The Compliance Stage is where the defined Energy Code values for your project are checked. Target values from the Energy Code will be compared with element values in the model to check compliance. If properties have not been assigned to elements in Revit, override values may be used for calculation purposes. This is explained in more detail below.
At the top of this panel is the name of the Energy Code that was selected in the previous stage along with the values for each element type.
These values are then compared with existing average element values in the model (if they have been assigned in Revit). Compliance will be shown by a green checkmark. This means that the existing values are equal to or better than the target Energy Code values.
Assigned Thermal Performance is the existing element properties in Revit. These cannot be edited as they derive directly from the Revit elements.
Notional Thermal Performance is the simulated override value that is assigned by the user (Revit elements are not updated).
For metric models, this means that existing U-values are equal to or lower than the target Code U-values. For imperial models, this means that the existing element R-values (for Roof/Floor and Wall) are equal to or higher than the target Code R-values. For glazing, imperial U-values should be equal to or lower than the Code targets to comply.
Non-compliance is indicated by a red X.
At this stage, it is not possible to enter values in the boxes (this may be done later after the project settings have been defined).
There is also an eye icon for each element category. Clicking on this will display where the elements are in the model Viewer.
Total Areas for that element type in Revit are also displayed in this section.
Apply Code values
You may apply the Energy Code values to all Revit element families without thermal properties by using the Set button. This will override any Revit values and use these target Code values for calculations (these are simulated values and thermal properties of the elements in Revit are not modified). This also avoids having to do the work to build up the assembly layers in Revit by setting thicknesses and materials to achieve a thermal value. If all Revit elements already have properties, using the Set button will not have any effect.
Where all elements in a category (Roof/Floor/Wall/Glazing) have thermal properties assigned already in Revit, the Notional Thermal Performance box will be disabled and values cannot be changed here.
The value applied from the selected Energy Code is the weighted average for all element types in the model (taking into account element areas). For example, you may have several different glazing types in the model with different thermal properties, applying this Code value will simulate the average thermal property for all glazing elements.
Note: the initial weighted average values from the Revit model also include elements without thermal properties (so these may distort the final total).
After using the Set button, only these values will be used as overrides. The input boxes do become available after you use the Set button (to apply values from the selected Code) but entering custom values (at this stage) will not be saved. You may return to this area later after onboarding your model to modify values.
Once all element categories have values, you may use the Continue Setup button to advance to the final stage to get results (the Building Manager). The Continue Setup button will not function until all categories have some value in the boxes (values do not have to comply). If warnings display in this area, the Continue Setup button will also not function until some values are applied. The purpose of having values here is to produce a Facade Performance value for the project and to check compliance of model elements.
Warnings
Warning symbols appear if both the Assigned Thermal Performance and Notional Thermal Performance value is 0 (yellow triangle for solid elements (Roof/Floor and Wall) and red triangle for glazing elements). During the onboarding process, the application will advise if glazing properties are missing and will advise to assign default properties temporarily (from a Revit glass). If this is done, there should be no red warning triangles at this stage.
Warnings can also appear if there are no elements for that category in the model (no Roofs, no glazing elements etc). This may happen for example if all Roofs were modeled using Floor families. Hovering over the warning symbol will provide advice on the error eg ‘you don’t have analytical properties’ / ‘there are no roof elements in the model’ etc
There is also an information icon ‘i’ beside the Notional Thermal Performance value box which will provide a description of the current condition eg. elements without thermal properties will be given override properties.
Returning to the Compliance Area
After onboarding your model (Model Check/Energy Code and getting results is complete) and when you have results on the Dashboard, you may return to the Compliance section to review the values and modify if needed. Now, if values are overridden, they will apply to all elements in the model (whether or not they had thermal properties assigned in Revit or not). This is to allow comparison of Facade Performance results.
An ‘Apply Notional Values’ button will now display in the Compliance area and a reminder widget will display to advise that values are being simulated. This widget will remain if other tabs are active. You may return to the Performance Manager by using the button ‘Go to Performance Manager’ in this widget panel. You can also Reset the values back to the previous settings if required.
A reminder is also placed in the Surfaces List that values have been simulated. Building Elements names are also adjusted temporarily to advise (this can be seen under the Default 3D View tab). The ‘i’ symbol is placed beside each affected Surface and hovering over this will display more information.
You may always Reset the overrides to return to the original values that were used during onboarding. Note: Glazing values cannot be overridden or simulated as these should come from assigned glass types in the Revit model.
