Users can very easily create a mixed-use project in cove.tool. Begin a new project, select up to 3 building types, and upload your building geometry in sections indicative of their project use. Once you have completed those steps, control panels will appear on the left side screen to maneuver between building types so users can edit and differentiate their inputs and view their corresponding results.
HOW TO MAKE A MIXED-USE PROJECT
1// Log in and Create a Project
Login to cove.tool and start a new project. After adding a Project name and number, the row of use types will be available for selection. Select up to 3 building templates.
02// Complete Geometry Details
Enter your building geometry for each use type. Make sure not to double count any building components when entering envelope area information. Use the Revit, Sketchup or Rhino/ Grasshopper Plug-in, to export your mixed-use building geometry into our web-app interface. Find the Mixed-Use Export Tutorials below for each plugin.
03// Review Project Daylight Analysis, Benchmarks, and Results
Review the whole building's daylight analysis, baseline energy, and cost v. energy results as well as the individual use-types performance results.
MAKING A MIXED-USE PROJECT IN DRAWING.TOOL
When creating a new mixed-use project using drawing.tool, only select one use type template on the project information page. After selecting a use template, save and continue to the drawing.tool interface.
In drawing.tool, as you model your mixed-use project, you are able to assign room templates to individual rooms. After assigning templates, the values will be used for loadmodeling.tool and to compute the area-weighted averages needed for baseline energy and cost vs. energy optimization.
After exporting the drawing.tool model to 3D Analysis and/or loadmodeling.tool, you can proceed with the usual project workflow. Please note that this method will only show one use-type tab in baseline energy and cost vs. energy optimization, but you can be confident that the room templates are being accounted for in the final results!
REASONS TO MAKE A MIXED-USE PROJECT
When creating a mixed-use project, the key is knowing where the building splits into a new function that demands different inputs. Review the reasons you might want to create a mixed-use project, in these situations below:
There are different mechanical strategies for different spaces in the building. For example, a hospital building with office spaces may need two systems types that support the unique demands of either space.
There are different envelope properties for each space. For example, a project with below-grade functions will have envelope properties drastically different from the above-grade space. This situation occurs in most urban commercial spaces where store-front glazing is the first level and the rest of the project is an air-tight wall assembly. The two spaces need specific inputs for each space.
There are different schedules for each space. For example, a sports arena will have office spaces that are occupied daily, however, their largest energy expenditure, the stadium, and support spaces are only used a couple of days out of the year. Since these spaces will both contribute to the EUI but have wildly different expenditures dependent on the calendar then it is important to split these spaces to demonstrate their operations schedule.