IFC R2.0 Final

Arch. design >> Thermal load calculations / HVAC system design

The view for 'Arch. design >> Thermal load calculations / HVAC system design' defines the subset of the IFC model that is used for transferring data from architectural design applications to analysis applications calculating thermal loads and HVAC system design applications.

The most important part of the model that can be exchanged in this scenario is the building geometry and the spaces. The exchange of detailed building element data relies on element types that are agreed upon in each building project. The details about these types are not exchanged using IFCs, only the type 'name' is exchanged.

Applications that calculate thermal loads are able to calculate requirement values for the HVAC systems, such as the maximum air flow rate for a specific space, and write this information back to the IFC model. HVAC system design applications can take the IFC model that now contains both the geometry and the target values, and use that information as a basis when designing the actual HVAC systems. The IFC model contains very limited support for the actual HVAC components, but exchanging these components is outside the scope of this scenario. HVAC system components can be exchanged for quantity takeoff / cost estimating purposes.