Air Boundry

[Mari Kolo]

Hi Ryan, could you help me with air boundry? I tried to do it in EnVi construction as wall, boundry - zone, specification - layers than opaque layer - gas. There is the error "Outside layer is air for constructon...". My idea is to do open air connection between two zones and than calculate solar gains in both of them. 

[VI-Suite]

Not sure I understand 100% what you're getting at, but if you want airflow between zones then a surface in both zones, that represent the airflow component between the zones, has to have a materiel applied that is  designated as a zone boundary and as an air-flow surface in the EnVi Construction node for the material. Make the material solid wall construction (you can have a air cavities between solid layers) for one zone and make the opposite construction for the other zone. When you export the EnVi geometry and go to the EnVi Network node tree you should see two the two zone nodes each with a brown boundary socket and a red airflow socket (red if the construction is a wall - would be green for a window or door). You will get one socket for each face that the airflow material is applied to.

Connect the two zone boundary sockets together and connect the two red airflow sockets via a surface flow node. In the surface flow node you can then set the nature of the flow component. Bear in mind that EnergyPlus requires that at least two flow components or surfaces are specified within each zone when creating an airflow network.

Also familiarise yourself the the v0.7 manual https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/visuite/documentation/

Ryan

[Mari Kolo]

I want to do it without airflow. I already read this document it helped me in some problems but still I want to do zone bounry as air or same construction. Let me explein my idea. I have room where one external wall is window, rest are normal extrenal wall. Next step is to separate this room into two zones and there is my problem becouse when i calculate for 1 zone results are "normal" but when i try to do it for second zone something is wrong. I understand it, that I need a zone boundry witch construction will be material transparent or gas. I want to comparas insiade temperature and solar gains in both zones. I made two similar materials to connect them in envi network. Could you check ss below. Charts shows solar gains in three models, 14000 is for zone close to window, rest for secound zone, 800 i made with zone boundry as external window inside room. I hope that this is not a problem. 

[VI-Suite]

I don't think EnergyPlus allows regular boundaries of pure air. Very transmissive glazing is probably your best bet but how well EnergyPlus deals with solar radiation passing a through a zone and into another I don't know. You may need to play with the Solar option in the EnVi Context node. If you just want the hourly radiation landing in each part of your room you might be better off using LiVi.