Revit and Ecotect suitability for Green Building Standards in Indonesia?

[adam.menter]

We've received the following query from a customer in Indonesia: 

Question as received:

"Is it possible to integrate Indonesia standard library to our Autodesk Revit & Ecotect software..? Although Revit & Ecotect have calculation but their standard is International standard which can’t be used it in Indonesia."

[adam.menter]

I'm not sure we have enough information to answer the question.

That said, I did a little bit of digging into SBN-410 and the Philippine Green Building Council, and here’s a guess at an answer to a question of: “How can I use Autodesk software to meet the requirements of the BERDE framework that the Philippine Green Building Council uses?”

• BERDE for Commercial Buildings framework… Energy credits 4.1 through 4.8.
• Autodesk BIM software can be used to document decisions around lighting specifications, MEP designs, etc… but none of those tools are purpose-built for meeting building rating system requirements (4.1, 4.2, 4.8)
  • You’d need to check with manufacturers to see if their products meet relevant national standards (PNS)… that intelligence can be built into BIM models, but I don’t know of any Philippine-specific libraries. Perhaps check on Autodesk Seek. All files here will be for Revit, not Ecotect.
  • 4.3 - Natural ventilation potential is one energy saving technique that’s tested for in Green Building Studio (simulations through Revit), but is probably not sufficient for what you need to document this credit. Simulation CFD can be used to get the “innovation point.”
  • 4.4 – There’s some built-in “renewable energy potential” calculations within GBS (energy analysis in Revit), again – probably not sufficient for documenting this credit. You could use solar radiation tools (like what’s available in Ecotect and Vasari), plus some hand calculations, to help size, design, and predict renewable energy systems… but they’re not purpose built for it.
  • 4.5– You can test energy efficiency improvements against a baseline using whole building energy analysis from within Revit (GBS-based, DOE2 simulation).
    • The “Potential Energy Savings Chart” is very well suited to getting this credit, specifically for simulating passive design methods like optimized windows, or roof and wall insulation.
    • The options for selecting, specifying, and configuring active systems are limited (also limiting Revit’s applicability for 4.7)
    • You’d need to ensure that the building elements in the model comply with PNS standards… (R-value, U-value, etc)… but as long as you specify the physical properties correctly, your results should be valid.
    • 4.6 – The controls available within whole building energy simulations within Revit are likely not sufficient to model/simulate all of the scenarios from the ASHRAE standards referenced.

In sum: There are  limitations in modeling and simulating complex building systems (HVAC systems, complex passive design strategies with thermal mass, etc). If you want to model the effects of basic envelope changes (U factor, R value), you need to make sure the thermal properties are specified appropriately. It may take some translation and unit conversions to do that, unless you find a ready-made library of BIM objects. Revit's energy and thermal modeling engine is based on DOE2 (via GBS), which is more valid than Ecotect's thermal modeling simulations. Ecotect is relatively better at solar studies, but conclusions should be made by an expert. For CFD studies, the only product within Autodesk's portfolio that can reliably be used to get/prove credits is Simulation CFD.

If this doesn’t answer the question, my question is: What are you trying to do and why? What’s stopping you from doing it? 

If this does answer the question, please mark this issue resolved.