When you select a gain by clicking on it in the Gains table, a new dialog box will appear called the Profile window. This new dialog box will have the following parameters:
Type
This a drop-down list with up to six options: Function, Hourly, Hourly Function, Value, Yearly, and Yearly Function. The selection will depend on which gain you've selected. For example, if you've selected "Infiltration", then you will have options for Hourly, Value, and Yearly. Whereas, when you select Ventilation you'll be able to choose from Function, Hourly Function, and Yearly Function as well.
If Function is chosen, the gain value will be calculated based on a formula. The function can be typed in by the user or it can be specified through a dialog window by choosing various options. Functions are only available for aperture types, lighting gain, ventilation and capacity compensation. If you select a function, then the Setback Value will never be used.
For more details on this subject, please read the following topics:
If Value is selected then the Values table will only have room for you to enter a single value. The value entered here is the one that will be used when the schedule value for a given hour is 1.
If Hourly is selected, the Value table will have 24 rows, a row for each hour of the day. This allows the user to enter different values for different hours of the day. Values that appear in hours where the schedule is set to 0 will be ignored, the Setback Value will be used instead.
If Yearly is selected, the Value table will have 8760 rows, one for each hour of the year. This allows the user to enter different values for different hours of the year. Values that appear in hours where the schedule is set to 0 will be ignored, the Setback Value will be used instead.
There are two other options you can choose from, namely Hourly Function and Yearly Function. These function types exist for lighting gain and ventilation. They are not available for aperture types or capacity compensation.
Hourly Function - a combination of a function and an hourly profile, the function will be set to on when the profile value is 1, otherwise the function definition and the setback value will be ignored, and the function will return a gain equal to 0.
Yearly Function - behaves in exactly the same way as an hourly function, except the profile that is used to determine when the function will be on will be a yearly profile of 8760 1s and 0s, where a value of 1 will turn the function to on, and a 0 will turn the function to off, the setback value will be ignored, and the gain will be set to zero.
How an hourly or yearly function deviates from a standard function lies in how the function is turned on and off, which is achieved using a profile. You will be able to set up an hourly or yearly profile by inputting a 1 or 0 at each hour. The idea being, a value of 1 will switch the function to on, but when the value is 0 the function will be ignored, as will the setback value, meaning the gain will be set to 0.
The one exception to this rule lies with the ventilation functions tmmvc and tmmvn, both of which have a minimum ventilation rate which will be multiplied by the values in the profile, along with the factor. This means that the profile values aren't just a way to determine at which hours the function will be on or off. When the value in the profile is 0, then the function will return a ventilation rate of 0 ACH because the function will be turned off. When the value is greater than 0, the function will be turned on and the minimum ventilation rate will be multiplied by the value in the profile and by the factor. So you will be able to enter any value in the profile, rather than just a 0 or 1, to augment the minimum ventilation rate, as well as have it turn the function on and off.
In terms of lighting gain, the Lighting Control Function dialog will appear when you select Hourly (or Yearly) Function (you can read more about this dialog and the required inputs in the Lighting Gain Functions topic). You will be able to choose a control type (e.g. manual control or photocell control) and go on to describe how the function will behave under what conditions.
To edit a value in the Values table, double-click in the appropriate box, type in a new number, and then left-click on another parameter, such as Factor or Setback Value.
You can copy an entire column from MS Excel into the Values table. In MS Excel, left-click on the column header of the column you want to copy, and then hold down the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+C. Left-click on the right hand side of the first editable cell of the Values table, it will now be highlighted, and then press Ctrl+V to paste the values. Left-click in one of the editable cells of the Values table, and then left-click on another parameter, such as Factor or Setback Value.
Factor
A multiplier that is applied to both the Value and Setback Value. To edit this value, double-click in the box, type in a new number, and then press <Tab> key or left-click in another box.
Setback Value
The value of the parameter is used when the schedule value for a given hour is 0. To edit this value double click in the box, type in a new number and then press <Tab> or left click in another box. The setback value will be ignored when an hourly or yearly function is used.
Schedule
The name of the schedule which determines when the value and setback values are used. If this field is blank, i.e. there's no schedule applied, the schedule is assumed to be always on and therefore the Setback Value is never used. To apply a schedule to a gain, select it from the drop down menu. Schedules are described in further detail in the Schedules topic.