ECOTECT analysis is a building energy performance and simulation software bu Autodesk. Recently Autodesk has stopped providing further support for this software. So my question is in this context that whether we can use this software for research work or not.
Hi Naveen, using a software for your research will depend on many factors e.g. if you need support where you can get it, is the same has been validated with the experimental results and so on. You need to consider several factors in deciding their use for your research. In my personal experience ECOTECT is only good for basic calculations not for detailed investigations.
I don't recommend using Ecotect it's outdated and Autodesk doesn't provide any support or maintain this software anymore. I think Ecotect is good for basic climate analysis and sun location visualization. It's better to go with Openstudio, Honeybee for Grasshopper, or Diva for Rhino/Grasshopper. All three use Energy plus as their engine.
Hi Naveen, I would second that you ought to figure your research question first to find the best tool for addressing it. ECOTECT was never a tool of choice for me. If you could clarify what questions you want answered, I might make recommendations for alternatives.
Choosing the right tool is driven by the research method, which is based on your research questions. What do you want to know?
Ecotect is not supported anymore by AutoDesk
It has been merged into Revit family
You can use it in research if you require less sensitivity in your parameters
However, you will have to validate the outputs possibly by comparing them to another software
Best,
Ecotect can't do all building energy simulations, only for climate analysis, sun location visualization, daylight, shading and basic thermal analysis, it does not work for ventilation simulation and the wind movement outside the buildings.
When Ecotect was introduced by Square One it was quite an innovative tool. However it had its limitations and weak points. Energy performance simulations were definitely not its strong points. I have only used Ecotect for solar geometry, shading and solar radiation analysis as well as for daylight calculations in connection with Radiance.
When Square One was acquired by Autodesk the Ecotect functionality was quickly incorporated into other tools. Firstly into Project Vasari and later into Revit and Ecotect was discontinued. I would not recommend Revit (Revit uses DOE-2 simulation engine) for any serious research oriented energy performance simulations due to heavy dependence on presets that cannot be modified.
If only Energy performance is what you are interested in I would recommend using OpenStudio. It uses EnergyPlus as well as Radiance, it is free and uses SketchUp for geometry definition. However, as any tool it has its limitations and problems. Similar functionality can be achieved with Honeybee or Diva, although I personally have used them only for daylight simulations. In regards to commercial software packages DesigBuilder (uses EnergyPlus) or IDA ICE would be good choices, however licenses are quite expensive.
In the end the tool selection depends on your needs and resources.
Dear Naveen
Autodesk Ecotect will no longer be supported from Ver. 2014 onwards. but also, you can use Insight in Revit and FormIt Pro for Building Performance Analysis and Optimization to your research work.
Regard
Dear all I am very happy to learn from all yours positive discussions. Please guide me how can I generate pergola size then find area of shading as square meter.
guide as method
as which software to use
how shade can be find as square meter.
which pergola size can give which square meter of shading..
Ecotect is a perfect tool to handle solar and shading issues. However, it has some limitation while it is considered for energy requirements calculation. You can find some research which uses Ecotect, But the most usually used is Energy plus because it is an open source tool.
To use Ecotect for research purpose is recommended as it offer great deal of visual interpretations and presentation. However i only recommend you to engage with the solar and daylighting analysis rather than energy simulation. One of the best about ecotect solar analysis unlike other tools are the ability to cross-sectioning the building model and able to simulate light particles (solar rays) that penetrates from any facade apertures or glazing into the building space. With this, user can provide alternative for shading options in order to minimize the direct daylight or vice versa.
Dear Br
No u cant
U can use as a design tool because design need a comparison between options
For research unless your research is totally on design.or u re publishing case studies and wish to support design with some quantitative aspect .ecotect will not be a verified tool for research..
Revit is the most popular program that Autodesk produced after Ecotect. It is easy to use also.
Thanks for the explanations. please what's the way forward in Ecotect when all global locations( countries) are not accessible in the list of locations? OR is that a limitation from an unregistered version?
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