Conceptual Constructions

In the Energy Settings dialog, click Edit to open the Conceptual Constructions dialog, where you can specify the constructions to use for different types of mass surfaces.

Note: Values for density and heat capacity are the composite of individual material layers per unit of construction area.

For walls, roofs, floors, and slabs, the tables in the following sections show Imperial (IP) values, which are calculated as follows:

Units	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
IP	ft²-hr ºF/Btu	lbm/ft²	Btu/(ft² •°F)
SI	(m² • °K)/W	kg/m²	J/(m² • °K)

The attached spreadsheet (listed under Files at the bottom of this page) summarizes Imperial and Metric values for all Conceptual Constructions.

Mass Exterior Wall - Imperial (IP) Values

Note: Values for density and heat capacity are the composite of individual material layers per unit of construction area.

The following table shows IP values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
Lightweight Construction - High Insulation	25	23	5
Lightweight Construction - Typical Cold Climate Insulation	17	21	4
Lightweight Construction - Typical Mild Climate Insulation (default)	10	18	4
Lightweight Construction - Low Insulation	8	19	4
Lightweight Construction - No Insulation	3	18	4
High Mass Construction - High Insulation	17	115	23
High Mass Construction - Typical Cold Climate	15	110	22
High Mass Construction - Typical Mild Climate	11	110	22
High Mass Construction - No Insulation	1	110	22

Mass Exterior Wall Metric (SI) Values

The following table shows SI values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
Lightweight Construction - High Insulation	4.47	139.54	0.234
Lightweight Construction - Typical Cold Climate Insulation	3.05	155.97	0.214
Lightweight Construction - Typical Mild Climate Insulation (default)	1.73	184.15	0.193
Lightweight Construction - Low Insulation	1.38	301.46	0.196
Lightweight Construction - No Insulation	0.49	455.55	0.193
High Mass Construction - High Insulation	2.91	495.67	1.116
High Mass Construction - Typical Cold Climate	2.58	477.14	1.081
High Mass Construction - Typical Mild Climate	1.91	512.67	1.080
High Mass Construction - No Insulation	0.24	669.35	1.075

Mass Interior Wall Imperial (IP) Values

The following table shows PI values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
Lightweight Construction - No Insulation	2	5	1
High Mass Construction - No Insulation (default)	1	110	22

Mass Interior Wall Metric (SI) Values

The following table shows SI values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
Lightweight Construction - No Insulation	0.49	455.55	0.193
High Mass Construction - No Insulation (default)	0.24	669.35	1.075

Mass Exterior Wall - Underground Imperial (IP) Values

The following table shows IP values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
High Mass Construction - High Insulation	17	115	23
High Mass Construction - Typical Cold Climate	15	110	22
High Mass Construction - Typical Mild Climate (default)	11	110	22
High Mass Construction - No Insulation	1	110	22

Mass Exterior Wall - Underground Metric (SI) Values

The following table shows SI values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
High Mass Construction - High Insulation	2.91	495.67	1.116
High Mass Construction - Typical Cold Climate	2.58	477.14	1.081
High Mass Construction - Typical Mild Climate (default)	1.91	512.67	1.080
High Mass Construction - No Insulation	0.24	669.35	1.075

Mass Roof Imperial (IP) Values

The following table shows IP values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
High Insulation - Cool Roof	32	14	3
High Insulation - Dark Roof	32	14	3
Typical Insulation - Cool Roof (default)	22	10	3
Typical Insulation - Dark Roof	22	10	3
Low Insulation - Cool Roof	12	8	2
Low Insulation - Dark Roof	12	8	2
No Insulation - Dark Roof	2	7	2

Mass Roof Metric (SI) Values

The following table shows SI values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
High Insulation - Cool Roof	5.63	108.25	0.158
High Insulation - Dark Roof	5.63	108.25	0.158
Typical Insulation - Cool Roof (default)	3.87	73.04	0.123
Typical Insulation - Dark Roof	3.87	73.04	0.123
Low Insulation - Cool Roof	2.11	101.56	0.109
Low Insulation - Dark Roof	2.11	101.56	0.109
No Insulation - Dark Roof	0.35	227.82	0.095

Mass Floor Imperial (IP) Values

The following table shows IP values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
Lightweight Construction - High Insulation	29	4	1
Lightweight Construction - Typical Insulation (default)	21	4	1
Lightweight Construction - Low Insulation	14	4	1
Lightweight Construction - No Insulation	4	2	1

Mass Floor Metric (SI) Values

The following table shows SI values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
Lightweight Construction - High Insulation	5.81	23.54	0.069
Lightweight Construction - Typical Insulation (default)	3.67	33.13	0.068
Lightweight Construction - Low Insulation	2.48	48.57	0.066
Lightweight Construction - No Insulation	0.74	156.51	0.032

Mass Slab - Imperial (IP) Values

The following table shows IP values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
High Mass Construction - Frigid Climate Slab Insulation	16	123	25
High Mass Construction - Cold Climate Slab Insulation	11	123	25
High Mass Construction - No Insulation (default)	6	123	25

Mass Slab - Metric (SI) Values

The following table shows SI values.

Conceptual Construction	R-value	Unit density	Heat capacity
High Mass Construction - Frigid Climate Slab Insulation	2.84	602.93	1.203
High Mass Construction - Cold Climate Slab Insulation	1.96	602.93	1.203
High Mass Construction - No Insulation (default)	1.08	602.93	1.203

Mass Glazing - Imperial (IP) Values

The following table shows IP values.

Conceptual Construction	U-value	SHGC	Tvis
Single Pane Clear - No Coating	1.09	0.81	0.88
Single Pane - Tinted	1.11	0.71	0.61
Single Pane - Reflective	0.89	0.28	0.13
Double Pane Clear - No Coating (default)	0.56	0.69	0.78
Double Pane - Tinted	0.57	0.61	0.55
Double Pane - Reflective	0.42	0.19	0.10
Double Pane Clear - LowE Cold Climate, High SHGC	0.35	0.67	0.72
Double Pane Clear - LowE Cold Climate, Low SHGC	0.30	0.44	0.70
Double Pane Clear - High Performance, LowE, High Tvis, Low SHGC	0.29	0.27	0.64
Triple Pane Clear - LowE Hot or Cold Climate	0.22	0.47	0.64
Quad Pane Clear - LowE Hot or Cold Climate	0.12	0.45	0.62

Mass Glazing - Metric (SI) Values

The following table shows SI values.

Conceptual Construction	U-value	SHGC	Tvis
Single Pane Clear - No Coating	6.18	0.81	0.88
Single Pane - Tinted	6.32	0.71	0.61
Single Pane - Reflective	5.06	0.28	0.13
Double Pane Clear - No Coating (default)	3.17	0.69	0.78
Double Pane - Tinted	3.24	0.61	0.55
Double Pane - Reflective	2.40	0.19	0.10
Double Pane Clear - LowE Cold Climate, High SHGC	1.96	0.67	0.72
Double Pane Clear - LowE Cold Climate, Low SHGC	1.68	0.44	0.70
Double Pane Clear - High Performance, LowE, High Tvis, Low SHGC	1.63	0.27	0.64
Triple Pane Clear - LowE Hot or Cold Climate	1.26	0.47	0.64
Quad Pane Clear - LowE Hot or Cold Climate	0.66	0.45	0.62

Mass Skylight - Imperial (IP) Values

The following table shows IP values.

Conceptual Construction	U-value	SHGC	Tvis
Single Pane - Tinted	1.11	0.71	0.61
Single Pane - Reflective	0.89	0.28	0.13
Double Pane Clear - No Coating (default)	0.56	0.69	0.78
Double Pane - Tinted	0.57	0.61	0.55
Double Pane - Reflective	0.42	0.19	0.10
Double Pane Clear - LowE Cold Climate, High SHGC	0.35	0.67	0.72
Double Pane Clear - LowE Cold Climate, Low SHGC	0.30	0.44	0.70
Double Pane Clear - High Performance, LowE, High Tvis, Low SHGC	0.29	0.27	0.64
Triple Pane Clear - LowE Hot or Cold Climate	0.22	0.47	0.64
Quad Pane Clear - LowE Hot or Cold Climate	0.12	0.45	0.62

Mass Skylight - Metric (SI) Values

The following table shows SI values.

Conceptual Construction	U-value	SHGC	Tvis
Single Pane - Tinted	6.32	0.71	0.61
Single Pane - Reflective	5.06	0.28	0.13
Double Pane Clear - No Coating (default)	3.17	0.69	0.78
Double Pane - Tinted	3.24	0.61	0.55
Double Pane - Reflective	2.40	0.19	0.10
Double Pane Clear - LowE Cold Climate, High SHGC	1.96	0.67	0.72
Double Pane Clear - LowE Cold Climate, Low SHGC	1.68	0.44	0.70
Double Pane Clear - High Performance, LowE, High Tvis, Low SHGC	1.63	0.27	0.64
Triple Pane Clear - LowE Hot or Cold Climate	1.26	0.47	0.64
Quad Pane Clear - LowE Hot or Cold Climate	0.66	0.45	0.62

Mass Shade

Select Basic Shade. Mass shades are assumed to be opaque.

Use shades and overhangs to reduce cooling loads, minimize solar heat gains, and increase comfort. For projects with smaller internal loads, such as residential buildings, overhangs can potentially increase heating loads. This issue is typically not a concern with large non-residential projects due to their higher internal heat gains.

Mass Opening

Select Air.

Openings are modeled as voids in surfaces that are exposed to climatic conditions.

In the Energy Settings dialog, click Edit to open the Conceptual Constructions dialog, where you can specify the constructions to use for different types of mass surfaces.

For walls, roofs, floors, and slabs, the tables in the following sections show Imperial (IP) values, which are calculated as follows: