Building Performance Analysis

User Study: Revit Solar & Lighting Analysis and Reflectivity

Recently, a user in Rome, architect Marika Prete, shared with us a solar and lighting analysis study she conducted. We thought it provided great insight so decided to share it with you as well. Enjoy! USE OF SAR AND LAR TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS AND CONCEPT DESIGN Could an insolation analysis be useful to understand which rooms will have the most or least access to daylighting? Are results from Solar Analysis for Revit and Lighthing Analysis for Revit related? The answer could be affirmative, since between solar radiation and light there is a direct proportional relationship. But only in some cases... Read more →

Leading the way with BPAC!

When Autodesk’s Building Performance Analysis Certificate (BPAC) was first generated, it served to fill a gap identified within educational institutes and professional training. This gap, despite its enormous implications on achieving energy efficient building design, was making knowledge of building science accessible and useful to those engaged with the important task of designing our built environment. The original version of the certificate set out to close this gap and was successful by exposing participants to digitally based analysis methods of informing design decisions that improve sustainable performance of a building design. With such a strong and useful agenda within BPAC,... Read more →

Updated: Solar Analysis for Revit

Last month we updated the Solar Analysis for Revit plugin available as a Technology Preview in Autodesk Labs. Now you can conduct solar radiation analysis for mass models and building element models in Revit 2014, 2015, and 2016. Get the plugin here. Updates to the newest release include improved handling of weather data for coordination with weather data used by Lighting Analysis for Revit, Revit Energy Analysis, and FormIt 360 Pro. Additionally, the plugin expiration date has been extended to September 15, 2015. Have you tried Solar Analysis for Revit? Let us know how it went and if there are... Read more →

Webinar: Getting Started with Building Performance Analysis

So you have a Revit model, now what? Join us next week as we cover how you can start to take your Revit designs to the next level with analysis workflows. With the use of the building performance analysis tools, you can make informed design decisions early and throughout the process. Learn best practice tips and tricks for getting started with analyzing your building’s performance in Revit. Topics to be covered include solar studies, solar analysis, lighting analysis, and energy analysis. Thursday, July 16th 11:00am - 12:00pm PT Register here Webinar attendees will receive 1 AIA LU. Related articles Two... Read more →

New Badges for High Performance Building Design Courses

If 13 individual courses offered for free, online, on-demand, and pre-approved for CEUs wasn’t enough, you can now earn a badge upon completion of any individual course offering, in High Performance Building Design and Simulation CFD for Building Design and AEC Applications. There’s no better time than now to develop your sustainable design skills, earn your CEUs, and earn Badges of completion! These Badges can be used on your online profile, such as LinkedIn, as well as on your resume. If you have already completed any of the courses, and would like to receive your badges, please email [email protected], and... Read more →

Free Webinar next week! Analysis throughout the Design Process

Join us next week as we cover how you can conduct analysis early and often throughout the design process. Learn about new Building Performance Analysis tools in FormIt 360 Pro that allow you to analyze your design early and often, in addition to Revit analysis tools that let you continue analyzing your design through detailed stages. Ultimately these workflows can lead to more informed design decisions and help you achieve high performance goals. This webinar will cover energy, lighting, and solar analyses you can conduct from the pre-design to detailed design phases. Thursday, May 21st 11:00am - 12:00pm PT Register... Read more →

Release News: FormIt 360 Pro – Conceptual Modeling with Integrated Energy and Solar Analysis

The Autodesk BPA Team is extremely pleased to announce the launch of FormIt 360 Pro at the annual AIA Convention in Atlanta this week! FormIt 360 currently provides powerful conceptual modeling for free, and now FormIt 360 Pro subscription offers integrated whole building energy and solar analysis and live collaboration. For more information on FormIt 360 and FormIt 360 Pro read the FormIt blog. Read on for more information about the exciting new BPA related features in FormIt 360 Pro… FormIt 360 Pro – Energy Analysis FormIt 360 Pro Energy Analysis applies the Energy Cost Range to your FormIt conceptual... Read more →

AIA Convention Next Week!

We’re excited to be heading to Atlanta for the AIA Convention next week! In addition to all the great classes and keynotes, we have a few things scheduled as well. We’ll be teaching a class in the Expo Hall this year. During it Stephanie Egger will cover the Building Performance Analysis tools and workflows from early design through detailed design. Session details below: EX305 Sustainability, Simplified: Integrated High-Performance Design Workflows Friday, May 15 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Booth 4333 Attendees will receive 1 credit hour In addition to the class, we’ll be hosting a number of theater presentations in... Read more →

FormIt Analysis Features Sneak-Peek

Have you checked out the FormIt Friday webinar series yet? They’re only two episodes in, but things are already getting pretty exciting. In the first two episodes Tom Vollaro and Tobias Hathorn cover some FormIt modeling basics, as well as some of the more advanced geometry capabilities (that are really easy to do in FormIt). In their latest episode, available here, you get a pretty exciting sneak peak at 38:10 of one of the analysis features. Solar analysis will be available in the May release! The next episode is May 15th and will be broadcast live from the AIA Convention... Read more →

New Sustainability Solutions Website!

Autodesk’s Sustainability Solutions team has a new website! You can now find them at sustainability.autodesk.com. Under the High Performance Building Design section you can find energy and lighting analysis information. Check it out and spread the news! Read more →