Tag Archives: Revit

Export Revit to EnergyPlus via Ecotect

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This topic was brought up a few days ago from @MikeSealander. He was looking for some verification that the process of going from a Revit model to the DOE’s EnergyPlus analysis software was possible using Ecotect as a go between. While I have had some success with this process it was always using Green Building Studio as the intermediate tool.   Seeing as EnergyPlus is the most sophisticated energy analysis tool available and Revit is now become some what of a standard for the AEC industry it seemed like a natural fit. So I went ahead and gave it a try.   The long short if you have no interest in watching the videos is that I was impressed with the amount of detail and the level at which the geometric and construction information was brought across into EnergyPlus. While I ultimately  believe that analytical energy models should be kept separate from Architectural models, if you prefer to have some sort of link, dynamic or not, this is definitely a workable method.

Mythbusters Part II: Worksets

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This post is going to focus on two things The overuse of worksets Controlling graphics WITHOUT worksets Too often I come across users who are immediately drawn to controlling visibility and graphical issues through the use of Worksets. Large teams devise diabolical plans on how they will split up the model into numerous worksets to allow for the integration of each teams design, or maybe to split up users so no one is stepping on each others toes. I admit, when back in the day I used to use worksets to check out work for individual users there would be a number of them to choose from. Finally I came to my senses and realized that there were a lot of issues with checking out worksets, and in fact element borrowing was the most efficient and effective way to work on large teams. Here is an excerpt from Autodesk on Worksets. While the capability to check out a workset remains valuable under certain circumstances outlined below, in general the best practice is to use element borrowing rather than checking out entire worksets.

Mythbusters Part I: Pipe Types

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Although this has been discussed a great lengths by others, I have to explicitly call out those who are continuing to perpetuate the false idea that creating pipe types for the purpose of graphical filtering or naming is the correct thing to do. This is a myth. This issue originally stemmed from the lack of available OTB system types within Revit. Those who have done lab work know that the piping systems can go easily into the double digits. Currently the pipe connector systems available by default within Revit are as follows domestic hot water domestic cold water fire protection wet fire protection dry fire protection pre-action fire protection other hydronic return hydronic supply sanitary Other (the universal donor) At some point in time someone thought it would be a good idea to duplicate pipe types and rename the family types to correspond with the system it was “supposed” to be on (ie. chilled water supply). Notice the use of quotations. This is the first issue with this type of categorization. You will always to be able to create the filter, visibility, and naming settings you want even if the pipe is on the WRONG system. this allows you to … Continue reading →

First Post

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Hey everyone! This is the first port to this blog. As an introduction my name is Alan. As I type this I am preparing to move from New York to Philadelphia to start a new job out there. I will be working for the A/E firm KlingStubbins as a HVAC Project Engineer and BIM Team Leader. Looking forward to moving full steam ahead on the BIM front. A little background .. grew up outside NYC in Westchester County, graduated from Northeastern University in Boston with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology. Worked for GE Aircraft, Advanced Energy Systems and Norian/Siani while in school. Moved back to NY after school and worked as a Mechanical Engineer at Buro Happold for almost 4 years specializing in BIM, software technologies and complex building system energy analysis. Revit MEP, Energyplus and eQuest are my weapons of choice. Looking to focus this blog on the areas above with a strong focus on Revit and my new found adventures in to the land of the Revit API. Will also post on anything software related in the AEC world as well as random musing. Much thanks to the excellent Revit blog community already well on its way. … Continue reading →