Building Performance Analysis

Newest Release of Project Energy Cost Range Includes an HVAC Widget and ASHRAE 90.1 Benchmarks

In December we announced the release of Project Energy Cost Range for the web as Technology Preview, available on Autodesk Labs. We have just released the latest version, which now includes an HVAC widget, and a Design Potential widget to easily compare various benchmarks, including ASHRAE Standard 90.1. Project Energy Cost Range for the web is a simple interactive tool to help you quickly understand a project’s overall potential energy use range. The Energy Cost Range (ECR) was first introduced in FormIt for iOS, and was subsequently made available in Revit , and Vasari. A previous blog posting discusses some... Read more →

Dynamo for BPA

Have you checked out Dynamo recently? Last year we featured a few posts on the computational design tool, but this year there were a slew of new developments, especially with respect to building performance analysis workflows, we decided to tie off the year with an update. Who this is for: Architects, Engineers, Programmers, and Designers Dynamo is a visual programming platform for BIM, specifically it’s an open source platform for Revit and Vasari. There’s really no end to what you can do with Dynamo. Just check out their new gallery. Applications range from automatic shading design to modeling a woven... Read more →

New Energy Cost Range provides a single, simple indicator of potential building energy use and the key factors that influence it

The Autodesk Building Performance Analysis team is very excited to announce new releases of the Energy Cost Range (ECR); a feature first introduced on FormIt for iOS, is now also available Revit , Vasari, and on the web. These new capabilities build upon, and extend beyond those in FormIt by using the actual Revit or Vasari Building Information Model data and multiple whole building energy simulations run by Green Building Studio and configured by Project Solon, all in the cloud. These features are essentially our response to requests for a more intuitive and interactive way to convey building energy use... Read more →

EnergyPlus – Raised to the power of cloud

EnergyPlus is the most advanced building energy simulation tool available to the building industry. High performance building design projects, LEED EA Credit evaluation and code compliance determination can all benefit from the advanced simulation capabilities of EnergyPlus. Recently DOE released EnergyPlus V8.2 with significant performance improvements and feature enhancements. EnergyPlus source code has been translated to C++ and is published as an open source project in GitHub. Autodesk contributed to the C++ translation and donated the code to DOE at GreebBuild 2013. During the past year, Autodesk has developed strategies using cloud computing techniques to improve the simulation speed by... Read more →

Autodesk Green Building Studio's Latest Release: Project Solon Runsets for Revit and Vasari; Performance Improvements; Energy Star Results; Expanded HVAC Design Alternatives

Project Solon Runsets: Autodesk Green Building Studio’s latest release expands the Project Solon capabilities by enabling the Runsets Feature. A Runset is a collection of energy analysis runs that allows you to configure your own parametric studies for your project by comparing the results of multiple energy simulations, each varying one or more building parameters. The Runset results can be shared by everyone in your company with a subscription to Revit or Vasari. The Project Solon Runsets is a fully functional production release being promoted for feedback as a technology preview through Autodesk Labs. Read more →

URS Captures Linacre College at Oxford University

URS discusses using Autodesk Rapid Energy Modeling at Oxford University Read more →

Autodesk Sustainability Workshop - Project Gallery

There have been a number of very interesting projects added to the Autodesk Sustainability Workshop - Project Gallery that we thought you may be interested in taking a look at. Messina Schoolhouse: High Efficiency Mediterranean Architecture This project incorporates energy analysis, structural design, tradition, and innovation into a retrofit of a community schoolhouse. The student team set out to revitalize the local schoolhouse that had been damaged from recent natural disasters and needed an energy retrofit as part of an older, less efficient building stock. They used analysis throughout their design process to inform their design decisions to improve energy... Read more →

Autodesk Green Building Studio Adopts the newest DOE-2.2 version (48r in 64-bit) for our February 14, 2014 Release

Who is this for: Users of Autodesk Building Performance Analysis tools who want to know how changes to the DOE-2.2 simulation engine is impacting the energy results in the new release of Green Building Studio. Takeaway: The February 14, 2014 release of Green Building Studio (GBS) web service now uses the newest version of DOE-2.2-48r, which includes Autodesk code enhancements. Revisions to the DOE-2.2 software result in some changes to the GBS energy analysis results (thereby affecting Revit and Vasari energy analysis results). Autodesk and Intel teamed with JJHirsch and Associates to embark on making DOE-2.2 and eQuest more BIM... Read more →

Autodesk Green Building Studio release with 64-bit version of DOE 2.2

The February 2014 release of Green Building Studio (GBS) web service now uses the newest 64-bit version of DOE-2.2-48r, which includes Autodesk code enhancements. Autodesk and Intel teamed with JJHirsch and Associates to embark on making DOE-2.2 and eQuest more BIM friendly. Read more →

Help Is On the Way: Introducing Autodesk BPA Help

Who this is for: Anyone who’s looking for clear and complete guidance on Autodesk’s building performance analysis workflows. Which tool to use when, and why? How to use the tool? How does it all fit together? Takeaway: We’ve just launched the first iteration of re-vamped product help documentation for Autodesk’s energy analysis and sustainable design analysis tools. It currently covers Autodesk Green Building Studio, GBS-based energy analysis workflows, and Revit’s new illuminance rendering tool. We plan to improve and expand it over time. By: Adam Menter & Mohammad Rahmani Asl At Autodesk we’re trying to make performance-based sustainable design easier... Read more →