Select the Construction icon from the toolbar to create or edit the assembly components that make up the building envelope. Enter or choose the assemblies that will be used in the construction of your building.

Note: You don't need to document every individual item (e.g. every window) for each assembly in your building, but you should include each different type of window, roof, walls, etc., that is present in your building.

Create an assembly

Add each of the following assemblies, which are available from the list on the Construction page by selecting the Add (plus) icon:

• Roofs
  
• Skylights
  
• Walls
  
• Windows
  
• Window-to-Wall Ratio
  
• Floors

Assembly entries may be edited by selecting the blue "Edit" icon, and/or may be deleted by selecting the yellow "trash can" icon.

Infiltration values may be edited as needed.

Note: Required fields in each of the data entry screens are indicated with a red star (*). If a non-required field is left blank, the tool will infer a value based on the building type, age, location, and assembly type. A unit conversion calculator is available to help with entering assembly thermal property values (e.g. U-Factor, R-Value, area, etc.).

Assign assemblies to building blocks

Every building must have at least one Roof,  Wall, and Floor assembly, and every block must have these assemblies assigned. Every surface with a window must have a valid Window-to-Wall Ratio or the total Number of Windows assigned. View the Assign Use Types and Components section for instructions on assigning components to buildings and blocks.

Note:   the tool automatically assigns the appropriate assembly components to the appropriate surface (i.e. exterior roof construction is assigned to an exterior roof). Roof, Wall and floor components need to be assigned to all blocks, even those that may have connecting interior surfaces.  The tool will check for exposure to sun and automatically assign interior surface construction to surfaces not exposed to the sun.