Create a posting that includes:
- A screenshot of an interior view of your merged model from Model Coordination showing the HVAC elements.
- any challenges that you encountered in this supply duct routing exercise
I decided to practice modeling the air handler as well as the ducts to get a better sense of how the components interact. In doing this, I struggled with connecting the air handler to the ducts when it was in the mechanical room, and ultimately moved it to the roof for ease. Additionally, getting the flex ducting to connect to the main ducts was a struggle at first, as I wanted the connections to be shorter than the flex ducting allowed for, and I ultimately had to reposition the main ducts to accommodate this.
- whether your proposed design meets the project’s spatial design goals
Overall, I think this design does meet the project’s spacial design goals. I tried to be mindful of the shafts and room layout of the building. However, on major clash that would need to be remedied is the ducts overlapping with the skylight. Additionally, I would recomend adding a ceiling to cover the duct work and create a more polished loo.
- any recommendations to make the design more sustainable (and lower the heating and cooling loads)
To make the design more sustainable, I would recommend moving the mechanical room to a more central location on the building to reduce the necessary duct length. I would also compartmentalize the system into more zones, so that heating/cooling can be centralized for occupied areas. Finally, I would recommend implementing occupancy control sensors so that the system does not run when people are not present.