Spaces

Spaces are the fundamental building blocks of your HVAKR model. Each space represents a distinct area of your building that you want to analyze for heating, cooling, and ventilation.

Creating Spaces

Drawing Spaces Manually

1. Navigate to Building Model > Spaces
2. Select the level you’re working on with the toolbar level controls
3. Click Create Spaces (or press N)
4. Pick polygon or rectangle mode from the segmented control that appears
5. For a polygon, click to place each vertex, then press Enter (or click the starting point) to complete it; for a rectangle, click one corner and then the opposite corner. Hold Ctrl to disable snapping.
6. Keep drawing as many spaces as you need, click Done when finished, then assign a space type in the properties panel

Tips for Drawing

• Follow the interior face of exterior walls
• Include the full floor area within the space
• Trace carefully around columns and other obstructions
• Use snap to align with existing geometry

AI Space Takeoff

Use AI to automatically detect spaces from your floor plan:

1. Click the Auto Takeoff Spaces button (the wand icon) in the toolbar
2. In the Auto Takeoff Spaces dialog, choose Apply to all levels or Apply to level N only, optionally set Wall Type / Window Type / Roof Type / Slab Type, then click Run
3. Review the generated spaces — click each one to toggle Included / Excluded
4. Click Approve (or press Enter) to keep the included spaces, or Reject all (or press Esc) to discard them

AI Space Takeoff works best with clear, well-defined floor plans. See AI Space Takeoff for details.

Space Properties

General Properties

• Name - Descriptive name (e.g., “Office 101”, “Conference Room A”)
• Space Type - Links to space type for loads and ventilation
• Floor - The floor level containing this space

Geometry

• Area - Calculated from the polygon boundary. Read-only; edit the polygon to change it.

Override Values

• Custom occupancy - Override the space type’s calculated occupancy default

Space Types

Each space must be assigned a space type. The space type determines:

• Occupancy density and activity level
• Equipment and lighting loads
• Ventilation requirements
• Usage schedules

See Space Types for configuration details.

Editing Spaces

Double-click a space (or right-click it and choose Edit) to enter its polygon editor. The area updates automatically as you edit.

Moving Vertices

Drag any vertex to a new position, or drag an edge to move the whole edge. Hold Ctrl to disable snapping.

Adding Vertices

Hover an edge and Shift-click it to insert a new vertex, then drag the vertex into position.

Deleting Vertices

Hover a vertex and Shift-click it to remove it. A space must keep at least three vertices.

When you’re finished, click the check (✓) button to save the edited polygon, or the cancel (✕) button to discard your changes.

Splitting Spaces

To divide one space into two:

1. Right-click the space and choose Split
2. Click a boundary edge to start the split line
3. Click another boundary edge to complete it — HVAKR splits the space along that line

Press U to undo the last point or Esc to cancel, and hold Ctrl to disable snapping. Click the check (✓) button to finish.

Merging Spaces

To combine spaces:

1. Select two or more adjacent spaces (they must share an edge)
2. Right-click the space you want to keep and choose Merge

The other selected spaces are merged into the one you clicked and removed; the kept space retains its space type. Merge only appears when the selected spaces are adjacent.

Bulk Operations

Select Multiple Spaces

• Click and drag an empty area to box-select the spaces inside it
• Ctrl/Cmd + click a space to add it to (or remove it from) the selection
• Shift + click a space to select every space between it and the last one you clicked

Bulk Edit

With multiple spaces selected:

• Change space type for all selected
• Move all selected spaces together
• Delete all selected spaces

Best Practices

1. Name spaces clearly - Use consistent naming conventions
2. Assign types immediately - Set the space type when creating
3. Check areas - Verify calculated areas match expectations
4. Avoid overlaps - Each area should belong to only one space
5. Include all conditioned areas - Don’t miss corridors, lobbies, etc.