Automated Thermal Zone Division in Building CAD Models
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current computer-aided design (CAD) tools face challenges in automatically dividing a building's conceptual representation into thermal zones that conform to industry standards, requiring user expertise and manual specification of thermal zone boundaries for accurate energy use simulation.
Innovation Solution
A method that identifies perimeter zones and divides them into thermal zones based on maximum thermal zone angle and length thresholds, ensuring even exposure to external factors, using a CAD system to generate thermal zones automatically without user knowledge of industry standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If thermal zones are manually specified by users to conform to industry standards, then the accuracy of energy use simulation is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to requiring user expertise in thermal zone division
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically divides the building representation into thermal zones using industry standard criteria without requiring user intervention. The computer program product performs the division based on exposure to external factors, automatically identifying perimeter zones and subdividing them according to standardized angle and length thresholds, allowing the system to serve itself rather than requiring expert user input
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses specific parameter thresholds (maximum thermal zone angle of 45 degrees, maximum thermal zone length of 70 feet, perimeter distance of 15 feet) to automatically divide zones. By changing the representation into standardized parameter-based thermal zones, the system achieves both accuracy conforming to industry standards and ease of operation through automation
2Productivity
If thermal zones are automatically divided based on multiple thresholds, then the productivity is improved by eliminating manual specification, but the device complexity increases due to multiple division criteria
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the thermal zone division process into distinct sequential steps: identifying perimeter zones based on offset distance, dividing into initial zones based on exposure, subdividing based on angle thresholds, and further subdividing based on length thresholds. This segmentation makes the complex process manageable and automated
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies multiple parameter-based division criteria (angle threshold of 45 degrees, length threshold of 70 feet, perimeter offset of 15 feet) to automatically divide thermal zones. By using standardized parameters, the system increases productivity through automation while managing complexity through consistent rule-based division
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a storage medium, for generating thermal zones. In one aspect, a method includes identifying a perimeter zone for a first portion of a conceptual representation of a building; and dividing the perimeter zone into a plurality of thermal zones, comprising: determining a plurality of first candidate thermal zones based at least in part on a maximum thermal zone angle threshold that each of the first candidate thermal zones satisfy, determining a plurality of second candidate thermal zones based at least in part on a maximum thermal zone length threshold that each of the second candidate thermal zones satisfy, and selecting a plurality of thermal zones from the first candidate thermal zones and the second candidate thermal zones.