[Equest-users] Possible to combine zones from different shells intoone zone?

[Nick Caton]

There are a few ways to skin the cat.

 

Easiest may be to 

-          Re-assign the parent system for one set of zones so all the
targeted plenums/below-ceiling zones are under a single system (it's a
property you can find after double-clicking a zone in the tree in the
airside tab.

-          Right-click and delete the "childless" system

-          While you're still under the airside tab, take note of which
zone the thermostat is located for the system (colored red in the visual
"map" after highlighting a system/zone-group) and adjust to match actual
design. 

-          Optional: if two zones are really geometrically one space and
you want the loads in one to intermingle relatively freely with those in
the other, modify or create an internal partition thermally connecting
them as an "air" wall.  

 

You could take other steps to literally make them one larger space /
zone, but from your description the above approach would be faster,
simpler and have the same net effect.

 

It doesn't really matter whether the spaces are in the same or unique
shells by the way.  

 

Whether there's a significant overall difference between one vs. two
units is would in part hinge on whether the divided spaces have
significantly different loads or scheduling hour-by-hour before being
combined (example: a bunch of exterior glazing on only one side).
Somewhat likely coming out of the wizards if you have two shells with
different proportional occupancies as those weighted averages affect the
outcome of the generated per-shell scheduling.

 

Hope that helps!

 

~Nick

 

 

NICK CATON, P.E.

SENIOR ENGINEER

 

Smith & Boucher Engineers

25501 west valley parkway, suite 200

olathe, ks 66061

direct 913.344.0036

fax 913.345.0617

www.smithboucher.com 

 

From: equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org
[mailto:equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of Winston
Shurtz
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2011 10:57 AM
To: equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org
Subject: [Equest-users] Possible to combine zones from different shells
intoone zone?

 

I have a building that requires multiple shells.  It is a two story
building, that requires different zoning on each floor.  My question:
Is there a way to combine zones from different shells into a single
zone?  For instance, I have two spaces (each space is its own shell)
that are not right next to each other, but they have the same
orientation, hvac system type, etc.  I would like to combine them into a
single zone because they have the same space type.
 
I was just hoping to find a way to make my model more accurate.  Instead
of each space (and corresponding zone) gettings its own RTU, I would
like them to share the same RTU, and don't know any other way to have
them do this other than making them into a single zone.  But, I don't
know how to accomplish this or know if it is really even necessary.  I
know it would be easier if they were part of the same shell, but this
isn't possible due to the geometry of the building, etc.
 
It just doesn't seem that two hvac units would be as efficient as one
unit, but this is the only way I currently know how to model it.
 
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks,
 
Winston

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