Tutorials - New to GBS and Revit Energy analysis

[ChrisBriley]

Is there a good FREE source for tutorials on how to use GBS, Revit, Energy analysis, etc.?  I don't mean the basic crap, I mean controling inputs and outputs, knowing how Revit analizes my project, how to avoid common errors, how to see how it sees that I can handle unusual conditions. Like an online class about the nuts and bolts of running an energy analysis.

I should start by saying that I'm very new to GBS and the Revit Energy Anaysis.  I've had trouble running an energy analysis on one of my projects.  It just kept failing without any specific reason why.  The only way I could successfully make it run (with somewhat believable results) was if I deleted everything on the interior (leaving only the shell.) The results left me with way more questions than answers. There were so many places where I could see something was wrong. I decided the first thing I'd do was figure out how to control inputs for hot water demand (which was very high for my building) and the system assumptions being used in the consumption.  For example, I'm not using gas, I'm using electricity.  In the very first forum I visited, I learned that GBS can not model electric hot water.  AT ALL. Nevermind values for efficiency.

My blood started to boil and I was about to say, "This is absolutely pointless, I'll check in again with Autodesk in about 5 years." and then I counted to 10 and thought that the reason I'm here, DISCOVERING what it can and can't do, or how one needs to set up one's model without causing unfindable errors, may be partly because I have been going at this on my own using forums and rouge Youtube videos.  Surely a company that charges THOUSANDS of dollars a seat has the resources and the ability to put together an awesome guide for this. (of course I'm cynically also expecting a company like that to charge me for it).

Any help or advice would be apreciated.  Thanks.

Chris

[mstein7484]

Some useful tutorials and references are:

Autodesk Building Performance Analysis Help

Building Performance Analysis Blog

Autodesk Sustainability Workshop

Keep in mind that Green Building Studio was initially conceived as a quick means of getting estimated energy results for the early schematic phase of projects, way before decisions have been made regarding specific system types, constructions, etc. Green Building Studio is in the process of integrating capabilities for more detailed energy analysis. we have plans to make electric DHW systems available, along with many other features. For those users who need to define more specifics for their projects you can download the files for eQUEST or EnergyPlus from the downloads tab of each analysis run.  You can also download the gbXML file from this same tab, make edits, and upload the edited gbXML file directly to GBS. Go to gbXML.org for a copy of the schema.

We always appreciate feedback from users regarding features that are important to them.

Regards,