In one project the modules do not live apart: the heat load calculation feeds pump sizing, underfloor heating and ventilation, and an accepted client form feeds all four. Nothing moves without asking - every time you see what comes in and what gets overwritten. This article describes the directions of flow, the module entry card, updates after changes in the source and what the import deliberately leaves out.
Directions of flow
Data flows as a tree, always one way:
- the client form - to the heat load calculation (building data and the room list), to pump sizing (building parameters), to underfloor heating (supply and return temperature, pipe), to ventilation (ventilation type, frost protection),
- the heat load calculation - to pump sizing (building, rooms, heat load), to underfloor heating (rooms with demand, temperature, type and storey), to ventilation (rooms with geometry).
Underfloor heating and ventilation write nothing back to the heat load calculation. When a module has two sources, it offers the richer one first: for underfloor heating and ventilation the rooms from the heat load calculation, for the pump the heat load calculation.
Data from building documents read by the Algo assistant enters by another route - Algo proposes values straight into the module's fields, and you confirm them. That is described in Algo, the AI assistant.
The "Before you start" card
On entering a module that has no data yet, the card "Before you start - This is what we already know about the project" appears with three figures from the source (e.g. m² heated, kW load, number of rooms) and two buttons: "Bring it into this module" and "I will fill it in myself". If a second source is also available, the card lists it under "Also available" with a "Use this instead" button.
The card also has states in which there is nothing to bring in:
- "This project has no heat load calculation yet" - the button leads to the heat load calculation,
- "N rooms still need completing" - the heat load calculation is unfinished; "Finish the heat load calculation",
- "The heat load calculation needs corrections" - it has blocking issues; "Open the heat load calculation",
- "The client sent the form back - accept it to bring the data in" - the form awaits your acceptance,
- "The client has not sent the form back yet" - the form is with the client.
On a free account the card shows totals, and per-room loads are brought in the full version of the project.
Updates after changes in the source
When the source changes after an import (e.g. you add a room in the heat load calculation), the module on the next entry shows the dialog "Heat load calculator has changed" with the date of the previous import and a list of values: for fields it shows the current and the new value ("becomes"), for rooms the counts of new, changed and removed. Values you edited yourself are marked "edited" with the warning "Your value will be overwritten". You tick what to bring in ("Select all" / "Select none") and click "Bring in the ticked values". "Not now" postpones the question, and "Do not ask about this source" switches it off for this module.
You see the state of every source in the module settings under "Data sources": "up to date", "newer data available" or "declined", with the date of the last import and the "Bring in", "Bring in again" and "Restore" buttons (for a declined source). The "Clear data" button in a module also wipes the remembered imports, so after clearing, the entry card appears again.
Pump sizing linked to the heat load calculation
The pump module works differently from the others: instead of copying data once, it links to the heat load calculation permanently. The building and rooms are read-only and update together with the calculation; the "System" step disappears from the wizard, and rooms cannot be added or removed. When the load in the heat load calculation changes, the module shows the old and new values with a "Use the current load" or "Leave it as it is" button. "Unlink from the calculation" copies the values into the form and breaks the link. Details in the article on heat pump sizing.
Underfloor heating and rooms from the heat load calculation
In underfloor heating the rooms from the heat load calculation come with demand, temperature, type and storey; the storeys from the heat load calculation are created by themselves. After changes in the heat load calculation the panel shows "The heat load calculation has newer data" and the dialog "Update data from the heat load calculation?": room data is overwritten with the heat load results, rooms without loops can be moved to the right storey, and rooms with drawn loops stay in place. Manual changes in the overwritten rooms cannot be restored.
The heat load calculation and ventilation: consistency checks
Ventilation reads rooms from the heat load calculation and writes nothing back. In turn, the heat load calculation checks whether the losses agree with the designed ventilation: the ventilation type must be "Mechanical with heat recovery (MVHR)", the recovery efficiency assumed in the heat load calculation is compared with the efficiency of the chosen unit, and the supply and extract in every room with the flows from the ventilation module. The heat load calculation shows discrepancies as remarks with the values from both modules.
What the import deliberately leaves out
The import card from the client form lists the skipped items with a reason. The most common:
- a window or door with no matching room,
- hybrid ventilation - no equivalent in the heat load calculation,
- a supply temperature given for a mixed system (the form also lists radiators, so the value may not be the underfloor circuit's) or outside 20-55 °C,
- no usable temperature difference - neither supply nor return is imported,
- a pipe diameter not on the module's list,
- a cooker hood - the answer is about one room and the form does not say which,
- an open-combustion appliance - the form asks about an external air supply, the standard asks about drawing air from the room,
- declared air flows - ventilation derives them from the standard.
Everything skipped you enter in the module by hand.