h2x User GuideUser Guide
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Rooms (and Walls)

How to Draw a Room

Draw the First Room

Step-by-step

  1. Select from Toolbar:

    Click the Room button in the toolbar, and choose from the drop-down menu

  2. Set the Starting Point:

    Left-click to place the first point/corner of your room.

  3. Define Dimensions:

    Move your cursor towards the second point/corner of the room and Left-click.

    Dimensions will snap at intervals of 45° angles for precise alignment.

    Hold the Shift key to override the angle snapping and draw at custom angles.

  4. Complete the Room:

    Double left-click or right-click on the last point/corner of the room to finalize it as a room.

Type the exact dimension you need in metres and press Enter to set a dimension precisely.

Draw an Adjacent Room

Step-by-step

  1. Set the Starting Point:

    Start from the wall of an existing room by clicking on a corner.

  2. Define Dimensions:

    Move your cursor towards the second point/corner of the room and Left-click.

    Dimensions will snap at intervals of 45° angles for precise alignment.

    Hold the Shift key to override the angle snapping and draw at custom angles.

  3. Complete the Room:

    Double left-click or right-click on the last point/corner of the room to finalize it as a room.

If the blue dashed autofill line appears, it indicates automatic alignment to adjacent rooms.

You can not avoid autofill behavior from happening, so to prevent it, draw rooms in a different sequence.

Modifying Rooms

Step-by-step

  1. Move a Room:

    Click and drag the room to reposition it within the design workspace.

    You can only move a single room at a time.

  2. Adjust Walls:

    Click on a wall to pull it outward or inward to modify its shape.

  3. Add Wall Points for Customization:

    Click the Add Wall Point option to add a new point along a wall.

    After adding the point, drag it to the desired location to reshape the room.

  4. Merging and Splitting Rooms:

    This is not possible. All rooms are independent, so can not be merged together or split. Each room remains independent with its own set of walls.

    If you want to split a room: we recommend deleting the room and drawing two separate rooms.

    If you want to merge rooms: we recommend deleting the two rooms and draw a single room.

Aligning Rooms (Multi-Level)

For multi-level designs, the outlines of lower-level rooms will appear as grey overlays on the current level.

Use these outlines to align rooms accurately across floors.

Room Properties

Room properties are divided into three tabs: Room, Air Changes, and Internal Heat Sources.

Room Tab

This tab contains essential details for the room, including dimensions, temperatures, and materials.

  • Name:

    • Assign a name for the room to help identify it in reports and the design.

  • Color:

    • Set a unique color for better visualization in the design workspace.

  • Room Type:

    • Select from predefined room types, which come with default settings for temperatures and air changes.

      • You can create your own Rooms in the Heat Load settings.

  • Temperatures:

    • Internal Temperature: The target design temperature for the room (e.g., 20°C).

    • External Temperature: The outside temperature is set in the Heat Load settings but can be overridden for individual rooms.

    • Ground Temperature: The temperature is set in the Heat Load settings but can be overridden for individual rooms.

  • Spare Capacity:

    • Winter Spare Capacity: Adds additional heat load, as configured in the Heat Load settings but can be overridden for individual rooms.

    • Summer Spare Capacity: Adds additional cooling load, as configured in the Heat Load settings but can be overridden for individual rooms.

  • Height:

    • Room height defaults from the Heat Load settings but can be overridden for individual rooms.

      1. Note this is separate to floor heights in the Levels tabs, and they need to be updated independent of each other

  • Roof and Floor Materials:

    • Roof Material and U-Value: Configured in Heat Load settings but can be overridden for individual rooms.

    • Floor Type and Material: Configured in Heat Load settings but can be overridden for individual rooms.

  • Chimney Settings:

    • Choose from:

      1. No Chimney.

      2. Chimney with a Throat Restrictor.

      3. Chimney without a Throat Restrictor.

    • Chimney settings affect air change rates for the room.

  • Heat Loss Override:

    • Option to bypass automatic calculations and manually specify the total heat loss for the room.

Room Tab (Underfloor Heating Mode)

The Properties tab for underfloor heating in a room allows you to customize the key aspects of the design, if they differ from the Systems settings.

  • Loop Shape

    • Defines the layout of the heating loops in the room (e.g., spiral, serpentine, or linear).

  • Spiral Chirality

    • Set the direction of the loops (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise).

  • Manifold

    • Select the manifold to which this room’s underfloor heating is connected.

  • Floor Finish

    • Specify the type of flooring (e.g., tile, carpet, laminate).

    • This is set in the Systems Settings, and can be overridden on a room by room basis. 

  • Pipe Diameter

    • Choose the pipe diameter for this room.

    • This is set in the Systems Settings, and can be overridden on a room by room basis. 

  • Loop Spacing

    • Set the distance between the pipe centres in the layout.

    • This is set in the Systems Settings, and can be overridden on a room by room basis. 

  • Underfloor Heating Coil Color

    • Customize the visual appearance of the coils for better clarity in the design.

    • This is set in the Systems Settings, and can be overridden on a room by room basis. 

  • Minimum Bend Radius

    • Specify the smallest allowable bend for the pipe, typically determined by the material’s flexibility.

    • This is set in the Systems Settings, and can be overridden on a room by room basis. 

  • Maximum Loop Length

    • Define the maximum length of a single loop to prevent excessive pressure loss or uneven heating.

    • This is set in the Systems Settings, and can be overridden on a room by room basis. 

  • Has Actuator

    • Indicate if an actuator is present for this loop to control flow via the manifold.

      • This actuator gets added to the bill of materials.

  • Heat Output

    • Automatically calculated based on the design inputs (loop spacing, pipe diameter, floor finish, and system settings).

      • This will limit to match the heat loss of the room, so its likely that it can product more heat output if needed.

    • This can be overridden.

Air Changes Tab

This tab focuses on ventilation and air change settings, which are critical for heat load calculations. 

You have the option to use a different air change rates for minimum ventilation flow rate calculations to your heat load calculations if you prefer.

  • Default Air Changes: Sourced from the Heat Load settings.

    • Heating Air Changes: Used in the heat load calculations (heating and cooling sizing).

    • Ventilation Air Changes: Used in the minimum ventilation/fresh air flow rate calculations (duct sizing)

Internal Heat Sources Tab

This tab allows you to add heat sources to the room, used in the heat gain calculations.

To add heat sources:

  • Select internal heat sources (e.g., appliances) from the drop-down list, populated from Heat Load settings

  • Specify the quantity of each heat source present in the room.

Wall Properties

When you click on a wall, you can adjust the following properties in the Properties panel:

  • Name: Identifier for the wall.

  • Color: For visual clarity in the design workspace.

  • Material: This value, taken from the Heat Load settings, is critical for heat load calculations.

    • The material determines the U-value.

  • U-Value: This value, taken from the Heat Load settings, represents thermal conductivity, typically linked to the wall material.

  • Wall Thickness: Specify the thickness of the wall.

  • Wall Type: Override the wall type to be Internal, External, or a Party Wall if the software incorrectly identifies it.

    • Each type has distinct properties and settings.

  • External Temperature: This value, taken from the Heat Load settings, is factored into the heat load calculation if the door is on an external wall.