Include Zone

Activity tab in model data under Activity Template header

Include zone in thermal calculations

By default all zones are included in simulations and heating and cooling design calculations, but some zones can be excluded through use of this checkbox if necessary. For example, you may wish to exclude a zone or series of zones from the analysis to focus on a smaller part of the building such as a single shop within a shopping mall, and in this case you should uncheck this option on the Activity tab for zones to be excluded as appropriate.

During the simulation:

• Surfaces between included and excluded zones are modelled as being adiabatic, i.e .heat is transferred into the wall mass as if the temperature of the excluded zone is the same as that of the included zone.
• Depending on the setting of the Include shading from excluded zones in simulation model option, surfaces from excluded zones are either represented simply as shading surfaces to ensure that their impact on the solar gains and daylighting in the included zone(s) is still accounted for, or they are ignored altogether.

Note: In Calculated natural ventilation models you should be careful when excluding zones because they could play an important role in the transfer of airflow from one part of the building to another and so could have a significant effect on the natural ventilation in included zones. For example an excluded zone could block the airflow from one included zone to another. Equally, by removing large parts of the model, you run a risk of altering the stack flow regime, neutral pressure level etc in the building airflow model.

Tip: In large models it is sometimes easiest to uncheck this option at building level and just include the zone(s) of interest. Another quick way to change the include/exclude status of multiple zones in one session is to use the Model data grid edit tool.

See also the Activity data templates and time schedules tutorial

Include zone in daylighting calculations

Zones which are not regularly occupied, or which for any other reason should not be included, can be excluded from daylighting calculations by unchecking this option. This option can be used when carrying out a LEED, BREEAM or Green Star daylighting credit calculation to avoid including zones that are not regularly occupied in the building assessment.

From the LEED v3 documentation:

Regularly occupied spaces in commercial buildings are areas where people sit or stand as they work. In residential applications these spaces include all living and family rooms and exclude bathrooms, closets, or other storage or utility areas. In schools, they are areas where students, teachers, or administrators are seated or standing as they work or study.