The New Engineer — HVAC

Measured conclusion: Deep-tested. L2 outcome: tools_ok.

IFC models: duct networks, circuits, pressure drop. EN 12828 vessels, EN 378, Swiss refrigerants.

Add to your agent

Copy this into your MCP client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "The New Engineer — HVAC": {
      "url": "https://thenewengineer.com/mcp",
      "transport": "streamable-http"
    }
  }
}

Measured tools (11)

• size_expansion_vessel read-only

  DETERMINISTIC: the same inputs always give the same result — from any AI, on any day. Figures come from the standard's tables and formulas, never from a language model's estimate. Every step is auditable. Size the expansion vessel and pressurisation of a closed heating or chilled-water circuit to EN 12828: static height, minimum pressure p0, fill pressure pa, final pressure pe, expansion volume, water reserve, nominal vessel volume with the standard vessel to buy, safety valve setting together with the minimum it must not fall below, pressure class of the lowest equipment, intermediate vessel when needed. Heights become pressures through the real density of the fluid, at the temperature that matters for each: the coldest for p0, the design temperature for the valve and the lowest point. Water and glycols therefore give different figures for the same height. Use it whenever the user asks to size or check an expansion vessel, pressurisation unit, pre-charge pressure or safety valve — in any language: vase d'expansion, maintien de pression, Ausdehnungsgefäss, Druckhaltung, vaso di espansione, vaso de expansión. Needs the installation water volume and THREE heights, all measured from the point where the expansion vessel connects to the network: - the highest point of the installation, above it; - the lowest point, usually below it (negative) or level with it; - the safety valve, which always sits on the heat generator or chiller. If the user does not know it, it is assumed 1 m above the vessel connection, and the result says so. Ask the user for the volume and the three heights before calling. NEVER invent a height: if the lowest point or the valve height is unknown, omit it. The result is then marked provisional and lists the questions to ask. Build your answer on `answer_outline`: it carries the assumptions, the questions and the link to the website, which measures all of these on the user's IFC model.

  Parameters:

  • installation_volume_l (required) — number — Total water content of the closed circuit, in litres: pipes, emitters, generator, buffer tank. THIS IS THE WATER, NOT THE VESSEL. If you know the vessel and want the water content, this is the wrong tool: call water_content_from_vessel.
  • fluid — Heat-transfer fluid: 'eau' (Water), 'meg' (MEG), 'mpg' (MPG), 'tyfocor' (TYFOCOR L (MPG)). Omit: plain water.
  • language — string — The user's language, for labels and alerts.
  • glycol_pct — Glycol concentration in %, ignored for water. Defaults to 30 %.
  • installation — 'chauffage' for heating, 'refroidissement' for cooling / chilled water. Omit: heating.
  • pressurisation — Type of pressurisation: 'statique' (Pressure-maintained by gas cushion (Statico)), 'compresseur' (Compressor-driven (Compresso)), 'pompe' (Pump-driven (Transfero)). Omit: gas-cushion vessel.
  • min_temperature_c — LOWEST temperature the fluid can reach, °C — including a breakdown, not just normal running. Omit and the filling temperature is used; in a glycol mix the calculation already goes down to the frost protection point.
  • flow_temperature_c — Flow temperature, °C. Omit: 80 in heating, 6 in cooling.
  • design_temperature_c — Hottest the fluid ever gets, standstill included. Omit: the warmer of flow and return in heating, 40 °C in cooling.
  • return_temperature_c — Return temperature, °C. Omit: 60 in heating, 12 in cooling.
  • filling_temperature_c — Temperature at which the circuit is filled, °C. Omit: 10.
  • lowest_point_from_unit_m — Height of the REAL lowest point of the installation - the lowest drain - relative to the point where the expansion vessel connects to the network, in metres. NEGATIVE when below it, 0 when the vessel connects at the lowest point. Taken as given: no margin is added. Ask the user. NEVER invent it: if the user has not given it, omit it - the result is then marked provisional and returns the question to ask.
  • safety_valve_from_unit_m — Height of the safety valve relative to the point where the expansion vessel connects to the network, in metres. The safety valve always sits on the heat generator (boiler, heat pump) or chiller - tell the user so, it helps them find it. Ask for it; if they cannot say, omit it: it is then assumed 1 m above the vessel connection, and the result says so.
  • safety_valve_setting_bar — Safety valve setting in bar, one of the standard settings. Omit to take the smallest standard setting that works here. A setting below the minimum the installation needs is raised, and the result says so.
  • highest_point_above_unit_m — Height of the REAL highest point of the installation - the top air vent - above the point where the expansion vessel connects to the network, in metres. Taken as given: no margin is added. NEEDED FOR A STATIC VESSEL ONLY: a compressor or pump unit holds the pressure itself, and heights play no part in its sizing — do not ask for them.
  • minimum_required_pressure_bar — Pressure the installation requires at the pressurisation unit whatever the height - against cavitation at a pump suction, for instance. p0 never falls below it. Omit: zero.

  Hints: read-only yes · destructive no · idempotent yes · open-world no

• water_content_from_vessel read-only

  DETERMINISTIC: the same inputs always give the same result — from any AI, on any day. Figures come from the standard's tables and formulas, never from a language model's estimate. Every step is auditable. Deduce the water content of an installation from the expansion vessel already fitted. WHAT THIS IS FOR. Refurbishment, and site visits with no drawings. Sizing a new vessel, a new pump or a new generator needs the water content, and on an existing installation nobody has it: the drawings are lost, or never matched what was built. The vessel on the wall is the one piece of evidence still standing, and it was chosen from that very figure. ASK THE OPERATOR FIRST. Whoever filled or refilled the system knows the real figure — from the meter, the filling station, or the maintenance log — and that figure beats any deduction. This tool is what you use when nobody knows, or to check a number that looks wrong. It gets the conversation moving; it does not close it. HOW. The sizing calculation is run backwards: a trial water content is fed to the EN 12828 sizing, the resulting vessel is compared with the one on site, and the trial is adjusted until they match. The formulas are never rewritten in reverse — the answer cannot contradict the direct calculation, because it is the same code. WHAT THE ANSWER IS WORTH. A vessel is picked from a catalogue range: a 200 L unit covers everything needing between 141 and 200 L. The result is therefore A RANGE, never a single figure. And an oversized vessel — common — will overstate the content. Compare the range with what you see on site; it does not replace looking. It also assumes the vessel was sized correctly in the first place. If it was not, the deduction inherits the mistake — which is itself worth knowing: a range far from what the installation plainly holds means the vessel is wrong, and that is a finding in its own right.

  Parameters:

  • vessel_volume_l (required) — number — Nominal capacity of the expansion vessel actually installed, in litres — read it on the nameplate.
  • fluid — string — Heat-transfer fluid: 'eau' (Water), 'meg' (MEG), 'mpg' (MPG), 'tyfocor' (TYFOCOR L (MPG)).
  • installation — string — 'heating' or 'cooling'.
  • glycol_percent — number — Glycol concentration in %, ignored for water.
  • pressurisation — string — How pressure is held: 'static' for a plain membrane vessel, 'compressor' for a compressor unit (Compresso and the like), 'pump' for a pump unit. A compressor or pump unit holds the pressure itself, so height and valve setting play no part.
  • static_height_m — Height of the highest point above the vessel, in metres. Required for 'static' only — a compressor or pump unit does not use it.
  • max_temperature_c — HIGHEST temperature the fluid can reach, °C — in extreme conditions, running OR stopped. In heating it is the flow temperature. In cooling it is not the regime at all: a stopped chiller lets the water warm to ambient — 40 °C outdoors, 30 °C indoors in a temperate climate. This is what fixes the expansion.
  • min_temperature_c — LOWEST temperature the fluid can reach, °C — including a breakdown, not just normal running. Indoors, 10 °C. Outdoors, 0 °C, or down to the freezing point of the glycol mix. This is what fixes the reference volume.
  • valve_setting_bar — Safety valve setting, bar. Required for 'static' only.
  • fill_temperature_c — Temperature the water was at when the system was filled, °C. 10 °C is the usual mains temperature indoors. Ask, or state the assumption.
  • flow_temperature_c — Design flow temperature, °C. In heating this is the highest the water reaches.
  • return_temperature_c — Design return temperature, °C.

  Hints: read-only yes · destructive no · idempotent yes · open-world no

• check_refrigerant_switzerland read-only

  DETERMINISTIC: the same inputs always give the same result — from any AI, on any day. Figures come from the regulation's annexes and thresholds, never from a language model's estimate. Every step is auditable. Swiss refrigerant regulation check (ORRChim / ChemRRV annex 2.10, OFEV synthesis of May 2026, rules adopted 29.10.2025) plus refrigerant data from EN 378-1 Annex E: GWP (AR4, the ORRChim basis), ODP, LFL, safety class, practical limit. Returns, for a given refrigerant and installation: the date from which machines using it can no longer be placed on the Swiss market (import from 01.01.2027, sale to third parties from 01.07.2027), the date from which filling with virgin refrigerant is banned, the period when only reclaimed refrigerant may be used, and the date from which all filling is banned. SCOPE: heating, air conditioning, building cooling and process cooling, data centres included. NOT food refrigeration, cold rooms or deep freezing: those are a different trade, and the tool declines them instead of answering. Use it whenever the user asks about a refrigerant in Switzerland — its GWP / PRG, flammability, whether a chiller, heat pump, split, VRF or cold room using it may still be sold or refilled — in any language: fluide frigorigène, Kältemittel, refrigerante, refrigerant, R-32, R-410A, R-290, CO2, NH3... The answer depends on the installation. The regulation distinguishes: use (building cooling, food refrigeration medium / low temperature / combined / deep freezing, process cooling, heat pump mainly for heating, ice rink), cooling capacity Q0K or heating capacity Q0H, self-contained (factory-built packaged unit) or not, split, direct expansion (incl. VRF), secondary coolant loop (chilled water / brine), air-cooled condenser and refrigerant charge. THIS TOOL ANSWERS ONE QUESTION ONLY: may the refrigerant still be sold and refilled in Switzerland, and until when. It says NOTHING about safety in the room - charge limits, machine room, detection, ventilation, ATEX. That is `check_en378_zones`. A question that mixes both - « may I use R-32 for 3 kg in a server room, and until when can I refill it » - needs BOTH tools: call this one for the dates, and check_en378_zones for the room. Do not answer half the question. NEVER guess these. Call the tool with what the user gave: it returns `provisional: true`, the possible `scenarios`, and `questions_to_ask` in the order that matters most. Ask them (one or two at a time), then call again. Natural refrigerants need no questions. Build your answer on `answer_outline`; quote exceptions as possible, never as granted.

  Parameters:

  • refrigerant (required) — string — Refrigerant designation as the user wrote it: 'R-32', 'R410A', 'R1234ze', 'CO2', 'propane'…
  • split — True for a split system (indoor/outdoor units linked by refrigerant lines laid on site). Omit if unknown.
  • language — string — The user's language, for labels. French or English text; translate for de/it/es.
  • application — Use of the installation: 'climatisation_batiment' (building cooling, incl. reversible heat pump used mainly for cooling), 'froid_alimentaire_positif' (food/perishables, use temp ≥ 0 °C), 'froid_alimentaire_negatif' (≥ −25 °C), 'froid_alimentaire_combine' (multiplex medium + low temp with common discharge), 'surgelation' (< −25 °C), 'froid_process' (industrial process cooling), 'pac_chauffage' (heat pump mainly for heating), 'patinoire_permanente', 'patinoire_temporaire'. Omit if unknown.
  • heat_recovery — True if rejected heat is recovered.
  • self_contained — True if 'autonome': factory-built circuits in a frame/casing and no gas-carrying part connected on site (packaged chiller, monobloc heat pump, rooftop). Omit if unknown.
  • gwp_if_unlisted — ONLY if a previous call said the refrigerant is not in the database: its GWP (AR4) from the manufacturer's datasheet, given by the user.
  • odp_if_unlisted — ONLY with gwp_if_unlisted: its ODP (0 for HFC/HFO).
  • direct_expansion — True if the refrigerant evaporates directly in the room units / evaporators (DX, incl. VRF); False if it cools a water or brine loop. Omit if unknown.
  • evaporator_count — Number of evaporators.
  • secondary_circuit — True if cold is distributed through a secondary coolant loop (chilled water, glycol, brine). Omit if unknown.
  • family_if_unlisted — ONLY with gwp_if_unlisted: 'naturel' (natural), 'stable' (contains any HFC/PFC — e.g. R-454B, R-454C, R-455A), 'hfo' (only HFO and/or natural components).
  • cooling_capacity_kw — Peak useful cooling capacity Q0K, kW. Omit if unknown.
  • heating_capacity_kw — Peak useful heating capacity Q0H, kW (heat pumps). Omit if unknown.
  • air_cooled_condenser — True if heat is rejected through an air-cooled condenser (heat pump: its air heat exchanger). Omit if unknown.
  • refrigerant_charge_kg — Total refrigerant charge, kg. Omit if unknown.
  • refrigerant_circuit_count — Number of refrigerant circuits.
  • simultaneous_heating_cooling — True for simultaneous heating and cooling with at least 2 air heat exchangers.

  Hints: read-only yes · destructive no · idempotent yes · open-world no

• check_en378_zones read-only

  DETERMINISTIC: the same inputs always give the same result — from any AI, on any day. Figures come from the standard's tables and formulas, never from a language model's estimate. Every step is auditable. EN 378 applied to BUILDING projects, volume by volume. An installation does not occupy one room but several: the machine, the rooms crossed by refrigerant lines, the rooms served by indoor units. Each volume is classified on its own — access category (a/b/c) and location class (I–IV) — and each classification calls for its own measures. The tool answers per volume, never as a single verdict. It returns, for every volume: its classification and why, the charge limit from Tables C.1 and C.2 of EN 378-1 (with the C.2 formula computed when the table calls for it), whether the charge exceeds it, the EN 378-3 measures that follow, the applicable texts (EN 378-1 to -4, EN IEC 60079-10-1, SUVA 66139 and 2153) and the ventilation flow rates. FOUR CONFIGURATIONS COVER ALMOST EVERY BUILDING PROJECT. Bring the user's case back to one of them wherever possible: machine_en_local_technique chiller or heat pump, all refrigerant inside the machine, standing in a plant room -> c III enceinte_accessible_fermee all refrigerant inside a walk-in ventilated enclosure that stays closed even for maintenance -> the enclosure is c III, the room around it carries no requirement enceintes_inaccessibles one or more units, each in a manufacturer's non-accessible ventilated enclosure -> TWO analyses: the enclosure in operation (class IV, the manufacturer sizes and justifies it, ask him for the enclosure ventilation), and the plant room with the enclosure OPEN for maintenance, which comes back to c III split_traversant split or VRF outdoors, refrigerant lines crossing occupied rooms -> each room on its own; offices and their circulations are b I, and formula C.2 gives the maximum charge for the floor area, or the minimum floor area for the charge THIS TOOL ANSWERS SAFETY IN THE ROOM. It says NOTHING about whether the refrigerant may still be placed on the market or refilled: in Switzerland that is `check_refrigerant_switzerland`. A question that mixes both - « may I use R-32 for 3 kg in a server room, and until when can I refill it » - needs BOTH tools: call this one for the room, and check_refrigerant_switzerland for the dates. Do not answer half the question. NEVER guess. The refrigerant, the configuration and the charge are always needed; a split also needs the floor area and how the indoor unit is mounted (floor, wall, window, ceiling), since C.2 depends on it. Without them the result is `provisional` and carries `questions_to_ask`: ask them, one or two at a time, then call again. Answer from `answer_outline`, volume by volume. In building projects, detection is preferred over treating a plant room as an ATEX zone. C.3 is never used. Say that the practical limit alone proves nothing: the charge limit of Tables C.1 and C.2 is what counts. SCOPE: building services. Cold rooms, food refrigeration and industrial process refrigeration are a different trade.

  Parameters:

  • refrigerant (required) — string — Refrigerant as the user wrote it: 'R-32', 'R410A', 'R290', 'R717', 'propane'…
  • pose — How the indoor unit is mounted: on the floor, wall, window or ceiling. Formula C.2 depends on it.
  • language — string — The user's language. Texts are in French: translate them.
  • charge_kg — Refrigerant charge of the largest circuit, in kg.
  • acces_local — Access category of the plant room. Omit: 'c', authorised persons only.
  • configuration — How the installation is laid out. Omit if unknown: the tool returns the question to ask.
  • volume_local_m3 — Volume of the plant room, in m³.
  • volume_enceinte_m3 — Volume of the ventilated enclosure, in m³.
  • acces_locaux_desservis — Access category of the rooms crossed or served: 'b' for offices, laboratories, workplaces; 'a' for hotels, schools, shops, hospitals, homes.
  • volume_local_desservi_m3 — Volume of the smallest room crossed or served by an indoor unit, in m³.
  • surface_local_desservi_m2 — Floor area of that room, in m². Formula C.2 needs it; without it the tool returns the minimum area required instead.

  Hints: read-only yes · destructive no · idempotent yes · open-world no

• read_ifc_overview read-only

  CALL THIS FIRST, as soon as the user gives you a token - a link thenewengineer.com/ia/XXXX pasted in the conversation - BEFORE you answer anything, even when the user only says they will choose or do something themselves. It answers within seconds, while the network graph is still being built - use that time to think. THE USER WANTS TO CHOOSE THE UNITS THEMSELVES (« let me select », « je vais choisir les centrales »): the place to do it is the units page. Go on through the steps below until trace_duct_circuits (token only) returns 'lien_centrales', and GIVE THEM THAT LINK. Never tell them to select « in the interface » without the link: there is no other place to select. A MODEL ALREADY TREATED: if the answer carries 'designation_existante', an earlier session already designated the units and fans of this model. Reuse it: skip step 2, go straight to trace_duct_circuits, and show the user the designation you reused. Post new rules only if the user asks to start again. THE CIRCUITS OF A MODEL IN FOUR CALLS: 1. read_ifc_overview - this call: the types of the model. 2. apply_ifc_rules - your rules. Give air handling units, monoblocs and ventilation casings the role centrale_de_traitement_d_air, fans the role ventilateur, and smoke exhaust fans (and smoke compensation fans) the role ventilateur_desenfumage, exactly these words - and ONLY to equipment that holds a fan. Coils, heat exchangers, filters, silencers, dampers, VAV boxes are pieces of the network, not units. Its answer lists under 'equipements' every unit and fan of the model. 3. trace_duct_circuits with ONLY the token - it computes nothing, walks the networks from every unit and fan, and either returns the COMPLETE list of units and fans with a view-only page, or says the units could not be connected to the model's networks. 4. trace_duct_circuits again with the units the user wants, or all_networks=true for all of them (offered up to 50 air networks only). The answer of this call repeats these steps under 'marche_a_suivre'. YOU SEE A SAMPLE, THE TOOL SEES EVERYTHING. This overview shows one example per type, not every piece: you cannot count the units, the fans or the networks of the model from it, and you must not believe you have seen them all. The tool applies your rules to every piece and walks every network. So never pick the networks to compute from this overview: trace_duct_circuits gives you the complete list of units and fans first, and you choose from THAT list. WHAT YOU GET. Not 3 000 parts: the 20 to 50 distinct TYPES of the model (duct types, fittings, dampers, terminals, equipment, proxies), each with its IFC class, predefined type, type name, one example part with ALL its properties, and a catalogue of every property present. WHAT TO DO WITH IT. Write RULES, not verdicts. For roles: which words, in which field, identify a fire damper, a silencer, a balancing damper, an air terminal, an air handling unit, a fan, a pump - and which groups are NOT network at all (access zones, plinths, placeholders, damper motors). For sizes: which 'PropertySet.Property' holds height, width, diameter, length. A rule applies to every part, including those you were not shown, and to the user's next models. TRAPS the field 'a_savoir' warns about: values are in the FILE's unit (see metres_par_unite), not millimetres; insulation sizes and hydraulic diameters look like dimensions and are not. The field 'etat_du_graphe' says whether the networks are ready yet: 'pret' means read_ifc_networks will answer now.

  Parameters:

  • token (required) — string — The token from the link the user pasted — the last part of thenewengineer.com/ia/XXXX. Valid 48 hours.

  Hints: read-only yes · destructive no · idempotent yes · open-world yes

• apply_ifc_rules

  Turn what you read in the overview into rules the tool replays on EVERY piece of the model, including the ones you were never shown. NOT NEEDED ON A MODEL ALREADY TREATED: when read_ifc_overview returns 'designation_existante', the units and fans are already designated - reuse them. Posting rules REPLACES that designation entirely: do it only when the user asks to start again, or when the designation plainly contradicts what they say. THIS IS HOW THE TOOL LEARNS A MODEL. read_ifc_overview gives you some fifty groups — one per object type, not one per piece. You answer with RULES on those groups, and this tool applies them to the three thousand pieces. You never give a verdict piece by piece: the result stays deterministic because a program, not you, does the matching. THEN READ THE ANSWER BACK, AND EXPECT TO POST AGAIN. The answer gives every group with the role your rules gave it and how many pieces that is. A rule that is too wide shows up on one line — « Gaine rectangulaire cadree, 471 pieces, centrale_de_traitement_d_air » is a rule that turned every duct into an air handling unit. Narrow it and post again. Calling this tool costs nothing and may be repeated as often as you need. WHAT NEEDS A ROLE, AND WHAT DOES NOT. Plain ducts and fittings need none: they are network by nature, and the answer marks them segment_ou_raccord so you can see at a glance whether a rule caught them by mistake. What needs a role is everything else — air handling units, fans, fire dampers, balancing dampers, silencers, louvres, diffusers — plus whatever must be kept OUT of the network, such as access zones, equipment plinths or damper motors. THREE ROLE NAMES ARE FIXED, because circuits start from them: give air handling units, monoblocs and ventilation casings the role centrale_de_traitement_d_air, fans the role ventilateur, and SMOKE EXHAUST fans - including fans that bring compensation air for smoke exhaust - the role ventilateur_desenfumage - exactly these words. A smoke fan runs only in a fire, with the ventilation stopped: a duct it shares with an air handling unit is not a plenum shared by two installations, and the tool does not cut the networks there. Read the names, families and types: « désenfumage », « DES », « smoke », « Entrauchung », « RWA ». ONLY EQUIPMENT THAT MOVES THE AIR gets one of them: a unit is a box with a fan in it. Heating and cooling coils, heat exchangers, filters, silencers, dampers, fire dampers, VAV boxes, humidifiers are NOT units: the air runs through them, they are pieces of the network. Give them another role (coil, silencer, damper...) or none - never one of the unit roles. A coil in 'equipements' is a rule that is too wide. The answer lists, under 'equipements', the GUIDs of every piece of the model that got one of these roles: that list is what trace_duct_circuits starts from, and what the pages show as units. Every other role name is yours to choose. ORDER THE LIST YOURSELF, most specific first, down to the most general. The fire damper rule must come before the balancing damper rule, or « damper » takes everything. Equipment must come before terminals: « VEN_MSF_MONOBLOC_SIMPLE_FLUX_REPRISE » contains « reprise », and a return-diffuser rule placed first would claim the air handling unit. Pieces no rule catches are simply listed, with no warning and no failure: the engineer judges on the 3D view, not on a coverage report. NEXT: once 'equipements' lists the air handling units and fans you expect, call trace_duct_circuits with only the token. It computes nothing yet: it checks that the units are connected to the networks and returns the complete list of units and fans, to choose from - see trace_duct_circuits. 'equipements' counts every piece ('pieces') but lists at most thirty names: the count, not the list, is the model.

  Parameters:

  • token (required) — string — The model token, from ifc_upload_result or from the link the user pasted.
  • rules (required) — object — Your rules, as a JSON object. The only required key is roles.liste: an ORDERED list, FIRST MATCH WINS, most specific first. Each entry is {"role": "a_name", "si_un_de": [conditions]} and may also carry si_tout_de (all must match) and sauf_si (none may match). A condition names one field or one property, and one operation: {"champ": "nom_du_type", "contient": ["cta"]} {"propriete": "Mechanical.System Name", "commence_par": ["VEN_"]} Fields: classe, predefined_type, object_type, nom_brut, classe_du_type, nom_du_type, predefined_type_du_type, element_type_du_type - the same ones read_ifc_overview shows under 'identite'. Operations, from widest to narrowest: contient (anywhere, even inside a word), mot_commence_par (at the start of a word), commence_par (start of the string), finit_par (end of the string), mot_entier (a whole word), egal (the whole string). Case and accents are ignored, and _ - . / are read as spaces. You may also pass dimensions, noms_de_systeme and debits_et_pertes; they are kept as given.

  Hints: read-only no · destructive no · idempotent yes · open-world yes

• read_ifc_networks read-only

  DETERMINISTIC: networks come from geometry, not from a guess. The same model always gives the same networks, from any AI, on any day. Read the networks of an IFC model already uploaded by the user. WHAT A NETWORK IS. A set of parts that touch each other, cut at equipment: a pump, an air handling unit, a chiller separates two systems, so the tool does not run through them. This is measured on the geometry — you cannot and need not check it. WHAT YOU GET, PER NETWORK state 'homogeneous' — a system exists, some parts were mis-named by the modeller; the tool will correct them. 'undetermined' — no system can be read. THIS is where you are useful. 'assigned' — the user or you already named it. system the dominant name, when there is one part_dominante the share of named parts carrying it equipements_voisins the NAMES of the machines this network is connected to. An undetermined network starting from 'AHU-Supply-L2' names itself — but only you can see it. systemes_existants every system name already in the model WHAT TO DO NEXT. Propose a name for each undetermined network, using the neighbouring equipment, the existing system names, and anything the user told you about the project's naming scheme. Ask the user for their list of planned systems if you do not have it. Then call name_ifc_networks. WHAT NOT TO DO. Do not rename a network the report calls 'homogeneous' unless its name plainly contradicts the equipment it is connected to — and then say why. Do not invent a network: you cannot see the geometry, and the tool already did that work. CALL THIS AGAIN WHENEVER THE STATE MAY HAVE MOVED. The token stays valid for 48 hours and is a key, not a snapshot: every call recomputes and returns the model AS IT IS NOW. The user works in the browser between your messages — renaming networks, assigning parts by hand, accepting or refusing corrections. So the moment they say they have done something, or you are about to state a figure, call this tool again. NEVER ANSWER FROM MEMORY about networks, counts or states. What you read earlier is already out of date the moment the user touches the 3D view, and a stale figure stated confidently is worse than no figure at all.

  Parameters:

  • token (required) — string — The token from the link the user pasted. It looks like the last part of thenewengineer.com/ia/XXXX. The user gets it on the model page, button 'share with my AI'. Valid 48 hours, one model.

  Hints: read-only yes · destructive no · idempotent yes · open-world yes

• name_ifc_networks

  Apply the names you propose, and get back the updated report. THE NAMES ARE YOURS, THE NETWORKS ARE NOT. You are naming what the tool measured; you are not changing what it measured. Nothing you send here alters a network, a part, or a correction. WHAT COMES BACK. The updated report, a 3D link where the user sees your names in colour, and a link to the corrective Dynamo script that writes the systems back into Revit. ALWAYS GIVE THE USER THE 3D LINK, and say plainly which names are yours. Networks are deterministic; names are a proposal. A user who cannot tell the two apart cannot check your work. AFTER THE USER HAS BEEN IN THE 3D VIEW, call read_ifc_networks again with the same token before saying anything about the model. They may have renamed what you proposed, assigned parts by hand, or refused a correction — and only a fresh read shows it.

  Parameters:

  • token (required) — string — The same token used with read_ifc_networks.
  • names (required) — object — One name per network, keyed by its 'rang' as a string, for instance: {'3': 'SUPPLY L2', '7': 'EXTRACT KITCHEN'}. Only include the ones you are naming; the others are left untouched.
  • reasoning — One short line per name, saying what it is based on — the neighbouring unit, the project's naming scheme, an existing system. Shown to the user, who decides.

  Hints: read-only no · destructive no · idempotent yes · open-world yes

• trace_duct_circuits

  THE CIRCUITS THE FANS OF A MODEL ARE SIZED ON, found without anyone clicking and computed on the pressure-drop page, where the user confirms types and flows and reads the pressure drops. THE USER WANTS TO PICK THE UNITS THEMSELVES: call this tool with ONLY the token right away, and give them 'lien_centrales' - the page where a click turns a unit red and 'Send to my AI' sends you their choice. Without that link they have nowhere to select. ONLY UNITS AND FANS ARE EXCHANGED. The tool never sends you system names: it sends the air handling units and fans your rules found, each with what the network walk finds connected to it - geometry, not names. A unit is equipment with a FAN - air handling unit, monobloc, ventilation casing, fan. Coils, heat exchangers, filters, silencers, dampers are network pieces: if one shows up in the list (often as 'dans_le_reseau_de' another unit), your rules are too wide - fix them with apply_ifc_rules before choosing. FIRST THE CHECK AND THE LIST, THEN THE CALCULATION. Called with only the token, once your rules are posted with apply_ifc_rules, it computes NOTHING and bills nothing. It walks the networks from every unit and fan and measures the share of the model's air pieces they reach ('raccordement'). Two answers: - CONNECTED (half of the air pieces or more): the COMPLETE list of units and fans ('centrales_et_ventilateurs', each with its number of connected networks) and 'lien_centrales', a page where nothing is computed - every unit with its name floating above it, each of its networks in its colour - and where the user can CLICK the units to compute: they turn red, and 'Send to my AI' copies a new link carrying that choice. Give the user that link, say nothing is computed yet, and that they can tick there or name the units here. Then: * the answer carries 'choix_de_l_utilisateur' (the user ticked on the page): compute EXACTLY those names with units, as its 'consigne' says - do not ask them again; * the user named units, even loosely: map their words onto the EXACT names of the list, say which you picked, and call again with units; * the user asked for the whole model and the list says 'tous_possible' (50 air networks or fewer): call again with all_networks=true; * otherwise show the user the WHOLE list to tick - every unit and fan, however long; never only the main ones. 'Tous' first when it is offered, then one numbered line per unit with its number of connected networks; mark the units connected to nothing. Filter only on what the user said, and then say which filter and how many lines it left out. Call with what they tick. - NOT CONNECTED ('non_raccorde': less than half, or no unit at all): tell the user the sentence of 'A_DIRE_A_L_UTILISATEUR' - « Nous n'avons pas pu connecter les centrales de traitement d'air aux réseaux de votre modèle », in their language - and suggest the pressure-drop page ('lien_pdc'), where they define each network themselves by a start and an end. Nothing is computed. If your rules missed units, fix them and call again. WHAT IS COMPUTED: for each network connected to a chosen unit or fan, the LONGEST path. Networks connected to no unit are not computed here. BEYOND 50 AIR NETWORKS, THE MODEL IS COMPUTED ONE UNIT AT A TIME. Each call computes ONE unit - unit_name, or units with a single name - or the network of ONE piece - network_guid. The whole model, start_role and several units are refused: nothing is computed, and the answer says why. Ask the user which unit, or which piece: on the units page, hovering a piece shows its GUID, and a click ticks a unit. Units the user ticked on the page ('choix_de_l_utilisateur') are asked for: compute them one per call, one after the other. Never pick the units yourself, never go through them all in a row on your own, and never call in parallel (sub-agents, simultaneous calls): the calls on one model run one after the other on the server, and parallel calls only slow the site down for everyone. Call again for the next one the user asks for; what is computed stays, and is not billed again. YOU SEE A SAMPLE IN THE OVERVIEW, THE WHOLE MODEL HERE. Never choose the units from what read_ifc_overview showed you - one example per type: choose from the list this tool returns. A REQUEST THE TOOL CANNOT MATCH. Names that match nothing come back under 'non_reconnus', each with the closest names; the names that did match are computed. If NOTHING matched - or the GUID or unit_name is unknown - nothing is computed, whatever the size of the model: the list comes back, with the closest names under 'non_reconnus' and what went wrong under 'demande_non_satisfaite'. Correct the names from the list, or ask the user which one they meant, and call again. A PIECE INSTEAD OF A UNIT. When the model has no unit, when the unit the user means was not recognised, or when they simply show a piece: network_guid computes the network of any piece - the tool finds where its air starts; end_guid computes one circuit to that end - from start_guid if given, else from the start the tool finds. A start found by the tool comes back under 'depart_trouve' with what made it chosen: say so, and ask the user to check it on the 3D link. The user gets a GUID by hovering a piece on the view-only page. These work on complex models too: they designate one network. ONE UNIT BY ITS NAME. unit_name computes the unit or fan of that name, found among all the pieces - units does the same for several. start_guid starts from one part - an air handling unit, a fan, a duct - and computes the network it belongs to, nothing else. The answer says so under 'portee' and lists the model's other units and fans under 'autres_departs': tell the user the result is partial. From each starting part it keeps ONE CIRCUIT PER BRANCH: the longest path in metres of each branch. From an air handling unit, that is one circuit per network connected to it - supply, return, intake, exhaust. EACH OF THESE CIRCUITS IS COMPUTED, and becomes a circuit of the model: it has a name, a COLOUR, and a tab on the website. All the circuits of one unit or fan share THAT UNIT'S colour; on the page, its networks show in a light version of it, and networks connected to no unit in grey. WHAT YOU GET portee what the call covers: the whole model, one role, or one part's network only. circuits one per branch: name, colour, length, its unit, its current type, the flow used at the start and where it came from. NO PRESSURE DROP: see below. autres_arrivees shorter paths, found but NOT computed. lien_3d the calculation page: every unit's networks in its colour, its circuits in a deeper shade. lien_centrales the page of the units and their networks, where the user can also tick the units to compute. lien_classeur the Excel workbook of the computed circuits: the supply / return box and the flows are corrected there and everything recalculates. Give it too (a free account is needed to download it). metre the take-off of the whole network. IF A CIRCUIT IS STILL 'calcul', call again with THE SAME ARGUMENTS a moment later. Nothing is recomputed and nothing is billed again: an identical call only reads. A different velocity or flow is applied to the circuits already there, without a new analysis. HOW TO USE IT WELL. Ask the user for the design velocity before calling, or say which one you used. THIS TOOL DOES NOT READ THE FLOW FROM THE MODEL: look for it in the air handling unit's properties with read_ifc_overview and pass it as flow_m3h, one unit at a time - see that argument. Failing that, the flow comes from the design velocity: between two branches, the length-weighted average velocity of the straight ducts equals it, and no duct runs more than 20 % above it. Say which of the two it was. TWO WAYS TO COMPUTE, AND THE USER CHOOSES. Offer them both, in one short sentence each, before computing: - the network AS MODELLED (the default): flows follow the duct sections and never rise along a circuit, as in a sized network. The pressure drops are NOT returned - see below. - a PRELIMINARY network (preliminary_design=true): nothing is sized yet, so each stretch carries what its own ducts carry at the design velocity, the flow may rise along the circuit, and every fitting is computed at that velocity. The pressure drops ARE returned, because they no longer depend on any flow the user must confirm: they say what a correctly sized circuit with these singularities and this length would reach. Quote them only with that sentence attached. Both compute the same circuits, on the same geometry; only the flows differ. The same circuits can be recomputed either way, by calling again with or without preliminary_design. YOU ARE NOT GIVEN THE PRESSURE DROPS, ON PURPOSE - except in the preliminary mode above. Until the user has confirmed on the page each circuit's type (supply, return, outdoor air, exhaust) and its flows, the pressure drop is wrong - the tool cannot know either. Never estimate, quote or compute one yourself, not even roughly: say the pressure drops are on the page, once the type and the flows are confirmed. Every circuit is computed as a SUPPLY circuit until someone says otherwise: the tool cannot tell supply from return. The flow rates do not depend on it - a duct carries what its section allows either way - but the tee coefficients and the design velocity do. If a branch is a return, an intake or an exhaust, SAY SO and tell the user how to set it in the 3D view: hovering the arrow of a circuit shows its type, and each click on that label moves to the next one - supply, return, outdoor air, exhaust. A click on the arrow itself reverses the air direction, which is how the user says at which end the terminal or the louvre sits when the duct has a constant section. Say that each circuit was chosen BY LENGTH. A shorter path loaded with dampers, bends or silencers can lose more pressure. BEFORE THE LINK, SAY WHAT THE USER MUST CONFIRM ON THE PAGE - see 'A_CONFIRMER_PAR_L_UTILISATEUR', circuit by circuit: whether each network is supply, return, outdoor air or exhaust (all are computed as supply until the user says otherwise), and the flows (which are estimates from the velocity, which were given). Never leave it out: the figures mean nothing until both are confirmed. END YOUR ANSWER WITH THE 3D LINK, on its own line, and urge the user to open it - see 'A_DONNER_A_L_UTILISATEUR'. Name each circuit by its unit, its colour and its type - several circuits share a colour. The page is where the calculation is finished: the user sets the flows (a click on the unit, or typed in the table), the velocity, the air direction and the circuit type, deletes a circuit from its tab - its colour goes with it -, adds one by clicking a start and an end part, and downloads the workbook, one editable sheet per circuit. A FLOW THAT LOOKS WRONG IS AN ESTIMATE, NOT A DEFECT. When none was given, flows come from the design velocity. If you point one out, say in the same breath that the user sets it on the page or in the workbook - see 'debits_et_reglages'. THE USER'S CHOICES STAND. A circuit they deleted is not computed again: it comes back under 'retires_par_l_utilisateur', and only they can restore it, by tracing it on the page. A circuit they traced by hand is never replaced. So after they have been on the page, call this again before stating any figure - never answer from memory.

  Parameters:

  • token (required) — string — The model token, from ifc_upload_result or from the link the user pasted.
  • units — Air handling units or fans to compute, by name - from 'centrales_et_ventilateurs' of the list answer, or from 'equipements' of apply_ifc_rules. For each network connected to each of them, the longest path is computed. Send the EXACT names when you can: the tool also accepts all the words of a name (« CTA 12 »), a modeller's abbreviation and close spellings - but only with the SAME numbers. Not with start_guid. Beyond 50 air networks: ONE name per call.
  • end_guid — The END of ONE circuit the user wants - a terminal, a louvre, any duct. With start_guid: the circuit from start to end. Alone: the tool finds the start of that network, as for network_guid. Only this circuit is computed, on the path the network walk takes; it never replaces the circuits found by the tool.
  • flow_m3h — Flow rate leaving ONE starting part, m3/h - so give it with start_guid. Over the whole model it would give every unit the same flow, and the call refuses it when there are several: compute the model without it, then call once per unit whose flow you know - its circuits are reused, only their flows change. Every circuit leaving that part carries it on its first stretch, and the flows further on are scaled from it - it sets the real velocity. BEFORE GUESSING, LOOK FOR IT: run read_ifc_overview and read the properties of the air handling unit, the fan or the casing you are starting from - a field named Debit, Flow, Air Flow, Luftmenge or Portata, often under a flow property set. Pass what you find, say where it came from, and convert it to m3/h (a value in m3/s is 3600 times smaller). If the model carries nothing, ASK THE USER rather than inventing one. Omit it only when nobody knows: the flow is then derived from the design velocity: the average velocity of the straight ducts between two branches equals it, none exceeds it by 20 %.
  • unit_name — Only when the user asks about ONE unit or fan: its name, or a part of it - « CTA 12 », « AHU-Supply-L2 ». The tool looks it up among EVERY piece your rules gave the role centrale_de_traitement_d_air or ventilateur, case and accents ignored, all words required. Several matches: all are computed - except beyond 50 air networks, where nothing is computed and the matches come back: send the exact name of one. No match: it is matched like 'units' (close spellings, same numbers); still nothing: NOTHING is computed, and the list comes back with the closest names. Not with start_guid.
  • start_guid — Leave EMPTY in general. The piece the AIR LEAVES FROM - an air handling unit, a fan, or the duct end where the air enters: circuits are computed from it. A GlobalId from 'equipements' in the answer of apply_ifc_rules, from read_ifc_networks, from read_ifc_overview (guid_exemple), or clicked by the user on the 3D link. For a piece somewhere IN the network, use network_guid instead: the tool finds the start. With end_guid: the one circuit between the two. Not together with start_role.
  • start_role — Rarely needed. Computes every piece your rules gave this role - centrale_de_traitement_d_air or ventilateur -, like all_networks restricted to one role, and only on a model of 50 air networks or fewer whose units are connected. Prefer units. Not together with start_guid.
  • all_networks — True computes EVERY unit and fan of the list: the longest path of each network connected to them. Networks connected to no unit are not computed - the user traces them on the calculation page, or gives one of their pieces (network_guid). Offered only when the list answer says 'tous_possible': 50 air networks or fewer, units connected. Use it when the user asked for the whole model or ticked 'Tous'. Refused beyond 50 air networks: that model is computed one unit at a time.
  • network_guid — ANY piece of the network the user wants computed - a duct, a terminal, a fitting - when the model has no unit, when the user's unit was not recognised, or when they simply point at the network. The tool walks from it and finds where the air starts: a unit or fan of your rules touching that network (the closest), else a unit found by its IFC class, else the network's largest free duct end. It then computes THAT network only. The start found comes back under 'depart_trouve'. Alone - not with start_guid, end_guid, a name, units or a role.
  • excluded_guids — Parts to close, by GlobalId. Closing a part cuts the walk there: whatever was only reached through it leaves the survey. Use it when the network visibly runs too far - through a plenum shared with another installation, for instance.
  • max_velocity_m_s — Design velocity, in m/s, 0.5 to 12. It sets the flow rate at the start of each circuit when flow_m3h is not given, and the flow after each branch: between two branches, the length-weighted average velocity of the straight ducts equals it, and no duct exceeds it by more than 20 %. Ventilation: 4 to 6 in main ducts, 2 to 3 near the terminals. ASK THE USER rather than guessing. Omit: the model default, 5 m/s.
  • preliminary_design — True when the network is still at a PRELIMINARY stage - not sized yet. Every stretch then carries what its own ducts carry at the design velocity (the flow may rise along the circuit, which a sized network would forbid), and every fitting is computed at that velocity; the flow given at the unit is ignored. This is the ONLY mode where the tool returns pressure drops: they say what a correctly sized circuit with these singularities and this length would reach, not what this network loses. ASK THE USER which of the two they want before calling - see the two modes in this tool's description. Omit it for the normal calculation.

  Hints: read-only no · destructive no · idempotent yes · open-world yes

• open_ifc_upload

  Show an upload box in the conversation where the user can drop an IFC file (.ifc) of a building services model (HVAC, plumbing, heating). The file goes straight from the user's browser to thenewengineer.com - you never see it. CALL THIS when the user wants to analyse an IFC model and has not yet given you a link from thenewengineer.com. Then tell the user to drop the file in the box. When the upload is done, the box posts a message with a token. Use that token with read_ifc_networks. If no message arrives and the user says the upload is done, call ifc_upload_result with the upload_token returned here. Prototype: files up to the anonymous size limit of the site.

  Hints: read-only no · destructive no · idempotent no · open-world yes

• ifc_upload_result read-only

  Where the upload stands. When `state` is `depose`, `token` is the token to pass to read_ifc_networks.

  Parameters:

  • upload_token (required) — string — The upload_token returned by open_ifc_upload.

  Hints: read-only yes · destructive no · idempotent yes · open-world yes

Publisher website

Measured by MCPYP probing. Untested fields are omitted, never estimated. Listing is always free; MCPYP never proxies calls or stores user tokens.