Daylight and shadows Analysis presentation ?

[Anonymous]

Hi,

In a lecture today we had Autocad 2010 demonstrated to us, in particular Ecotect. I obviously use ArchiCAD and have just installed EcoDesigner, but since I'm new I'm not sure how AchiCAD compares to autocad in terms of what presentation material can be made.

For example, the below images ( not my images ) show a sun study, which I know ArchiCAD does but not sure if it has the sun dial (?) over the model. You can also have Ecotect create thermal imaging of the building and various other things like shadows.

I would like to know what things ArchiCAD can do i.e can it do all of the below and more ? ( screen shots would be greatly appreciated ! )

Thank You

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the replies.

So is it fairly ' simple' to export from Archicad then take the model to a pc with autocad ? I didn't think that you could do that anymore ( or was that sketchup to archicad ? )

I'll search the internet for references as to how I install everything, but now that youv'e pointed me in the right direction...

Sorry to go off topic here but I've downloaded some .gsm parts, and I don't know where they are stored. I've put them in AC13 library but they don't load up in the objects dialog. Similarly I've downloads ArchiTerra and 3DS but they don't show up under the AC menu either.

Thank you.

[Laszlo Nagy]

Brett wrote:
I was under the impression you could export the model using gbXML to use in Ecotect. Is this not correct?

Ralph Wessel's Encina offers a gbXML Export plug-in:

http://www.encina.co.uk/gbxml_export.html

[Da3dalus]

This is a much bigger issue than many expect. The industry does not have a simple sure-fire solution.

For one, AutoCAD cannot model much of anything. The AutoCAD Architecture package (formerly ADT) can sort of model, but it isn't BIM by any means. If you really want to do BIM models, you have 3 choices: ArchiCAD, Revit, or Bentley (in the US).

That being said, the technology standards for interoperability still have a long way to go. Therefore, using a BIM model to do energy analysis has it's limitations. EcoDesigner (with ArchiCAD) generally gives you advice during design to improve efficiency. Ecotect, on the other hand, shows a lot of pretty pictures, but the analysis is not really that technically useful. Ecotect, I understand, can accept several formats, but mainly works with Revit.

Neither program can generate data that will get you LEED points; in the industry, that is becoming the benchmark. In our office, we use eQuest (DOE-2 by the US Dept. of Energy). It's free, and very powerful, but a bit buggy. You can import gbXML models into it, but that never seems to work well. The only way to get reliable data is to rebuild the model within the native eQuest software. We've had similar results with other packages, like EnegyPlus.

One that shows promise without using BIM is, oddly enough, the free Google Sketchup. Add-ons like IES/VE have impressive results from such simple software. You can also create gbXML files from Sketchup (also, if you didn't know, there is a Sketchup importer for ArchiCAD, as well).

There is a ridiculous amount of data that has to be input before software can return anything useful or reliable. Do you know the SHGC of all of your glazing? How about the SEER/EER of your air conditioner? Have you specified the insulating R-value of every part of the envelope? Unfortunately, the shape and layout of the building is a very small part of it's green potential.

In conclusion, a lot of students seem to like Ecotect. It has a lot of visual feedback and is good for presentations. However, if you have an ArchiCAD model already, I would start with Ecodesigner.

[Ralph Wessel]

Brett wrote:
I was under the impression you could export the model using gbXML to use in Ecotect. Is this not correct?

Yes, you can export an ArchiCAD model as gbXML using Encina's add-on. gbXML has rapidly become the standard for exchanging data for this purpose, and is imported by DesignBuilder, IES, Ecotect, GBS, Trane, and others. You can find out more about gbXML here.

[PB]

Thank you, Da3dalus, for your concise summary of the current situation. This expresses clearly the huge void in the current software market for a well designed, comprehensive BIM based analysis product.

Idealy it should include:
- Clear, intuitive GUI
- gbXML import and/or direct 'interface' with AC/Revit/Bentley
- Ecotect level of graphic reporting
- Technically useful data output, i.e.:
- assessment to international standards (BREEM, etc.)
- assessment to national standards (US, UK, France, etc., where possible)
- database of required information, and/or guide values for assessment

Given the capabilities of AC/Revit/Bentley to generate the BIM, and the analytic capacities of existing software (eQuest , EnergyPlus, Ecotect, etc.), surely it is 'just' a matter of matching the two disciplines together such that the duplication of work is dispensed with, and the results are more readily available to designers (or is there some vested interest not to...)?

Surely, with the huge shift towards responsible building practises, the potential financial rewards of such a product to the software developer could be most significant!

Oh well, perhaps Graphisoft are doing an 'Apple' with EcoDesigner: i.e. engineering a solid, but limited, initial product before subsequent upgrades that provide it with all the functionality users desire/need.........