3D Visualization

HVAKR’s 3D visualization provides an interactive view of your building model, helping you understand spatial relationships and verify your design.

Accessing 3D View

From the Project

Navigate to the 3D view:

1. Open your project
2. Click 3D Viewer in the sidebar
3. The 3D model loads automatically

System Requirements

The 3D view renders with WebGL. For best results:

• Modern web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)
• Hardware graphics acceleration enabled
• Sufficient memory for large models

If your browser can’t create a WebGL context, HVAKR shows a message explaining that the 3D view is unavailable.

Navigation

Mouse Controls

Action	Control
Rotate	Left-click + drag
Pan	Right-click + drag
Zoom	Scroll wheel

Touch Controls

Action	Gesture
Rotate	One-finger drag
Pan	Two-finger drag
Zoom	Pinch

To return to the default camera angle, click the Home button in the toolbar.

Toolbar

The toolbar in the corner of the view holds the controls:

• Home — reset the camera to the default angle
• Fullscreen — expand the view to fill the screen (desktop only)
• Auto-Rotate — slowly spin the model
• Download Image — save a PNG screenshot of the current view
• Performance Mode — drop shadows, reflections, and the grid for smoother navigation on large models
• Scope — choose whether a click selects a Space, Zone, or System
• Load Color Overlay (tint icon) — color space volumes by cooling or heating load density (same scales as the 2D canvas). Requires calculated loads.
• Layers (eye icon) — toggle which elements are visible

Layers

Open the Layers menu to show or hide parts of the model:

• Sheets — floor plan images placed in the scene
• Walls/Windows — the envelope, with glazing and doors
• Slabs — floor slabs
• Roofs/Skylights — roof planes and skylights
• Dry Side — ductwork, equipment, and other dry-side nodes
• Grid Floor — the reference grid beneath the model
• Sunlight Vector — an arrow showing the sun’s direction

When the model spans multiple levels, the menu also offers Filter by Level — enable it and use the slider to isolate a single floor.

Load Color Overlay

Use the tint button to color each space volume by Cooling Load Density or Heating Load Density. Colors use the same white→blue / white→orange-red scales as the 2D canvas (default 0–80 BTU/(h·ft²)).

The overlay follows the current Scope:

• Spaces — each volume uses that space’s load density
• Zones / Systems — member volumes share the zone or system aggregate density

A legend appears in the lower-left while an overlay is active. Click the active option again to turn the overlay off.

Selection

Each space has an invisible volume (the room prism from floor to top of walls). Hovering it tints the volume; clicking selects according to the toolbar Scope (space, zone, or system). The camera stays put on click.

An inspect panel shows area, volume, envelope areas, and peak heating/cooling loads when calculations are available. Use Locate on the panel to frame the selection, or click empty space to clear it.

The Home button resets the camera without reloading the scene.

Sun Study

The controls along the bottom of the view drive the solar position:

• The month selector sets the design day
• The hour slider moves the time of day

Enable the Sunlight Vector layer to see the sun’s direction update as you change the month and hour.

Exporting

Screenshot

Use Download Image in the toolbar to save the current view as a PNG. The screenshot captures the visible layers at the current camera angle.

Performance Tips

For complex buildings:

• Turn on Performance Mode
• Hide layers you don’t need from the Layers menu
• Use Filter by Level to focus on one floor at a time
• Close other browser tabs to free up memory