In order to design or verify an already designed installation project, you just need to switch the editing scope. Configurable visibiiity of particular editing scopes (with visible systems being designed) allows to easily predict and remove collisions. Moreover, an underlay or a prepared building structure, once they have been loaded, are used to create a complex project containing various types of systems. Drawing printouts may include all the designed systems or a part of them.

For each of the subsequent stages of the project implementation, by saving and then selecting the appropriate composition from the list, you can quickly obtain the arrangement that makes work most comfortable and effective. The most frequently used functions and tools may be assigned keyboard shortcuts. Similarly, the set of functions visible after pressing the right mouse button is fully customizable.

In this way, having created an appropriate number of predefined templates for typical designs, the designer avoids the necessity to multiply the same preparatory activities before starting work on next designs. Thanks to the hereditary system, general data are propagated to system elements introduced in the design. The “computer” or the “pencil” symbol displayed next to a given data field informs us whether the value comes from general data (or catalogue data) or it has been modified individually.

It is much easier to find the proper one thanks to advanced catalogue filters, which limit the number of displayed libraries to those containing a given product group (e.g. radiators, flat stations, valves for sanitary systems etc.). As an alternative, one may use the catalogue browser by entering a proper sequence of symbols (e.g. system, product or producer name). Icons presented in the right-hand side of each catalogue inform about element types included in the catalogue and about availability of additional graphical information on the products.

It can be done in the plan view, in the schematic view, in the 3D view or in the results table. Additionally, having placed the cursor on a given element, a hint with particular technical data and parameters is displayed. It facilitates the analysis of a given project, its calculation results and makes it easier to find the reason of issues shown by the program diagnostics.

Such articles include typical problem reasons and hints on how to resolve them. The article opens automatically after having clicked the “?” symbol next to a given diagnostics hint.

It facilitates the choice of the right product. Material list printouts may also contain photos as well as additional element description, which renders the design documentation much more complete and visually attractive.

By choosing the newest or an older version of the program, the designer gains control on the status of the application which runs the calculations and material list, he/she also controls the product libraries to be used in the design. In such a way, the problem with the lack of access to products, which may be eliminated during the work on a given project for the manufacturer’s assortment changes, has been eliminated.

Never before have the InstalSoft programs been working in such a smooth way with such large objects (over 100 mb). With accurate hardware, you will have the opportunity to work with the most demanding objects. It also concerns objects of BIM-process provenance. Also various standard editing operations have been accelerated, and the calculation time has become 50% more optimised.

New additional tools support and accelerate the creation of a 3D model, among which: general data, possibility to copy whole storeys (or system fragments on storeys above/below), stack risers covering appropriate storey scope automatically. The 3D model allows us to open up to the BIM process.

Having prepared the rooms and the building contour as well as having run the function “Automatic walls, slabs and roofs” all walls, interstorey slabs, roofs and floors are generated automatically. For such a generated building body, you just have to insert a roof, windows and doors, thus obtaining a complete building structure. We also allow our designers to use the highly automated process of obtaining the building structure out of IFC files.

Interstorey slabs are divided into separate heat partitions when they are situated above a number of rooms with potentially different internal temperature (the roof is divided analogously). In buildings with cellars, the part of wall laying below the ground is detected automatically, and the “Ground modeling” function  allows to define external walls in contact with the ground in a precise manner. In order to facilitate the analysis of ventilation airflow, a balance and a diagram of ventilation airflow with airflow values are created.

One of the division criteria is “according to equal pressure losses” – it is particularly useful wit large spaces, in which the medium is Tichelmann distributed (without flow regulation at the manifold). The division of zones according to this criterium allows to obtain a similar loop length (in manifold systems including loop length) in all circuits.

All the modifications in the design, which result in a change of the required pipe feeds or spacing between them, generate correct pipe feeds.

Such automation is performed based on the manufacturer’s guidelines (stored in the program libraries) or the program user.

Thanks to all available tools, you may easily steer the particularity of information presented in the schematic view.

Starting with floor and ceiling heating-cooling system loops and finishing with additional graphical information, such as element labels, graphical cross-sections of radiant systems, and manifold or design tables.

You can also generate complex material lists containing all elements necessary to create a system with use of manufacturers’ libraries or neutral ones.

Depending on the chosen priority, it is possible to size the system and its parameters in order to cover heating demand (with checking cooling output) or, as an alternative, to cover cooling demand. A particular and automatically-created design documentation allows to analyze the system parameters and all elements necessary to create it.

Such solutions are much more popular thanks to their easy and quick assembly, lower thermal inertia as opposed to traditional radiant systems, and much more affordable prices. A very interesting and much more commonly used solution is the montage of panels on the slants of habitable attics or lofts, which can also be easily designed with the InstalSystem 5 package.

The next thing to do is calculating and balancing the flows in such a system in order to achieve the required heating (or cooling) output.

Based on the chosen scenario and available computational modules, the required domestic hot water outflow may be defined directly as a numeric value or calculated by the tap water module, based on a chosen calculational norm. Such calculations take also into consideration, among others, dimensioning of the supply system (stack risers, source and heat buffer) including asynchronous functioning of the station in the domestic water heating option.

Prepared on the basis of the manufacturer’s guidelines, ready-to-use hydraulic control loops take into consideration a number of aspects related to the correct choice of valve types, their sizing, adjusting and required pump-rising altitude. This incredibly advanced and unique functionality allows the designer to prepare a very advanced control system in an incredibly easy way, according to our best knowledge and to guidelines of leading balancing and control fittings producers.

The designer may load a random number of files, he/she may remove them or replace them, which is essential in the BIM process. Management of the imported model is possible thanks to the dedicated design browser and to information visible in the data table. Model objects may be highlighted or hidden. They are also visible for the SNAP function while editing other scopes in the 2D Editor. Models loaded with use of this module may be interpretated in regard to the building structure, which may be then modified freely.

Using board types available in a producer’s catalogue, with help of the program working modes (AUTO, ORTO), it is possible to arrange and match boards in rooms, after which radiant heating loops should be laid down in them. For such a system, the program runs complete heating and hydraulic calculation. As cutting and further usage of such boards is possible, the material list contains no excessive elements.

The building structure is exported based on the 3D model of the building and is part of the IFC Reference View export method defined by buildingSMART. The export contains basic information about the name of objects and their properties, as well as an exact geometric representation of the objects. The new, dedicated window “IFC file export” allows to export or exclude from export element labels, define the scope of exported elements or choose sheets to be exported, and to define number of IFC result files. IFC model export may be done in an iterative manner, according to the BIM process.

The module has been extended with the possibility to take into consideration cooling systems and with the Export button (available in the Printout and export ribbon), which allows to export the certificate into an XML file in order to import it into the central register of energy performance certificates. The program allows to perform it both based on WT2017 and WT2021.