- For 2 or More Units: Create Two New Evaluator Nodes
- For 3 or More Units: Develop a Single-Objective Optimization Scheme
- Your Single-Objective Optimization scheme (combination/comparison/ranking approach)
- Your answers to the Points to Ponder questions for each stage of the assignment that you completed.
- The new evaluation metrics certainly capture meaningful differences between the building form alternatives, as each help make decisions on the form based on relative weight of the metric. Cost is a huge component in decision-making for construction projects, which the Mod6Cost evaluation encompasses. The Mod6SolarAnalysis node also matters for this, since the solar energy created can offset the cost of purchasing energy.
- I originally wanted to use weather information to create a sunlight hours evaluation metric, but LadyBug is not working with our installment of Dynamo, so I went with making a node that makes a better estimate of PV power that could be produced by the building if we put solar panels on top, based on insolation, panel efficiency, and roof area.
- I think the most effective way of capturing the relationship between evaluation metrics is by assigning them monetary values. I extrapolated cost savings from my nodes which allows us to see on a higher level what characteristics should be prioritized in the construction of the building. By knowing how the weather in Dubai affects the cooling loads of the building we can figure out how much less the building would cost to cool to a comfortable temperature. Also, by making a rough calculation of solar energy the roof could source, we unlock another cost savings route. By combining these savings, we quickly see patterns in which iterations of the building are more cost effective than others, based on the nodes that we decided to develop.
- The alternative selected rose to the top of the list because it harnessed wind chill appropriately and had ample roof surface area for PV installation.
- By defining the feasibility of a building form alternative mathematically, it makes it easier to make decisions but it does depend on the subjective valuation of one metric as more important than another. For example, another engineer could value minimizing energy usage as more important than minimizing construction cost, which can result in a completely different building form alternative being 'best' as opposed to the 'best.'
The building in question that I created in Module 5 was a conceptual mass via Dynamo, a profile of three ellipses with varying X and Y axes lengths as well as rotations.
My first evaluator node was one exploring the cost prevented from cooling load by natural ventilation and wind on the building. According to some research, in Dubai where temperatures are nearer 100 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the year, natural ventilation and harnessing wind chill is a popular design choice.
Below is a screenshot of the outputs resulting from parameters; for ease of understanding, this is the output for a fixed test of the building form with parameters of the middle ellipse X-axis being 20 and the middle ellipse rotation being 45 degrees.
The second node I created was one that explored how much energy in Wh could be sourced from installing PV panels on the roof of the building.
My single-objective optimization scheme was based on cost. Though one of my nodes measured output in Wh of energy that could be created from solar panels, I was able to find common metrics for both of the nodes’ outputs by estimating the cost savings of that energy produced by PV based on Dubai’s energy market and some currency conversions.
I found that the greatest net savings occurred for iterations where the two flex parameters, middle ellipse X-axis and middle ellipse rotation were, respectively:
40, 40
40, 50
40, 60
This is also when building surface area is around 15,500 square meters.
These designs are all very similar, the difference being rotation of the middle ellipse. I suggest a rotation of around 45 degrees to harness wind chill for the average weather in Dubai most effectively.
Stage 1
Point to Ponder: Do the new evaluation metrics that you’ve designed capture the meaningful differences between the building form alternatives? What other metrics would be useful to compute to help understand and make the case for which alternatives are truly better than others?
Stage 2
Point to Ponder: What overall strategy do you feel best captures the relationship between the evaluation metrics?
Point to Ponder: What propelled the recommended alternative to the top of the list? Explain your reasoning -- include a brief analysis of why this alternative rose to the top of the list and why you consider it to be the best option. Are there important nuances or tradeoffs that got lost is the single evaluation?