Define metric factors

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Factors provide values that are used in metrics during an analysis of your model.

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Insight offers a list of default factors for your convenience,

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but you also have the option of creating custom factors based on the design performance aspects you want to analyze,

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and to see how they impact metrics.

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Once the assumptions of a sustainability analysis are defined, from the navigation bar,

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click Manage Factors to open the Manage Factors dialog.

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Here, you can select from predefined factors under Get Started, or click Add to create your own.

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In this example, a new factor with the name “PV-Array Coverage” is created to represent the area of PV-array at the roof level.

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The Unit Type and Display Unit are required fields, and here,

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they are set to a Custom unit of percentage (%).

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In the Values group box, you can define a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 5 factor values.

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These are the options that you will be able to choose from using the factor drop-down card on the custom dashboard.

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Click Add New Row to add a value, and then complete the Name and Value columns to define each option.

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In this case, four options are defined for 10%, 25%, 50%, and 75% coverage,

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with associated Values of .1, .25, .50 and .75.

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Click Save, and the new factor now appears under My Factors.

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Once factor values are defined, they can be edited as needed.

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With the factor selected under My Factors, in the toolbar, click Edit.

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Click the value you want to change, and then type a new one, as in this case, where the first value is changed to 15%.

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To delete a value, click Edit, and then click the associated trashcan icon.

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You can also add new factors at any time.

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Here, once 75% is recreated and 90% is added, the maximum number of values is reached.

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Click Save to save all changes.

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You can continue to create custom factors, as in this example,

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where two more factors are defined.

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The first is PV-Array Output, or the Energy produced by the PV-Array, with a Unit Type of Energy Intensity, and a Display Unit of kWh/m2.

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In the Values table, three options are defined for Low, Average, and High production,

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with values of 100, 200, and 300 kWh/m2, respectively.

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The second factor, “System Efficiency”, or PV-Array Efficiency, is set up with a Custom Unit Type and an unspecified Display Unit (-).

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Two values of Low and High efficiency are defined for this factor, with values of .15 and .25.

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Once factors are defined, you can combine them to create new metrics,

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such as a metric that represents renewable energy,

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which can then be used in formulas to create custom metrics.