Google SketchUp IES plug-in more hints & tips
Posted: July 21, 2009 by Pete, Category:hints and tips, sketchup
Ok, so I am back with some tips and tricks for Google SketchUp! This blog will show you how to import a model from the SU warehouse for use within the VE. Just think of the possibilities. Take any building you like from the warehouse, and within a couple of hours, you could be doing full blown energy assessment, daylight analyses, natural ventilation feasibility studies, even LEED compliance!
So…. how do we do it?
1. Open SU – bit obvious this one
2. Go to the SU warehouse under the file menu
3. Browse the models or type in your favourite building in the search field
4. Download the model directly into your SU
5. Now, generally these models will come in as components or groups. As you may have noticed, the plug-in does have the facility to recognise groups and components. It can explode them and scan for fully enclosed volumes which can then be considered eligible for any subsequent analysis. However, the majority of models in the warehouse do not have fully enclosed volumes, so when the plug-in scans the components or groups, the rooms will not be found. So… in this case, we need to manually explode the components first, then add in any necessary surfaces to fully enclose the shape, then run the room scan.
6. So, highlight the building, right click and choose explode. Most of the time, this may need to be done a couple of times and there may be a ground plane/Google earth map that needs to be unlocked first too. This will be shown in red so right click and unlock this.
7. Once the building is completely exploded, look for surfaces that need to be added. The ones I have tried are massing models that just need a bottom surface added to fully enclose, but it depends on the complexity of the model.
8. Then, add in any detail you want in terms of glazing etc that may have not been included and check the opacities of surfaces are correct. Remember the rules for the opacity of the materials -
0% - hole
1-99% - transparent (for glass)
100% - opaque (for walls or doors)
9. Run the room scan – it should pick up the building as fully enclosed now. Ok, you can now go ahead and start analysing the building using the plugin after you enter the usual information for building type, constructions etc. This of course, as I said, is likely to be a massing model. If you want to start partitioning the space, this can be done in SU or, once you import it into the <VE>, the edit tools can be used to cut the building into floors and partitioned for a more accurate assessment of the building.
Here are a couple of samples of buildings from the Warehouse
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- The Burj Dubai - Dubai
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- The Spire - Chicago
