Apache Weather & Site Editor

APlocate User Guide

<Virtual Environment> 6.0

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Contents

1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 3
2. Location & Site Data .................................................................................................. 4
2.1. Location and Weather Data Wizard ....................................................................................... 5
2.2. Location Data ......................................................................................................................... 5
2.3. Location Data: Latitude .......................................................................................................... 5
2.4. Location Data: Altitude ........................................................................................................... 5
2.5. Location data: Longitude ........................................................................................................ 5
2.6. Daylight Saving Time: Time Adjustment ................................................................................ 6
2.7. Daylight Saving Time: Daylight Saving Period ...................................................................... 6
2.8. Daylight Saving Time: Adjustment for Other Months ............................................................. 6
2.9. Site Data: Ground Reflectance .............................................................................................. 6
2.10. Site Data: Terrain Type .......................................................................................................... 7
2.11. Site Data: Wind Exposure (CIBSE Heating Loads) ............................................................... 7
3. Design Weather Data ................................................................................................. 9
3.1. Design Weather Data Source and Statistics .......................................................................... 9
3.2. Heating Loads Weather Data: Outdoor Winter Design Temperature .................................. 10
3.3. Cooling Loads Weather Data ............................................................................................... 10
3.4. Cooling Loads Weather data: Editing Weather Globally ..................................................... 11
3.5. Cooling Loads Weather Data: Editing Weather Individually ................................................ 12
3.6. Cooling Loads Weather Data: Hourly Temperature Variation ............................................. 13
4. Simulation Weather Data ......................................................................................... 14
4.1. ApacheSim ........................................................................................................................... 14
4.2. UK Building Regulations Part L ............................................................................................ 15
5. Weather Selection Wizard ....................................................................................... 16
5.1. Location and Weather Data Wizard ..................................................................................... 16
5.2. Location and Weather Data Wizard: Source of Design Weather ........................................ 18
5.2.1. Source of Design Weather: ASHRAE Database ......................................................... 19
5.2.2. Source of Design Weather: Custom Database ........................................................... 22
5.2.3. Source of Design Weather: Old Format Apache APL File .......................................... 23
5.2.4. Source of Design Weather: User Input ....................................................................... 25
5.3. Location and Weather Data Wizard: Simulation Weather File ............................................ 25
6. SunPath..................................................................................................................... 27
6.1. Purpose of the SunPath Program ........................................................................................ 27
7. Menu Items ............................................................................................................... 28
7.1. File Menu: ............................................................................................................................ 28
7.2. Options Menu: ...................................................................................................................... 28
7.3. Help Menu: ........................................................................................................................... 28
7.4. Toolbar Buttons: ................................................................................................................... 28

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1. Introduction
APLocate is the weather and site location editor for the programs CIBSE Heat
Loss & Heat Gains (ApacheCalc), ASHRAE Heat Balance Method
(ApacheLoads), ApacheSim, SunCast and Radiance. It is possible to choose a
location from an extensive database and guidance is given on defining weather
data for various locations.

Normally APlocate is called from within the <Virtual Environment> by clicking the
APlocate icon. Default site and weather data will be set up when a new model is
started. To edit these defaults, create new data or change location you must use
APlocate. It is advisable to edit project specific data as soon as the information
becomes available. If you begin using the <Virtual Environment> when project
data is unknown you may create it at a later date.

There are three tabs on the APlocate window, one for location or site data, one
for design weather data and the other for simulation weather data. APlocate also
has a selection wizard that assists the user in selecting weather data. These are
explained in following sections.

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2. Location & Site Data
APlocate utilises site data that contains values for latitude, longitude and height
above sea level of a wide range of sites throughout the world drawn from
standard tables published by CIBSE and ASHRAE. Non-ASHRAE locations are
marked in APlocate with an asterisk (*).

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2.1. Location and Weather Data Wizard
The selection wizard button launches a series of dialogs which help the user
select the location, the design weather data and the simulation weather data.

2.2. Location Data

The information in this box is not editable by the user, but whenever a new
location is selected or edited in the wizard, it is automatically updated by the
program. The final content of this box is saved in the weather data file and can
contain any information you like, except that it cannot be left blank.

2.3. Location Data: Latitude

The Latitude within APlocate is expressed as Decimal Degrees North or South.
In other words, 20 30 N should be entered as 20.50 and the drop-down box
beside the number set to N.

As far as the weather file read by ApacheSim is concerned, the following rule
applies:

The latitude of the building is expressed in decimal degrees (positive for

northern locations, negative for southern locations).

2.4. Location Data: Altitude

Enter the height above sea level of the building. For locations below sea level,
negative values are appropriate. The data is used in the calculation of solar
gains and atmospheric pressure in Heat Gain. In System Simulation the solar
gains and atmospheric pressure are read in directly from the weather file and so
this data is not used.

2.5. Location data: Longitude

The Longitude within APlocate is expressed as Decimal Degrees East or West.
In other words, 20 30 E should be entered as 20.50 and the drop-down box
beside the number set to E.

The building longitude is in decimal degrees. The longitude is regarded as

increasing westwards from Greenwich, so 20 East of Greenwich is rendered as
entered as 340.

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2.6. Daylight Saving Time: Time Adjustment
Enter the local time correction applicable for Daylight saving time to those
months entered in the From Month and To Month drop-down selection boxes.
The value must be approximated to the nearest hour. Positive is in advance of
sun time.

2.7. Daylight Saving Time: Daylight Saving Period

This is defined by selecting appropriate months in the From Month and To
Month drop-down boxes. Each can be selected within the range January-
December. Select the month, during which the time correction entered in the
Time Correction Box starts applying.

Select the month for which the time correction entered in the Time Correction
Box still applies. Note in Northern latitudes, the To month will normally be later
than the From Month and in Southern latitudes it will be earlier.

2.8. Daylight Saving Time: Adjustment for Other Months

Other Months are those months not included in the From Month - To Month
period. For example, if the From Month were April and the To Month October
(the default condition), then this time correction would be November to March
inclusive.

Enter the time correction (approximated to the nearest hour) during the
remainder of the year as defined above.

2.9. Site Data: Ground Reflectance

This is a measure of the ground albedo (Kr). Typical values are listed below, or
in CIBSE Guide A2, Table A2.31. It is used in APcalc and ApacheSim for the
calculation of ground reflected radiation on building facades.

There is some built-in assistance with setting the reflectance level:

Select the More Info button and a table with sample values will appear. You can
use the information provided in this window to decide on the albedo level you
want to set.

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2.10. Site Data: Terrain Type
Country
Suburbs
City

This data is used in both ApacheSim and in external CFD assessments in

MicroFlo. The terrain types define how the wind speed will vary with height,
dependant upon the local terrain. These definitions are based on ASHRAE
2001 wind speed profiles. This data affects the natural ventilation air exchange
rates when MacroFlo is run in conjunction with ApacheSim and the external
convective losses in ApacheSim. In MicroFlo the velocity profile changes with
height in relation to the choice of terrain type.

2.11. Site Data: Wind Exposure (CIBSE Heating Loads)

Sheltered sites (e.g. city centres)
Normal exposure sites
Sites with severe exposure (e.g. coastal)

The appropriate value will be entered into the weather file when a selection is
made from the drop-down box labelled Wind Exposure.

The wind exposure index is used to calculate the external surface resistance of
walls, windows, roofs etc. when a value is not explicitly entered in APcdb. In

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most cases, the peak summertime conditions will occur for a sheltered site. This
is because the higher surface resistance levels give rise to higher sol-air
temperatures on external surfaces. Higher surface resistance levels also reduce
the conduction of heat out of the building at night.

For winter heat loss design calculations, the peak conditions occur when the
exposure index is set to 3, i.e. severe (but only if your constructions are defined
without typing in surface resistance levels). This index is only used for the
CIBSE Heating Loads calculation.

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3. Design Weather Data
The individual entries are now explained.

3.1. Design Weather Data Source and Statistics

This section of the dialog contains the information about how the weather data
has been chosen using the Selection Wizard. The selection wizard button will
take the user through to the design weather data section of the wizard if
selected here. The Add to custom database button will allow the design weather
data shown currently to be saved by the user.

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3.2. Heating Loads Weather Data: Outdoor Winter Design
Temperature
Enter the outside air dry-bulb design temperature applicable to the building
location. This number is only used in ApacheLoads and ApacheCalc
calculations. This value can be manually entered or is derived from the Weather
Selection Wizard.

3.3. Cooling Loads Weather Data

Cooling loads weather data describes the summer time external design weather
data. This data is used for both CIBSE and ASHRAE cooling loads calculations.
The different parameters that are used for both types of analysis can be viewed
by selecting either the ASHRAE or CIBSE analysis radio button.

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3.4. Cooling Loads Weather data: Editing Weather Globally

To globally adjust the cooling loads weather data enter values into the following:

Max Outside DB Temperature

Max Outside WB Temperature

When these figures are entered, select Apply and APlocate will use the selected
pattern and shift the data to be based on the maxima as given. This allows you
to use an appropriate pattern but provides flexibility in design temperatures. To
review the detail of the pattern, press the Apply button. To return to the original
values use the selection wizard.

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3.5. Cooling Loads Weather Data: Editing Weather Individually

Custom weather files can be created by modifying the individual values of

existing files. Once modified the data values turn a green colour to indicate that
a change has been made. To do this, for the parameters common to both
CIBSE and ASHRAE for each month from January to December inclusive, the
following data are required:

Min Tdb - Minimum Daily Dry-Bulb Temperature as stated.

Max Tdb - Maximum Daily Dry-Bulb Temperature as stated.
Tdb lag - Dry-Bulb Time Lag enter the lag with respect to 12 noon
(excluding any local time correction) at the standard time meridian. For
example, if you type in 3, here, the dry bulb temperature will peak at
15:00 GMT (or at 16:00 if 1 hour summertime correction is in operation).
Min Twb - Minimum Daily Wet-Bulb Temperature as stated.
Max Twb - Maximum Daily Wet-Bulb Temperature at Maximum Dry-Bulb
Temperature as stated.

For a CIBSE analysis, the following parameters are required:

Linke Turbidity Factor - describes the combined impacts of various

atmospheric factors on the solar beam transmittance refer to CIBSE
Guide Part J Weather, solar and illuminance data for a complete
description of this factor.

For an ASHRAE analysis, the following parameters are required:

Solar radiation parameter A

Solar radiation parameter B

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 Solar radiation parameter C (ratio of diffuse horizontal to direct normal
irradiation):

Parameters A and B are used in the following expression to determine direct

normal irradiance:

direct normal irradiance = A*exp(-B/sin (solar altitude))

Please refer to the Climate Design Information section of ASHRAE

Fundamentals for a detailed description of these solar radiation
parameters.

This data must be entered for 12 months of the year (if you are only interested
in summer conditions, just leave the winter data in its default state). APlocate
uses this data to generate sinusoidally varying weather data for input to the
CIBSE and ASHRAE Heat Gain calculations.

Once a new weather data set has been created, this can be entered into the
database using Add to custom database button. A dialogue box will appear
into which the name of the new data set should be entered:

3.6. Cooling Loads Weather Data: Hourly Temperature Variation

The Sinusoidal and ASHRAE standard profile options dictate the way in which
the daily cooling loads weather data is generated from the maxima and minima
parameters. By choosing the Design Day Graphs or Design Day Tables the
effect of either the sinusoidal (to be used in CIBSE Heat Gain calculation) or the
ASHRAE standard profile (to be used in ASHRAE Heat Balance cooling load
calculation) can be viewed. Either method can be used whether CIBSE or
ASHRAE calculations are performed.

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4. Simulation Weather Data

4.1. ApacheSim
Weather Filename (for System Simulation only)

This shows the name of the hourly weather data file to drive your building
simulation.

Clicking the Select button beside the name will give you a list of available sites.
The program uses the \IES\apps\Apache directory to store weather files.

Each weather file has hourly values of: dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperature,
direct normal and horizontal diffuse solar radiation, solar altitude and azimuth,
wind speed and direction, cloud cover and atmospheric pressure. Each weather
file has a preceding value in kilometres or miles which identifies the distance of
its location from the location chosen in Location & Site Data.

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 Here is an example of the list you might get to select from:

To select a file:

Highlight it, and then click OK.

Click Cancel to close the window without having any effect.

Annual climate files are used for simulation and IES have a large database for
all parts of the world. Two file formats can be read in IES <VE> *.FWT which is
the IES <VE> proprietary file type and *.EPW which is a US Department of
Energy file format. Contact IES for further information or visit the IES website at
www.iesve.com for current available downloads.

4.2. UK Building Regulations Part L

Within this section you select the climate files to be used for Building
Regulations compliance with Criterion 1 and 3 of UK Part L. There are currently
14 sites available and these weather files must first be purchased from CIBSE
as a separate entity from the IES <VE>. These files are available for purchase
on the IES website. Please contact support@iesve.com if you require more
details.

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5. Weather Selection Wizard
The selection wizard button launches a series of dialogs which help the user
select the location, the design weather data and the simulation weather data.
The selection wizard allows the user access to choose the Location, the Design
Weather, and the Simulation Weather dataset.

The selection wizard button appears on both the Location and Site Data tab and
the Design Weather data tab. If the wizard is chosen from the Location tab, the
user can change the Location, the Design Weather, and the Simulation Weather
dataset. If the selection wizard is chosen from the Design weather tab, the user
can only manipulate the design weather data. By pressing this button the
following dialog will appear:

5.1. Location and Weather Data Wizard

This dialog shows the following location data: Latitude, Longitude, Altitude,
Time Zone and Daylight saving time data. These parameters are described in
section 2 of this manual. The location and daylight saving time data are all
editable. When any data other than Location name is edited, the Location name
has an asterisk added to indicate it is no longer from the ASHRAE database. In

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any case the user can edit the Location name as they wish. To access the
ASHRAE and CIBSE location database choose the select button:

This shows the Select Site Location dialog. The location of the model can be
defined by choosing the correct region, country and city of the site. Non-
ASHRAE locations are marked with an asterisk (*). The latitude, longitude and
Altitude of the site will then be shown in the non-editable boxes. Note these
values can be changed either in the Location & Site Data tab or within the
Location and Weather Data Wizard.

The drop down list Filter helps to sort the data. The filter choices are as
follows:

All in country all locations in the currently chosen country

Nearest 10 the nearest 10 locations in the database
Nearest 50 the nearest 50 locations in the database
Nearest 100 the nearest 100 locations in the database

Once the nearest location filter is chosen the locations are viewed along with
the distance that the currently chosen site is from the other locations in the list.
For example if London/Weather Ctr is chosen and Nearest 10 is chosen from
the filter then the dialog will look like the following:

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 In the above dialog the closest weather location to the initial choice of
London/Weather Ctr is Garston at 11km away. If Garston is now chosen the ten
closest locations to Garston will be shown. Note it is possible to select a
location in another country if the location lies close to the border. If another
country is chosen, the country list will change to reflect this change.

Once the correct location is chosen select OK and this will update the previous
dialog. If there are no further changes to be made click next.

5.2. Location and Weather Data Wizard: Source of Design Weather

The source of design weather data can be chosen. The options to choose from
are to create design weather data from the ASHRAE/CIBSE database, use a
custom database, use an older format Apache .apl file or to manually input the
design weather.

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5.2.1. Source of Design Weather: ASHRAE Database
If the ASHRAE database is chosen, once next is clicked the following dialog will
be shown, here the option is given to use design weather that is not the same
as your chosen location. This gives some flexibility for calculations. By choosing
select the location for the source of the design weather data can be chosen.
The procedure for this is identical to choosing a location for the Location and
Site parameters. But this time only locations in the ASHRAE weather database
are listed

If the location data was edited on the first page of the wizard (5.1) the weather
dataset will come up blank on this page. However the Select dialog will come up
with the nearest ASHRAE location highlighted.

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Once a location for the design weather dataset is chosen then the user has the
choice to decide upon how the design summer and winter external temperature
is derived.

There are 2 options:

1. ASHRAE Fundamental Design Weather data tabular weather data

taken directly from the ASHRAE fundamentals.
2. Statistical calculation based on ASHRAE WDVIEW 3 data

The ASHRAE weather datasets allow these external design temperatures to be

based upon a statistical treatment. This treatment analyses the weather dataset
and returns the design external temperatures that are only exceeded by the
percentage of the year or month that the user specifies.

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If you want to choose an external summer weather design condition where the
design temperature is exceeded for 0.2% of the time, enter 0.2 in the Annual
percentile for Cooling Loads weather (%).

If you want to choose an external design winter condition where the external
temperature is colder than the chosen external temperature for 0.4% of the time
enter 99.6 in the Annual percentile for Heating Loads weather (%).

Once the percentiles have been set, click on Acquire design weather to
generate design weather conditions. This data can later be viewed in the
Design Weather Data tab described in section 3 of this user guide.

Note that any edits to the location and/or the percentiles are only effective after
an Acquire has been performed.

The method by which the design weather is derived from the annual percentiles
is as follows.

The Outdoor winter design temperature is the hourly average temperature

exceeded on the given percentage (Annual percentile for Heating Loads design
weather) of occasions in the historical dataset. This dataset is stored as a set of
binned temperature statistics. Linear interpolation is applied between
consecutive bins.

The peak design dry bulb temperature for cooling load calculations is the hourly
average temperature that is exceeded on the given percentage (Annual
percentile for Cooling Loads design weather) of occasions in the historical
dataset. This peak temperature appears in the table as the maximum dry bulb
temperature for the warmest month. The percentage of the time that this
temperature is exceeded in the peak month is then calculated. This monthly
percentile is then applied to the other months to derive the design maximum dry
bulb temperatures for those months on the same statistical basis. Minimum dry
bulb temperatures are then obtained for each month by subtracting from the
maximum dry bulb temperature the daily temperature swing calculated for each
month. In the case of the peak month the temperature swing is provided in the
database. For the other months the swing is estimated by deriving the
amplitude of the first Fourier component of the clear sky horizontal global solar
radiation flux for the month in question and using this to scale the temperature
swing recorded for the peak month.

The wet bulb temperature coinciding with the maximum dry bulb temperature
(Twb at max Tdb) for each month is calculated as the mean wet bulb
temperature coincident with the maximum dry bulb temperature, using the
historical binned temperature data.

The peak dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures obtained by this method are in
close agreement with those published in the ASHRAE Handbook of

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 Fundamentals for the annual percentiles 0.4%, 1% and 2%. The Handbook also
publishes monthly dry bulb and mean coincident wet bulb temperatures for
monthly percentiles 0.4%, 1% and 2%. There is no fixed relationship between
monthly and annual percentiles in general, but for a given temperature the
monthly percentile will be greater than the annual percentile (by a factor of
about 12 for very low percentiles). The monthly percentile is displayed following
retrieval of the design weather data, and a desired value for monthly percentile
can be achieved by applying successive adjustments to the annual percentile.

5.2.2. Source of Design Weather: Custom Database

The second source of design weather is a custom database. This database is
one created by the user once a current database, which has been edited to
users requirements, has been saved. The saving procedure, using the Add to
custom database in the Design Weather Data tab, is explained in Section 3 of
this user guide.

If custom database is chosen, click next and on the following dialog, shown
below, choose Select and select from the list of custom databases to choose
the design weather.

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5.2.3. Source of Design Weather: Old Format Apache APL File
The third source of design weather is to access the older format Apache APL
file. This database gives the user access to the original design weather
information supplied in previous versions of APlocate. After choosing the old
format Apache APL file select next and the following dialog appears.

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To select an old format Apache APL file choose select and then select the
required weather file from the list.

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5.2.4. Source of Design Weather: User Input
If user input is chosen the Design Weather will be left as the current default
weather dataset and the user can edit the data as required. This editing is
described in Section 3 of this user guide.

5.3. Location and Weather Data Wizard: Simulation Weather File

The simulation weather file can be chosen on the last page of the Location and
weather data wizard. To choose from a list of available weather datasets
choose the select button. Amore detailed description of simulation weather
data files is given in Section 4 of this user guide. You also have the choice of
using nearest to site option. When you use this the software chooses the
nearest weather file to the site you have chosen.

The UK Building Regulations weather file is automatically set when you choose
your site location and is a requirement for compliance simulations.

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To save all changes made in the wizard, the Finish button must be pressed.

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6. SunPath
6.1. Purpose of the SunPath Program
The program is designed to show the Suns path across the sky on any date as
viewed from any position in the earths surface. The factors which determine the
apparent path are the latitude and longitude of the observer and the date and
time of the observation. The Suns position is expressed in degrees of azimuth
and degrees of altitude.

The path is displayed over a period which can be selected by the user. If either
of the solstices or the equinoxes occurs during this period, the Suns Path for
these days is also displayed.

By default, the current year for London, UK is displayed, but if SunPath is run
from SunCast or from APlocate, then the current location held by these
programs is shown.

The main screen for the program looks like this:

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 To use SunPath, you can select the dates, times and locations you are
interested in, and the program will then display the appropriate sun paths and
will also carry out a number of analyses.

To close the program, click the File and Exit options from the main menu.

See the SunPath User Guide for more information.

7. Menu Items
Menu items in APlocate provide the following options:

7.1. File Menu:

Save: Saves the design weather data as a *.wea file
Exit: Exits APlocate

7.2. Options Menu:

Graph: Launches the design day graphs dialog
SunPath: Launches SunPath (see section 6)
Remove from custom database: Option to remove any pre-saved custom
databases

7.3. Help Menu:

Contents: Launches the Help menu
About: Program description and information about IES

7.4. Toolbar Buttons:

- Save: Saves the design weather data as a *.wea file
- Print: Prints a synopsis of the design weather data
- Graph: Launches the design day graphs dialog
- SunPath: Launches SunPath
- Exit: Exits APlocate
- Help: Launches the Help menu

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