🏗️ SpacePopulator (beta) – Revit Add-In for Standards-Compliant Space Parameter Automation 🔧 What Is It?

SpacePopulator is a C# Revit API add-in that automatically populates space-level parameters in a Revit model based on official engineering standards. Designed for MEP engineers and BIM professionals, this tool injects validated design-intent data — airflow rates, internal loads, temperature, humidity, and more — into every selected Space object using structured logic from:

• ASHRAE 62.1 (Ventilation for Acceptable IAQ)
• ASHRAE 170 (Healthcare Ventilation)
• ASHRAE 90.1 (Lighting Power Density)
• IMC Table 403.3.1.1
• ASHRAE Fundamentals

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✨ Key Features

• 🔍 Auto-classifies Revit Spaces using name-based logic (healthcare, commercial, or unclassified)
• 📚 Loads data from central C# dictionaries of ASHRAE & IMC values
• 🧠 Populates critical design parameters:
  • Supply / Return / Exhaust Airflow (cfm)
  • Outdoor Air per Person & Area (Rp, Ra)
  • Total and Minimum ACH
  • Lighting Load (W/ft²), Plug Load (W/ft²)
  • People Sensible/Latent Gains (Btu/h)
  • Design Temperature and RH Setpoints
  • Pressure relationship tags (e.g., positive/negative)
• 📤 Supports gbXML export for use in Trane Trace, EnergyPlus, OpenStudio
• 🛠️ Code-driven compliance with ASHRAE and IMC ventilation rates
• 💡 Fully modular architecture using separate .cs files for classification, parameter writing, dictionary loading, and app registration
• 🧪 Validates data safely using overwrite logic, null handling, and storage-type checks
• ✅ Engineer-focused: Designed to match mechanical workflows and QA standards

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🧩 Architecture

• App.cs — Registers ribbon UI and app lifecycle
• WriteSpaceParameters.cs — Main external command
• SpaceClassifier.cs — Pattern-matching logic to assign each space to a standard cluster
• SpaceOverrideEngine.cs — Core parameter population logic and unit conversions
• ASHRAE_Dictionaries.cs — Code-driven dictionary of all HVAC parameters, compliant with multiple ASHRAE standards
• SpacePopulator.sln — Visual Studio solution file

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🖥️ Getting Started

✅ Prerequisites

• Autodesk Revit 2023 or newer
• Visual Studio 2022
• .NET Framework 4.8
• Basic understanding of Revit shared parameters and BIM space elements

🛠️ Installation

1. Clone or download this repo
2. Build the solution in Visual Studio (Release mode)
3. Copy SpacePopulator.dll to your Revit Addins\20XX folder
4. Add the provided .addin XML manifest file
5. Launch Revit → Select spaces → Click the “Write Space Params” button

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🧪 Sample Output

Each Revit space will be updated with:

• Design Supply and Return Airflow → Automatically calculated from heat gain or ACH (whichever is greater)
• Design Exhaust Airflow → Set per IMC or ASHRAE 170 or 62.1
• Lighting Load → Based on ASHRAE 90.1 LPD and space area
• Plug Load Density → Based on space type
• People Sensible and Latent Gain → From Fundamentals human activity profiles
• ASHRAE_SpaceTypeID → For traceability, e.g., 170_Operating Room
• 'Design and Calculated Cooling Load

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🧠 Use Cases

• Healthcare space compliance with ASHRAE 170
• Early-phase energy modeling for LEED/90.1 Appendix G
• gbXML-ready data for Trane Trace, EnergyPlus, IES-VE
• Input automation for mechanical load calcs and controls mapping

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📚 References

• ASHRAE 62.1-2022
• ASHRAE 170-2021
• ASHRAE 90.1-2019
• ASHRAE Fundamentals 2021 Handbook
• IMC 2021 Table 403.3.1.1

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📄 License

Use freely with attribution. No official affiliation with ASHRAE or Autodesk.

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🤝 Connect

If this add-in saved you time or inspired a new workflow, feel free to connect:

Derek Eubanks, PE, HFDP, CHD, HBDP

• 🧠 MSCS Candidate, Georgia Tech (Machine Learning)
• 🔗 LinkedIn
• 💻 GitHub

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🚀 Next Features (Planned)

• Spatial adjacency logic for pressure relationship enforcement
• Interactive override UI for engineer-reviewed edits
• Automatic air balancing between spaces (transfer air logic)
• Carbon-aware parameters per ASHRAE 228

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This project embodies a vision: making Revit a true engineering tool — not just a modeling platform — through programmable, standards-driven automation.