Louver Tutorial - DIVA for GH

Louver Test Using DIVA for GH

Using DIVA in conjunction with Grasshopper (GH) is a powerful tool for iterative thermal and luminous design testing. The manipulation of geometry in grasshopper and subsequent testing of these iterations using DIVA components will allow users to find the optimum design solution in regard to daylighting and thermal properties. The model used in this tutorial is a simple room with glass and louvers on the south and west facades. The louvers on the south are horizontal and the louvers on the west are vertical. This model was created in grasshopper and allows for changes in the size of the room and the depth, spacing/number and rotation of the louvers. Models may also be created in Rhino and imported to GH for testing; however, this will limit ability to quickly manipulate the design. This tutorial focuses further on using DIVA Daylighting analysis components to simulate illuminance and how to map data collected using color.

Step 1: Create spaces and louvers for testing

This can be created in GH, or in Rhino and imported to GH. Keep in mind that you will need to group like materials (wall, glass, roof, floor, ceiling, louvers). You will also need to create a ground plane.

Step 2: Create script to run DIVA Analysis

Add the material component from the DIVA tab. Connect the material component to the building or room components. To assign a material, right click on the word material in the material component. A window will appear with a list of materials to chose from. Click on desired material to select.

Add DIVA Daylight (DD) Analysis component and connect materials to the GM input

Right click on settings in the DD component. The DIVA: DM Simulation Setting window will appear.

In the first tab (location), select your location

In the second tab (simulation parameters) select desired simulation, sky type, and date/time

click OK

Select a surface for daylight analysis (typically the floor or wall) – this surface will need to be turned into a mesh. Deconstruct mesh and connect to nodes input in the DD component

Connect a Boolean Toggle to the run input, connect a panel to the messages output (DD) and connect a panel to illuminance output (DD)

Step 3: Run DIVA tests and collect results

Double click on the toggle (it should say 'true') *double click to turn back to false as soon as the simulation is complete*. A black window with text will appear on the screen and will disappear once the simulation is complete. Your simulation results should appear in the panel.

To map the color, add a gradient component and connect to the illuminance output. Add mesh colours component, connect mesh colours 'c' input to gradient output, connect mesh colours 'm' input to the deconstruct mesh component 'f' output.

Mapped colors will appear in the rhino window; this can be baked and moved so that another simulation can run in the same model. To bake the color gradient, right click on the mesh colors component. The image can now be moved. This image shows three illuminance simulations, all at 3pm on June 21, 2012 in Minneapolis with the louvers positioned at 90, 60 and 30 degrees.