Modelling Alphafloor in BERSPro

Created by Vicki Marshall, Modified on Thu, 18 Apr 2024 at 08:42 AM by Vicki Marshall

State: All (as at 18 April 2024)

Member Question:

I have quite a few builders requesting we change their flooring system in double story homes to include Alphafloor 35 system(R0.13).

When modelling in BERS Pro we get significant increases due to the thermal mass being allowed for when choosing Concrete Floor (Ru0.16, Rd0.16) the thickness cannot be adjusted but the R value is very similar to advertised product value.

Please see attached marketing material that is getting builders into a frenzy to solve all their Thermal upgrade problems. It is 0.6 (20mJ/m2) of a star difference in VIC and 1 star difference in NSW using BERS Pro.

HERO has a selection to model this floor type and only getting 5mJ/m2 difference in NSW/VIC.

Could we please get some realistic results and acceptable modelling practice for BERS Pro, so we can then provide this response to the industry and stop the cowboys sending out false pretenses!

TechLink Response:

AlphaFloor cannot currently be modelled accurately in BERS Pro. Energy Inspection are working on adding this construction system in an upcoming release.

In the meantime, the following workarounds should be used in BERS Pro:

AlphaFloor to an internal floor should be modelled as "AAC Timber Framed". This will overstate the R-Value, however the effect between conditioned zones should be minimal. Where any insulation is present in the intermediate floor (such as above a garage) it should be reduced by R0.5.

AlphaFloor to an external floor should be modelled as 20 mm "Suspended Concrete slab" with an additional R0.1 bulk insulation.

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