Autodesk® Green Building Studio is a flexible cloud-based service that allows you to run building performance simulations to optimize energy efficiency and to work toward carbon neutrality earlier in the design process.
Autodesk Green Building Studio is web-based energy analysis software that can help architects and designers perform whole building analysis, optimize energy efficiency, and work toward carbon neutrality earlier in the design process.
Autodesk Green Building Studio can be used as a standalone web service. It also powers Autodesk Revit’s whole building energy analysis tools (available to Autodesk Subscription customers).
GBS uses the DOE-2 simulation engine for calculating the hourly whole building energy usage. With Green Building Studio you can run energy simulations using a Vasari or Revit conceptual mass model, a more detailed Revit model, or a gbXML file created by other authoring tools. Energy simulation results can be viewed within your model, or on the GBS website.
Key Features of Green Building Studio
Energy Settings Defaults Allow Reasonable Energy Results with Minimal Inputs
If a parameter has not been defined in your model, GBS uses a default value in order to generate an energy model with the minimum information needed for a simulation. These intelligent values are appropriate to the building type, size, and location. These defaults are primarily based upon the ASHRAE 90.1, ASHRAE 90.2, ASHRAE 62.1 and CBECS data, and vary with building type, location, size, and number of floors.
Find the Most Effective Energy Efficiency Measures Very Quickly
A typical whole building energy analysis looks at over 50 variations of different parameter alternatives in a building, and that can take considerable time to conduct. Green Building Studio tests a variety of building features automatically and, with the Potential Energy Savings chart, provides straightforward guidance on which variations will have the largest impact on energy use. All of these runs are completed in the cloud in about the same amount of time it takes to do one manually!
Tight Integration with Autodesk Modeling Tools
Green Building Studio’s tight integration with the Revit modeling environment makes analysis accessible in the tool most architects and engineers use to design new and retrofitted buildings. New in Autodesk Revit 2014, Revit Energy Analysis now more seamlessly creates valid Energy Analytical Models from detailed architectural models, and includes the thermal properties of building elements. Once the simulation is finished you can view and compare the energy and carbon results in the “Results and Compare” window within your model in Revit or Vasari. Based upon the results, you can revise energy settings and parameters within your model, or within the GBS website, and submit additional analyses for your project to move toward a better and more energy efficient design.
Tools Designed Especially for Simulating Existing Buildings
You can synchronize historical weather data and utility billing data for an existing building using the Utility Bill Upload Feature and the Green Button Initiative Feature. This makes it easy to compare historical building performance to simulation results, allowing you to calibrate the model of your existing building in order to better evaluate potential energy efficiency measures.
Faster Downstream Analysis with other Engineering Tools
Green Building Studio can export files that can be used by eQuest and other analysis tools. It can be an effective way to get geometry from your Revit building information model into other analysis tools, without having to re-create the geometry in those tools.
More than Whole Building Energy Analysis
Moreover, Green Building Studio has analyses capabilities, beyond the Whole Building Energy Analysis, using the DOE-2 simulation engine, such as “Carbon Data”, “LEED Daylight”, “Water Use”, “Renewable Energy”, and “Natural Ventilation Potential” to help you move your project toward sustainability. Also see features described on the GBS web portal.
Accessing Green Building Studio
FREE TRIAL - You can register for a free, 30-day trial by logging into the Green Building Studio website.
Green Building Studio is available as an Entitlement to many Autodesk Products and Suites subscriptions, such as Revit. Please contact your reseller for more information.
Green Building Studio can also be purchased as a stand-alone web service directly through the Green Building Studio e-store.
Members of the Education Community can qualify for free access to Green Building Studio. Students and Educators can get their questions answered by clicking on the “Need Help?” link on the Education Community website.