPro creates in that method. Since both options for analysing Detailed models will create, name and manage the number of Surfaces differently, any Groups created in one method will not apply to the other. If another method is used to analyse the same model, Custom Groups would have to be created again.
Custom Codes created in one method will be available in the any other method as these values can be applied to all model types.
Yes, FenestraPro saves your Building Codes in the FenestraPro folder which is on your local machine. This file may be copied and pasted into a colleagues folder on their machine if they also have a subscription to the application. First the colleague’s FenestraPro application should be closed out. Any existing file with Codes in their local folder should be cut and pasted to another location if it is to be restored later.
The sent file may be pasted into the FenestraPro folder and when the application is started, this will be used with the Codes that were created.
The path to the FenestraPro folder is usually on the C: drive and is found under Windows (C:) > Users > Your Name > App Data > Local > FenestraPro
The file will be named CustomStandards.db. Care should be taken not to delete the file from your own machine as this may cause the application to display an error as it will be referencing this file. The file may be copied and pasted to another location or emailed to a colleague etc.
Other files in this location store the results of analysis to date, log files of progress, error messages, Custom Groups and Glazing Specifications that have been created etc. Likewise, these may be shared with colleagues if information is to be common.
Yes, simple curved geometry is supported for Detailed Revit models but currently not for Mass models. Support for curved geometry in Mass models is in development and will be included in a future version. Where geometry is more complex, all areas may not be analysed fully and Users are advised to exercise caution with these types of models. Curved geometry may not be assigned Surfaces or be provided with results by FenestraPro. For Mass models, the curve may be faceted.
This may occur if the Energy Model was created but then masses were modified/moved/deleted. The Analytical Surfaces may still be in the model but may be hidden. These can be removed by going to the Energy Settings and changing the Mode to another type. Apply this and then change it back if needed. This should clear the redundant surfaces.
It will be necessary to close FenestraPro and re-launch if True North is modified during a session. The Energy Model will need to be recreated and the Solar Loads will need to be recalculated in the Building Manager to update the results to the new site condition.
Where the Add Windows function does not become available for a selected area on a model, this may be due to adjacent glazing being too close to the solid wall. Glazing that abuts a solid wall where windows are to be added, may prevent placement of windows there as the joint condition cannot be verified.
This may be overcome by moving the glazing away from the solid wall (eg. 3 feet / 1 metre). This may also occur where internal glazed partitions abut a solid exterior wall – the Add Windows function may be disabled. You may temporarily move the internal glazed partitions back away from the exterior wall in order to place windows using FenestraPro and restore them when windows are placed.
