DB.Api.Surface Class Reference

Class to handle zone surfaces. More...

Public Member Functions
Table	GetTable (string tableName)
	Returns the site table with the supplied name.
void	AddTable (string tableName, int fieldCount)
	Adds an empty table to the surface with the supplied name and number of fields.
void	RemoveTable (string tableName)
	Removes the table with the supplied name from the surface.
void	RemoveAllTables ()
	Removes all surface tables.
void	SetAttribute (string attributeName, string value)
	Sets an attribute with the supplied name to the supplied value.
string	GetAttribute (string attributeName)
	Returns the string value of the attribute with the supplied name.
int	GetAttributeAsInt (string attributeName)
	Returns the integer value of the attribute with the supplied name (same as GetIntegerAttribute). If the value of the attribute is not an integer value, the return value is undefined. To use this method, foreknowledge is required that the value of the attribute is in fact an integer value.
double	GetAttributeAsDouble (string attributeName)
	Returns the double value of the attribute with the supplied name. If the value of the attribute is not a double value, the return value is undefined. To use this method, foreknowledge is required that the value of the attribute is in fact an double value.
int	GetIntegerAttribute (string attributeName)
	Returns the integer value of the attribute with the supplied name (same as GetAttributeAsInt). If the value of the attribute is not an integer value, the return value is undefined. To use this method, foreknowledge is required that the value of the attribute is in fact an integer value.
DataObject	GetAttributeDataObject (string attributeName)
	Returns a DataObject object associated with the attribute of the supplied name.
bool	IsAttributeTrue (string attributeName)
	Returns boolean value (TRUE/FALSE) of the attribute with the supplied name.
void	ResetDefaultOpenings ()
	Removes all custom openings from the surface and regenerates default openings using associated attribute data (attribute data from the Openings tab of the DB Model Data Panel).
void	ConvertOpenings ()
	Converts all surface default openings to custom openings (used as an option to keep existing default openings when adding additional custom openings).
void	UpdateGeometry ()
	Used to update the geometry of the surface and the geometry of the parent zone if attribute changes are made that affect the geometry (e.g. default glazing attributes, surface construction attributes, etc.).
void	UpdateTileAttributes ()
	Updates any adjacent surface attributes and display objects if attribute changes are made.
void	RemoveAllOpenings ()
	Removes all openings from the surface.
void	ScaleWindows (double factor)
	Used to inflate/deflate windows by the supplied scale factor.
void	SelectOpening (int index)
	Used to select the opening with the supplied index.
void	Dispose ()

Properties
Collections.Adjacencies	Adjacencies [get]
	Returns a collection of surface adjacencies. Surfaces can have multiple adjacencies. Adjacencies can be external or internal to another zone in which case the adjacent zone handle and surface index can be obtained from the adjacency (refer to Adjacency class).
Collections.Openings	Openings [get]
	Returns a collection of surface openings. Surface openings comprise doors, windows, holes, vents and CFD surface boundaries.
Collections.Polygons	ShadingPolygons [get]
	Returns a collection of shading polygons. Shading polygons are generated from shading calculations.
Collections.HardAttributes	HardAttributes [get]
	Instantiate a collection of 'hard' attributes from the Sketch SketchDSurface object. Hard attributes are attributes set at a specific model decomposition level (surface level in this case) and don't inherit from level above.
double	Tilt [get]
	Returns the surface tilt. A horizontal surface pointing upwards has 0 degrees tilt and a horizontal surface pointing downwards has 180 degrees tilt.
double	Area [get]
	Returns the area of the surface.
double	Azimuth [get]
	Returns the surface azimuth. A vertical surface (wall) pointing North has a 0 degree azimuth and a vertical surface pointing East has a 90 degree azimuth.
bool	IsSelected [get]
	Returns a boolean value indicating whether or not the surface is selected.
double	GrossArea [get]
	Returns the gross area of the surface including any openings (same as Area method).
double	NettArea [get]
	Returns the nett area of the surface, i.e. the area of the surface less the area of any contained openings.
bool	HasConstructionLines [get]
	Deprecated.
bool	HasDefaultOpenings [get]
	Returns a boolean value indicating whether or not the surface is a “default opening” surface. Default openings are generated automatically from settings on the Openings tab of the UI Model Data panel, whereas custom openings are drawn manually. Note that TRUE may be returned even if the surface does not actually have any default openings when, for example, the Layout attribute is set to the 0-None option, or if there is no space on the surface for the requested default openings.
bool	HasCustomOpening [get]
	Returns a boolean value indicating whether or not the surface contains a custom opening. Custom openings are drawn manually as distinct from default openings which are generated automatically from settings on the Openings tab of the UI Model Data panel.
bool	IsInternalPartition [get]
	Returns a boolean value indicating whether or not the surface represents an internal partition.
InternalPartitionType	InternalPartitionType [get, set]
	This method is used to set or retrieve the type of partition for surfaces that represent internal partitions. Whether or not a surface represents an internal partition may be determined using the IsInternalPartition method. Internal partition type can be either standard or virtual. A virtual partition exists purely to sub-divide a space and has no corresponding wall in the actual building.
bool	IsOrthogonal [get]
	Returns a boolean value indicating whether or not the surface is orthogonal to the major model axes.
bool	IsParentZoneMoreExternalThanAdjacentZone [get]
	Returns a boolean value indicating whether or not the parent zone should be considered more of an external zone than the adjacent zone for the purpose of EnergyPlus simulation. First, the "ZoneType" attribute is checked to see whether the zone is more or less external (e.g. 1-Standard is less external that 2-Semi exterior unconditioned). If the zone types are equivalent then the "HeatingOn" attribute is checked for both zones. If the zone is not heated but the adjacent one is then it is more external. If both zones are still equivalent then the "HeatingDesignSetpointTemperature" attributes are compared for both zones. If the zone has a lower heating setpoint than the adjacent zone then it is more external. If the 2 zones are still equivalent then a similar process is carried for cooling (the "ActiveCoolingOn" and "ActiveCoolingDesignSetpointTemperature" attributes are used for this) . The most external zone is the one with the lowest cooling setpoint. If after all these checks, the 2 zones are still equivalent then FALSE is returned. Note that this method only applies to internal partition surfaces (refer to IsInternalPartition method).
AdjacencyCondition	AdjacencyCondition [get]
	Returns the adjacency condition of the surface (e.g. adjacent to ground) as an AdjacencyCondition object (refer to AdjacencyCondition class for the various surface adjacency conditions).
Polygon	SurfacePolygon [get]
	Returns the geometry of the surface in the form of a polygon (refer to Polygon class).
SurfaceType	Type [get]
	Returns the surface type (e.g. floor, roof, etc.) as a SurfaceType object (refer to SurfaceType class for the various surface types).

Detailed Description

Class to handle zone surfaces.

Member Function Documentation

AddTable()

void DB.Api.Surface.AddTable	(	string	tableName,
		int	fieldCount
	)

Adds an empty table to the surface with the supplied name and number of fields.

Parameters

tableName	Name of table to be added.
fieldCount	Number of fields in table.

Returns

TRUE if table is successfully added to the surface otherwise FALSE.

GetAttribute()

string DB.Api.Surface.GetAttribute

(

string

attributeName

)

Returns the string value of the attribute with the supplied name.

Parameters

attributeName

Name of attribute from which value is to be retrieved

Returns

TRUE if attribute is retrieved successfully otherwise FALSE

GetAttributeAsDouble()

double DB.Api.Surface.GetAttributeAsDouble

(

string

attributeName

)

Returns the double value of the attribute with the supplied name. If the value of the attribute is not a double value, the return value is undefined. To use this method, foreknowledge is required that the value of the attribute is in fact an double value.

Parameters

attributeName

Name of attribute from which double value is to be retrieved

Returns

Double value of attribute

GetAttributeAsInt()

int DB.Api.Surface.GetAttributeAsInt

(

string

attributeName

)

Returns the integer value of the attribute with the supplied name (same as GetIntegerAttribute). If the value of the attribute is not an integer value, the return value is undefined. To use this method, foreknowledge is required that the value of the attribute is in fact an integer value.

Parameters

attributeName

Name of attribute from which integer value is to be retrieved

Returns

Integer value of attribute

GetAttributeDataObject()

DataObject DB.Api.Surface.GetAttributeDataObject

(

string

attributeName

)

Returns a DataObject object associated with the attribute of the supplied name.

Parameters

attributeName

Name of attribute from which DataObject object is to be retrieved

Returns

DataObject object

GetIntegerAttribute()

int DB.Api.Surface.GetIntegerAttribute

(

string

attributeName

)

Returns the integer value of the attribute with the supplied name (same as GetAttributeAsInt). If the value of the attribute is not an integer value, the return value is undefined. To use this method, foreknowledge is required that the value of the attribute is in fact an integer value.

Parameters

attributeName

Name of attribute from which integer value is to be retrieved

Returns

Integer value of attribute

GetTable()

Table DB.Api.Surface.GetTable

(

string

tableName

)

Returns the site table with the supplied name.

Parameters

tableName

Name of table to be retrieved.

Returns

The required table as a Table object if successful otherwise null.

IsAttributeTrue()

bool DB.Api.Surface.IsAttributeTrue

(

string

attributeName

)

Returns boolean value (TRUE/FALSE) of the attribute with the supplied name.

Parameters

attributeName

Attribute name

Returns

TRUE if boolean value of attribute is true otherwise FALSE

RemoveTable()

void DB.Api.Surface.RemoveTable

(

string

tableName

)

Removes the table with the supplied name from the surface.

Parameters

tableName

Name of table to be removed.

Returns

TRUE if table removed successfully otherwise FALSE.

ScaleWindows()

void DB.Api.Surface.ScaleWindows

(

double

factor

)

Used to inflate/deflate windows by the supplied scale factor.

Parameters

factor

Factor by which windows are to be scaled.

SelectOpening()

void DB.Api.Surface.SelectOpening

(

int

index

)

Used to select the opening with the supplied index.

Parameters

index

Index of opening to be selected.

SetAttribute()

void DB.Api.Surface.SetAttribute	(	string	attributeName,
		string	value
	)

Sets an attribute with the supplied name to the supplied value.

Parameters

attributeName	Name of attribute to be set
value	Value to which attribute is to be set

Returns

TRUE if attribute is set successfully otherwise FALSE

Property Documentation

NettArea

double DB.Api.Surface.NettArea

get

Returns the nett area of the surface, i.e. the area of the surface less the area of any contained openings.

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The documentation for this class was generated from the following file:

• C:/DesignBuilder/Components Source/DB.Api/DB.Api/Surface.cs