QKM Release Notes

Schliessen

Revit Add-In

Enhancements:

1. Automatic import of walls, roofs and topography surfaces from the Federal Office of Topography swisstopo.
   The microclimate in investigated districts is influenced by the surrounding buildings, which must be taken into account in the simulation. With the new release, walls and roofs of existing buildings as well as topography surfaces can be imported directly from swissBUILDINGS3D 2.0 and swissALTI3D into QKM with assigned specific material.
2. Full compatibility with Revit 2025 (Revit 2025 installation is needed beforehand)
   Now it’s possible to work with QKM in Revit 2025. The functionality is the same as in Revit 2024.
3. Evaluation of long-term simulations using aggregated variables such as PET-hours and air temperature-hours is based on sunshine duration rather than fixed time periods
4. Switching between «Hours», «Kelvin» and «Kelvin*Hours» for aggregated variables of PET (for instance, «PET > 35 °C during the day») and air temperature (for instance, «Tair > 20 °C during the night»). For the evaluation of long simulation periods (weeks and months), new opportunity to evaluate total amount of hours of temperature increase above certain level during day and night is available (switch-option «Hours»). Average temperature increase above certain level is given by the switch-option «Kelvin». Additionally, there is a switch-option «Kelvin*Hours» for integral evaluation of amount of hours of temperature increase.
5. Clear definition of user-defined simulation period.
   New two additional calendars are available for picking the starting, ending simulation date and date of evaluation.
   «Number of simulation days» in «Settings»-Tab is redundant and was deleted.
6. During the copying of the Revit-objects, their assigned QKM-materials will be copied too.
7. Save and visualize all contour plots for the simulation period greater than one day.
   «Settings»-Tab has an additional checkbox «Save all contour plots». When activated, all contour plots for the whole simulation period will be saved in output-file.
   This option can be useful for long term simulations to avoid additional simulation runs. Caution! The size of output-file can be up to several GBs.
8. Support of *.epw as weather files for simulations
   User can choose own *.epw-files to simulate custom weather data. The *.epw-files can be selected in separate Revit window.
9. User-defined folder for input and output files
   In «Settings»-Tab, a folder for simulation temporary files can be defined by the user. Per default, these files will be saved under C:\Users\[UserName]\AppData\Local\Temp\QKM

Fixes:

1. Failing visualization of contour plots on steep topo-solids with sub-divisions
   If topo-solid (for instance, grass field) was not flat and had sub-divisions on top of it (for instance, asphalt roads), Revit was not able to visualize the simulation results. Now, this error is fixed.
2. After loading the result files, evaluation date will be changed accordingly.
   In the previous release, the date did not change.
3. Each contour plot has now its own set of custom legend limits (min and max).
   In previous release, there was only one set of custom legend limits, which should be manually updated with layer switching.

Solver

Enhancements:

1. The simulation results are rounded, which has saved approximately 15 % of the size of the output file.
2. Corresponding changes to changes in Revit Add-In «Clear definition of user-defined simulation period» and «Support of *.epw as weather files for simulations»

Fixes:

1. Improved interaction with Revit and license file.
   In the previous release, the simulation could fail, because the license file was still opened by Revit. In the current release, the case should not emerge anymore.
2. Improved humidity transportation model.
   Now, the air humidity is transferred by forced and natural convection. In this case, local zones with saturated air moister can emerge.
   Evaporation of vegetation can be, therefore, limited in such zones. Results are influenced mostly in zones with lower air velocity.
3. Correction of logarithmical incoming wind profile.
   In previous release, logarithmical incoming wind profile was dependent on the lowest geometrical point (z-direction) in the model including the lowest edges of walls. If wall was underneath the topo-solid, it could lead to overestimation of incoming wind. In the current release, wind profile depends solely on topo-solid coordinates.

Schliessen

Revit Add-In

Enhancements:
Implementation of switcher «PET/Tair-hours» and «PET/Tair-K*hours» for heat map plots:

• «Tair > 30 °C 08:00-20:00»
• «Tair > 28 °C 08:00-20:00»
• «Tair > 26 °C 08:00-20:00»
• «Tair > 24 °C 08:00-20:00»
• «Tair > 22 °C 20:00-08:00»
• «Tair > 20 °C 20:00-08:00»
• «Tair > 18 °C 20:00-08:00»
• «Tair > 16 °C 20:00-08:00»

In «Settings»-Tab, the «Reset»-buttons are added to «Materialization catalog file» and «Folder with weather data files».

Fixes:
Correction of the data change by selecting «hot day», «warm day» etc.
Elimination of the interactivity between the buttons «Materialization Var. 1» / «Materialization Var. 2» and «Variant 1» / «Variant 2».
In «Settings»-Tab, the text field «Raster size surface» is renamed to «Raster size».
Visualization layers are changed as follows:

• «Tair > 22 °C 08:00-20:00» to «Tair > 30 °C 08:00-20:00»
• «Tair > 20 °C 08:00-20:00» to «Tair > 28 °C 08:00-20:00»
• «Tair > 18 °C 08:00-20:00» to «Tair > 26 °C 08:00-20:00»
• «Tair > 16 °C 08:00-20:00» to «Tair > 24 °C 08:00-20:00»

Solver

Enhancements:
Extension of the result files with the «PET/Tair-K*hours»-values.

Fixes:
Taking into consideration the reflected long-wave radiation from different obstacles in mean radiant temperature.

Schliessen

Revit Add-In

Fixes:

1. Delivery of the paths of materialization catalog file and weather data folder provided in «Setting»-Tab to the solver.

Solver

Fixes:

1. Interpretation of the materialization catalog file and weather data folder provided in «Setting»-Tab of Revit Add-In
2. Interpretation of test license files without provided username.

Schliessen

Revit Add-In

Enhancements

1. External license file «*.lic» is integrated instead of hard-coded licenses.
2. Implementation of «Tair-hours» heat map plots as new visualization layers:
   - «Tair > 30 °C 08:00-20:00»
   - «Tair > 28 °C 08:00-20:00»
   - «Tair > 26 °C 08:00-20:00»
   - «Tair > 24 °C 08:00-20:00»
   - «Tair > 22 °C 20:00-08:00»
   - «Tair > 20 °C 20:00-08:00»
   - «Tair > 18 °C 20:00-08:00»
   - «Tair > 16 °C 20:00-08:00»
3. Implementation of freely selectable materialization catalog file in «Settings»-Tab
4. Implementation of freely selectable weather data folder in «Settings»-Tab
5. Re-ordering of the GUI buttons

Solver

Enhancements:

1. Extension of the result files with the «Tair-hours»-values.

Fixes:

1. Interpretation of the external license file «*.lic»

Schliessen

Revit Add-In

Enhancements:

1. Introduction of two new buttons «Wall from CSV» and «Wall from mesh»
2. Introduction of the message regarding the absence of cloud cover data

Fixes:

1. Adjustment of the scale units of «PET-Hours»
2. Adjustment of the scale units of «PET-Hours Difference»
3. Corrected «Stop»-button in the progress-bar

Solver

Fixes:

1. Procedure of filtering unused (hidden) topologies in the calculation of the mean radiation temperature
2. Correction of normal vectors of nearly vertical topologie
3. Correction of water evaporation calculations from soil

Schliessen