Ecotect
Autodesk® Ecotect® Analysis sustainable design analysis software is a comprehensive conceptto-detail sustainable building design tool. Ecotect Analysis offers a wide range of simulation and building energy analysis functionality that can improve performance of existing buildings and new building designs
Core features of Ecotect Analysis include:
1. Shadows and Reflections
Display the sun’s position and path relative to the model at any date, time, and location. View shadows over the model, isolate individual shadows from selected objects, and assign colors in order to differentiate the effects of different objects or buildings. See how sunlight enters through windows and moves within a space. Tag objects in the model as solar reflectors and track movement of reflections across the site.
2. Solar Analysis
Visualize incident solar radiation on windows and surfaces, and show the differential incident solar radiation calculated over any period. Take advantage of site overshadowing to treat different parts of the facade. Compare incident gains during different seasons, more clearly showing variations in solar resources available to the building at times when heating or cooling is required. Calculate solar availability over the spaces around buildings and in highly overshadowed urban sites
3. Photovoltaic Array Sizing and Load Matching
Calculate the amount of solar radiation falling on any object, along with shading and reflection percentages. Combine this information with total annual radiation to help determine the best location and orientation for solar panels. Calculate the solar radiation incident on any solar collector and estimate its likely energy production throughout the year
4. Lighting Design
Calculate daylight factors and illuminance levels at any point in the model or over the analysis grid. Once you calculate daylight factors in your model, use the advanced daylighting features to help determine potential savings due to daylight-linked lighting.
5. Right-to-Light
Analyze site projection angles, assess obstructions, calculate vertical sky components for any point or surface, and visualize the no-sky line in any space. Generate angled test planes from each window or facade you are studying, or physically project and color exactly the parts of a structure that are infringing.
6. Acoustic Analysis
Acoustic analysis options range from simple statistical reverberation times to sophisticated particle analysis and ray tracing techniques.
7. Thermal Analysis
Calculate heating and cooling loads for models with any number of zones and with any type of geometry. Assign detailed material properties to all objects and annual hourly operational schedules to occupancy, internal gains, infiltration, and individual items of equipment.
8. Ventilation and Airflow
Generate geometry and analysis grids and export them directly into computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools. Complete your calculations and import results back into Ecotect Analysis for display within the context of the original model. Choose from a variety of visualization and presentation options, or view volumetrically as you move around in 3D. Use the same process to calculate airflow both through and around buildings and complex urban environments.