#AUTODESK ECOTECT ANALYSIS SOFTWARE SOFTWARE#

The output also summarizes water usage and costs and electricity and fuel costs, calculates an Energy Star score, estimates photovoltaic and wind energy potential, calculates points toward LEED daylighting credit, and estimates natural ventilation potential. Users can then explore design alternatives by updating the settings used by the service and re-running the analysis, or by revising the building model itself in the Revit-based application and then re-running the analysis. Usually within minutes, the service calculates a building’s carbon emissions and the user can view the output in a web browser, including the estimated energy and cost summaries as well as the building’s carbon neutral potential. It also uses emission data for electric power plants across the United States and includes the broad range of variables needed to assess carbon neutrality. The service uses precise hourly weather data as well as historical rain data, accurate to within nine miles of the given building site. Architects can change any of these settings to define specific aspects of their design: a different building orientation, a lower U-value window glazing or a four-pipe fan coil HVAC system. The service received the Microsoft Ingenuity Point Award in 2008.īased on the building’s size, type and location (which drives electricity and water usage costs), the web-based service determines the appropriate material, construction, system and equipment defaults by using regional building standards and codes to make intelligent assumptions. Today, its analysis results meet American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 140 and are qualified by the U.S. The Green Building Studio web service was first introduced in 2004. The web service enables faster, more accurate whole-building energy, water and carbon emission analyses and helps architects – the majority of whom are not specially trained in any of these analyses – to evaluate the carbon footprint of a Revit-based building design with greater ease. Subscribers to Ecotect Analysis can also get access to Autodesk’s Green Building Studio web-based service for the duration of their subscription. Whole-building energy, water and carbon analysis Using Ecotect Analysis to analyze early building designs emerging from a Revit-based BIM process can simplify the analysis process. Performing these analyses in a CAD workflow is fairly difficult, as the CAD model has to be exported and carefully massaged to work with analysis programs. As soon as the layout of a building’s walls, windows, roofs, floors and interior partitions (elements that define a building’s thermal zones) are established, the information employed to create a Revit model can be used to perform analyses. “Almost at the click of a button, we are now able to alter designs, flipping back and forth through options to ensure that the final designs we produce are the best ones for each project,” says Tristram.Ī computable Autodesk Revit Architecture design model is devised for sustainability analyses – even during early conceptual design.

Developing and evaluating multiple alternatives at the same time allows easy comparison and informs better sustainable design decisions. Analysing a building designīIM enables architects and engineers to understand how their projects perform before they are built. BIM is core to Autodesk’s sustainable design approach for building performance analysis and simulation. Many firms are looking for the best way to integrate building information modelling (BIM) technology with sustainable design and analysis tools. It requires close coordination across different project stages, from design through construction and operation. “We have used Autodesk Ecotect Analysis to conduct sun and material analysis on various projects, which has enabled us to assess the effects our structures would have on surrounding environments and ensure that the most sustainable materials are used during construction.”ĭesigning and delivering more sustainable projects can be complex. “The future of architectural design will rely heavily on sustainability and we are seeing it become a more significant part of our everyday workflow and procedures,” says Melanie Tristram, Revit Manager at Jasmax.

#AUTODESK ECOTECT ANALYSIS SOFTWARE SOFTWARE#

New Zealand multidisciplinary design firm Jasmax has used Autodesk’s Ecotect software in the design of sustainable concepts.

Autodesk ecotect analysis software