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Sustainable design and building performance

Anonymous
Not applicable
Greetings

There are some things that I’ve been noticed…. So here goes.
For sometime, clients and people that represent them, started asking information about the performance of the building.

More and more clients are making questions about energy costs, thermal performance, use of lighting. After Kyoto, legislation became much tighter, and “green” pressure groups have been quite effective influencing governments to take action.
Well, I believe that this tendency will be quite predominate in a near future. I would be important to integrate these features. Like for example the thermal coefficient (K) in walls, materials, etc. It would be great to quantify those results in a report sheet.

Maybe the power users would have a few more insights on the way to implement this.

Think guys, his would be a major edge in archicad….
4 REPLIES 4
Djordje
Ace
Check the connections to Green Building Studio and Ecotect. There are also more localized European solutions, like ArchiPhysik in Austria, used widely in the area.

Do the search on the forum; there ARE a lot of tools.
Djordje



ArchiCAD since 4.55 ... 1995
HP Omen
Andy Thomson
Advisor
There are ways to get this data into energy modeling programs, if you think about this stuff when you are throwing the building model together.

For example, James Murray has made a library object for lights and plug-loads that if given the appropriate design loads in their wattage parameters, they will automatically calculate the building's total electrical load, circuit loads, or you can break it down to discrete lighting loads, plug loads, appliance loads, etc - all within ArchiCad already. So electrical energy 'simulation' (tabulation really) is already entirely possible.

You can even link that to a multiplier for CO2 depending on whether the electricity comes from coal, etc. This is just objects and schedules.
As for the Ecotect and GBS plugin stuff, I don't really have anything positive to say about it, so I will keep it to myself.

ArchiCad is an international software, and from doing energy modeling in Germany, the US, and Canada - that is quite enough for one lifetime. The units are all over the place, it makes conversion a nightmare. You say k-Wert (DIN), others say R (USA), other say RSI (CAN) and still others say U-value (UK). Don't even get me started on BTU! Have you ever looked at the DOE's website re. available energy modelers? Which one should ArchiCad talk to?

In my opinion, the most flexible one. Which one is that?!

http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/tools_directory/subjects_sub.cfm

I also think given a weekend, some talented engineers and GS programmers could cook up a module (ADD-ON) to get analysis of heat gain and heatloss based on composites (standard RSI values), using zones, building geometry (shading + windows + orientation/exposure coefficients), Heliodon, and reference to simple degree-day (cooling and heating) by city-location, although calc. w. ref. to actual weather files wouldn't be too difficult. Using tools that are already inside ArchiCad, with just a couple of added functions.

Personally, I would be very excited if they (GS) were interested in zoned analysis and duct design, but I think there are far more pressing priorities for ArchiCad at the moment, like enhanced GDL and better modeling capabilities. I can do energy stuff in dozens of other programs quickly and easily, with a bit of manual take-off. These energy modelers work on a 'need-to-know' basis. Throwing an Archicad model at them is like swatting a fly with a sledgehammer. It's unnecessary, and would require a very good set of blinkers to see only the relevant data. Part of the current ecotect/GBS/EnergyPlus problem IMO.

Chasing butterflies again!
Andy Thomson, M.Arch, OAA, MRAIC
Director
Thomson Architecture, Inc.
Instructor/Lecturer, Toronto Metropolitan University Faculty of Engineering & Architectural Science
AC26/iMacPro/MPB Silicon M2Pro
While its in quite a different price bracket than ECOTECT, I suspect "IES <ve>" has much potential.

Here in North America its the standard tool for integrated BIM teams at Stantec and Perkins + Will (and surely others).
Think Like a Spec Writer
AC4.55 through 27 / USA AC27-4060 USA
Rhino 8 Mac
MacOS 14.2.1
Anonymous
Not applicable
has anyone on the forum used an Archicad model w/ Green Building Studio or Ecotect for energy analysis?? Whatever program my Mechanical engineeris using he is unable to import my model. My building is complex.I am trying to keep them from having to re-make the model. Any info, ideas or suggestions would be most appreciated.