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Reusing elements best practice

asked 2015-02-08 09:52:57 -0600

LSurf's avatar

updated 2015-07-10 09:10:21 -0600

When building a new model, I want to be able to reuse built schedules/materials/etc.

I've seen there are several ways of doing this, right now I'm using the Sketchup plugin for importing construction, schedules and space loads. But i.e. materials cannot be imported this way. Right now I'm solving this by searching through the compiled .idf file for materials, pasting these in a seperate .idf file, and importing that in Sketchup.

Another way could be to open an existing .osm file in notepad, and compile templates for materials/schedules etc, which can be pasted into a new .osm file.

Which is the preferred way?

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The answer depends on what exactly you are trying to do. Do you have a very large number of materials to import or just a few? Do you have predefined constructions built or do you really want to just import the materials? In our templates we try to define entire construction sets, these can be brought in and applied to the entire model easily using the OpenStudio Application.

macumber's avatar macumber  ( 2015-02-08 10:54:26 -0600 )edit

Perhaps my question is a little too broad indeed. :)

I like the idea how Openstudio has a whole library of Construction Sets. Unfortunately, in Netherlands many different materials are used. Therefore, I've constructed my own construction set, and defined my own Constructions and Materials.

Basically, I want to be able to reuse my custom made construction set. It would be perfect if somehow I could add my own set to the library.

LSurf's avatar LSurf  ( 2015-02-08 11:25:18 -0600 )edit

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answered 2015-02-08 11:50:56 -0600

The suggested workflow is to use the OpenStudio Application to define your materials, create constructions, and define a construction set. Then save this as a library OSM file. When you are working on another OSM, go to "File->Load Library" then choose your library OSM. If you go to the Construction Sets tab, you will see your library objects available in the right hand tab under Library Objects. You can drag Construction Sets in from your library to your current model; this will import all the related construction and material objects.

Copying and pasting OSM files using text editors is almost always discouraged, unless there is some extreme case where it is the only solution.

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Ah, I see. I didn't know that it was possible to use existing .osm files as a library! That's a neat solution.

LSurf's avatar LSurf  ( 2015-02-08 12:18:14 -0600 )edit

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Asked: 2015-02-08 09:52:57 -0600

Seen: 384 times

Last updated: Feb 08 '15