Room Naming

[Megan]

As the Title 24 module in the VE runs the CBECC-Com Ruleset & EnergyPlus simulation engine for compliance, there are a few limitations with regards to naming the rooms that don't exist elsewhere in the VE:

1. Duplicate room names are not allowed. Each room and each zone must have a unique name.
2. The &, >, <, and $ symbols cannot be used.

If you have errors about room names in a project, it is likely related to these limitations.

[MatthewSteen]

1. Duplicate room names are not allowed. Each room and each zone must have a unique name.

Duplicate room names are not an issue. IES rooms are the equivalent to OpenStudio "spaces" which can also have the same name. Regardless, the issue is moot since the room ID is appended to the room name when it's translated to the XML file used by CBECC-Com. However, zones cannot have the same name in EnergyPlus so that point is still valid.

[macleodd]

Matthew is quite correct - duplicate room names do not cause any issue in the XML.

It's worth pointing out that CBECC-Com v3c extends name uniqueness to be across the project, rather than per object type.
This affects the upcoming VE release against v3c, scheduled for mid August 2015. Users may want to start adjusting object names accordingly in advance of this release.
In particular the Building storey names ( = "Floors" grouping schemes in VE) can no longer be the same as any HVAC Zone names.
Neither can any HVAC System names coincide with Zone names, and so on.

Donald

[MatthewSteen]

Good to know, thanks Donald. Although it's also worth noting that OpenStudio spaces (VE rooms) can have the same name as OpenStudio/EnergyPlus zones.