JessicaHardcastle
Autodesk has expanded its portfolio of energy and water analysis tools that span the spectrum of design through operations for individual buildings all the way up to the city and district level.
The new technology, showcased at Greenbuild 2015 this week, will help architects, engineers, owners, and government agencies optimize the value of their project throughout its lifecycle, Autodesk says.
The new products include:
Autodesk Insight 360 (pictured) gives architects centralized access to their building energy and environmental performance data.
Through bi-directional Building Information Modeling (BIM) integration, direct access to analysis tools, and guidance and recommendations from industry benchmarks, architects can approach the design process with more effective understanding of the elements that lead to better building performance outcomes throughout the building lifecycle, the company says.
Insight 360’s key benefits, features and capabilities include:
- Visualize and interact with key industry benchmarks for performance with real-time cause and effect feedback to guide you toward better building performance outcomes.
- Model with Revit and FormIt 360 Pro to generate insights using robust automatic analytical model creation and visualization of performance information directly in the modeling environment. This capability offers a comparison workflow to run millions of design scenarios and see energy savings with immediate and interactive feedback.
- Access to trusted industry leading engines for whole building energy, heating, cooling, daylighting, and solar radiation simulations.
- Organize and share insights with project stakeholders and support geographically dispersed team collaboration from early targeting and feasibility analysis through operation with access anywhere via desktops, tablets or smartphones.
For facility managers, Autodesk at Greenbuild 2015 previewed an
Internet-of-Things application that the company says it will continue to develop over the next several months, code-named Project Aquila. It is a cloud-based app that overlays building sensor data with 2D drawings and 3D models while providing analytics and real-time alerts for facility managers.
The application combines:
- Real-time device level electricity data from Panoramic Power’s wireless, non-intrusive, self-powered sensor technologies; BIM-based visualization;
- Energy and financial analytics; and
- Automated reporting to deliver actionable insights for energy management and equipment maintenance.
For example, a building or factory facility manager, using Project Aquila, could diagnose where a facility is wasting energy, evaluate the Net Present Value and payback for fixes, and prioritize work orders, all in one place. Autodesk says it continues to work on Project Aquila, including connecting it to Insight 360, and plans for the near future include adding means to automate measurement and verification.
Earlier this year, Autodesk teamed up with Impact Infrastructure to launch AutoCASE for Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite, which the company says is the world’s only triple bottom line, cloud-enabled analysis tool for stormwater projects. At Greenbuild, again in collaboration with Impact Infrastructure, Autodesk announced AutoCASE for Sites.
AutoCASE for Sites reveals the value of building site designs from roofs and roads to rain gardens, and enables cost-effective and sustainable projects, the company says. The in-canvas dialog can show the cost-benefit of (all expressed in risk-adjusted dollar values) multiple factors, including:
- Reduced heat island effect;
- Low-impact development for stormwater management;
- Reduced carbon emissions; and
- Effects on air and water quality.
By linking with Autodesk’s BIM design software AutoCAD Civil 3D 2015 and 2016, and/or InfraWorks 360, the company says AutoCASE for Sites is the world’s first application that quantifies the triple bottom line value of projects — and can keep those values up-to-date as the project progresses. Design teams and owners alike can cost-justify proposals immediately without breaking the design workflow with AutoCASE.