<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation:  Pages > Project Pages > Load Calculation > Favorites, Recent & Custom Materials

To open this page, first open a project, then click "Loads | Edit Favorites, Recent Custom Materials".  Here you can edit your favorites, recent and custom materials, as well as add new custom materials.  You can also upload your materials from Rhvac version 9.

Upload Favorites, Recent, Custom:  Select the "Other" menu to access this menu item.  Opens a new page entitled, "Upload Favorites, Recent, Custom" where you can

List Type:  Specifies whether you want to edit favorites, recent or custom materials.

Material Type:  Specifies whether you want to edit floors, roofs, walls, glass or doors.

List of materials:  Shows you the list of materials specified by your selections for List Type and Material Type.

Add New Custom Item:  Displays a set of inputs to let you enter a new custom material of the selected type.  Only visible when List Type is set to Custom.

Edit Current Item:  Displays the inputs that let you edit the selected material in the list.  This button is only available if the List Type is set to Custom, and there is an item in the list selected.

Move Selected Item in List to Row, and Move Button:  These two controls let you move the selected item in the list to another row.  Enter the new row value in the text box, then click the Move button.

Delete Current Item(s):  Deletes one or more items from the list.  To select a single item in the list simply click it.  To select multiple items, hold the Ctrl key down while you click on the items you want to select.  To select several items in a row, first click one item, then hold the Shift key down and select the last item.

Add Selected Item to Favorites:  Adds the selected item in the list to the Favorites list.  This button is only available if the List Type is not Favorites, and there is an item selected in the list.  You can only add one selected item in the list at a time to the Favorites.

Custom Material Inputs

Most inputs for entering a new material or editing an existing custom material are self-explanatory, but here are some notes about a few of them.

All Material Types:

Construction Code:   Specifies the material code that you want for your new material.  The first character must not be a numeral.

For custom walls of type 15, basement, the code must have a dash followed by the number of feet below grade of the bottom of the wall.  For example, the code "MyWall-6" indicates that the bottom of the wall is 6 feet below grade.

U-Value:  Specifies the effective U-value for this material.  See a few special cases for some materials below.

Description:  Specifies a description for the material that will be shown on the summary reports.

Floors:

U-Value:  Specifies the effective U-value of the floor, this input is for the F-value if it is a slab on grade floor (category 22).  The effective U-value for basement floors (category 21) is 0.85 times the air-to-air U-value from basement air, through basement wall and soil path, to outside air.

Radiant:  Select whether or not this floor contains radiant heating.  Radiant floors typically lose more heat than passive ones because of the greater temperature difference between the floor and the winter outdoor design temperature, so the calculation of heat loss is different.

Crawl Space Wall U-Value:  If this floor is of type 19 (over enclosed crawl space or basement) enter the U-value of the wall that encloses the crawl space.

Sealed Crawl Space:  If this floor is of type 19 (over enclosed crawl space or basement) select whether or not the crawl space is sealed.

Roofs:

CLTD Index:  The CLTD Index determines which CLTD table will be used when looking up the cooling temperature difference used in finding the sensible gain of the roof.  Use the examples of the standard roofs shown in the list below to select an appropriate value from 0 to 46.

Walls:

Construction Code:  For custom walls of type 15, basement, the code must have a dash followed by the number of feet below grade of the bottom of the wall.  For example, the code "MyWall-6" indicates that the bottom of the wall is 6 feet below grade.

U-Value:  Specifies the U-value of the wall.  For walls of type 15, basement walls, enter the effective U-value of the path through the wall and the soil to the outside air.

Group Code:  For above ground walls, enter the group code, which is used to determine the CLTD table to use for this wall.  Group A is for the walls with the smallest thermal mass, such as a frame wall with no board and no batt insulation, while Group K is for those with the heaviest thermal mass, such as a block wall with framing and lots of both board and batt insulation.

For basement walls (type 15), enter the group code to be used for any above grade portion of the wall.

Above Grade U-Value:  If this is a basement wall (type 15), enter the above grade U-value for this wall.  This value will be used for the above grade portion of this wall.

Glass:

Is Skylight:  Specifies whether your custom glass is a window or a skylight.

U-Value:  For skylights, this value is the effective U-value of the skylight assembly, including the sash, curb , light shaft and lites.  For windows, glass doors and glass block, this value is the effective U-value of the glazing assembly that includes the frame, the sash and the lites.

SHGC:  Specifies the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, which is the fraction of incident solar radiation admitted through an unshaded glass.  Note that a shading coefficient (SC) value for a glass is approximately equal to 1.15 times the corresponding SHGC value (and SHGC is approximately equal to 0.87 times the SC).

Glazing Arrangement:  Select the glazing arrangement for this custom glass.  The glazing arrangement determines how much of an effect an internal shading device has on reducing the sensible gain of the glass.

Doors:

The doors inputs need no special definitions other than those already shown above.