Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Andrew Bagnall
g

GHD Pty Ltd

Summary
• The BIM Concept & Building Simulation;
• Introduction to Revit MEP & IES Software;;
• VE-Ware – Sustainable Design at concept stage;
• Preparing Revit model for export to IES for analysis;
• Case Study – ABGRG Computer
Co pute SSimulation,
u at o , 257
5 CClarence
a e ce St, Syd
Sydney;
ey;
• Limitations;
• Conclusion.

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

BIM & Building Simulation
• The BIM Concept – ONE Building Model
• Aim to Import
p Information in,, not export
p out;;
• Use Revit to create Building Geometry;
• IES to calculate: Heat Loads, Energy Consumption & Daylighting;
• After
te ssimulation
u at o import
po t results
esu ts file
eaand
d sto
store
e in model;
ode ;

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

IES VE – What
IES-VE Wh t iis it?
• Integrated Environmental Solutions – Virtual Environment
• Suite of Software Modules including:
– ModelIT – 3D Geometry Creation
– ApacheCalc – Heat Load Analysis
– ApacheSim – Energy Simulations
– ApacheHVAC
p – Detailed HVAC system
y creation
– Suncast – Solar Studies
– MacroFlo – Natural Ventilation Studies
– MicroFlo – CFD Analysis
– Radiance –Daylighting
Daylighting and Artificial Lighting Simulation & Visualisation
– Flucs – Daylighting & Lighting Analysis.
• Developed in Glasgow, Scotland - established June 1994;
• Recentlyy signed
g worldwide p
partnership
p with Autodesk to support
pp Revit Suite;
• Third party verified as a compliance solution, e.g. ABGR, BCA, LEED etc.

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Objective:
Show how to prepare a Revit model for export to IES for analysis.

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Rooms
• Only “room” volumes in Revit are
translated as internal spaces in IES;
• To get the correct geometry in IES, the
rooms in Revit must be correctly
defined
• R
Room b
bounding
di elements
l iin R
Reviti are
the system elements: walls, floors and
roofs

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Rooms
• The boundaries of each room
become 2D surfaces in IES
representing walls, floors and
ceilings. These surfaces are
blue in the IES model viewer.

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Shading Devices
• Room bounding elements from the Revit
model that do not actually bound any
rooms are imported into IES as shading
surfaces
• These are yellow in the IES model
viewer
• Shading devices in Revit are not
imported into IES unless they are room
bounding system elements (walls, floors
or roofs – not ceilings)

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Adjacency
There are 3 kinds of surface in IES:
• Interior surface – has an adjacent
j room on both sides
• Exterior surface – has an adjacent room on one side
• Shading surface – has no adjacent room

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Room Boundaries
• Rooms are created on a particular level in Revit
and have an upper limit
• If there is no bounding roof or floor below the
upper limit, this upper limit becomes the ceiling
when brought into IES
• W ll and
Walls d surfaces
f llocated
d above
b this
hi upper lilimit
i
will be interpreted as shading devices in IES

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Example
• Room upper limit set to ceiling level

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Result
• Surfaces not adjacent to rooms are shading elements in IES
• Surfaces adjacent
j to attics & p
plenum treated as external surfaces

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Solution 1
• Make each room upper limit at the level of
the next floor or roof with zero limit offset

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Solution 1

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Solution 2
• Create a new room in each attic and plenum
space

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Solution 2

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Wh t h
What happens if a room iis omitted
itt d ffrom th
the R
Revitit model?
d l?

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

S f
Surfaces adjacent
dj t missing
i i room b
became shading
h di surfaces
f

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Transfer to IES
• Windows, doors, openings and skylights hosted in room bounding elements are
transferred to IES model;
• All other Revit families are lost in the transfer (for example stairs, railings, ceilings);
• Create-in-place shading elements in Revit do not transfer to IES;
• Information is transferred using the .gbXML format (Green Building XML) but IES
now has direct link within Revit so no exportation is necessary.

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Transfer to IES

Create in place shading

Create-in-place
elements in Revit do not
transfer to IES

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Transfer to IES

Shading elements made

f
from Revit
R it roofsf and
d walls
ll
transfer to IES

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Main points to check if your model isn’t
behaving as expected:
• Make sure “compute
p room volumes” is
checked in room and area settings;
• Bounding elements have “room
bounding” checked in Element
P
Properties;
ti
• Room offsets are correct – to avoid
gaps, have rooms extend to the level
above or have separate plenum type
above,
rooms in the model;
• Use the “check model” option available
in VE-Ware to have the room
geometries checked for gaps and air
spaces

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Exporting model from Revit Architecture to IES

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Exporting model from Revit Architecture to IES

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Additi
Additional
l Tools
T l Available
A il bl

IES VE-Ware
• New free pl
Ne plug-in
g in from IES for
Revit allowing reporting on
CO2 footprint for design on
the fly
• Set model properties –
location, construction types,
model check (not included in
Heating g & Coolingg Loads
module)
• VE-Ware – runs through 12
months location specific
climate data using calculated
Heating/Cooling loads

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

IES VE-Ware
VE W
• Outputs results as
report showing total
CO2 emissions and
breakdown of energy
usage
• Architecture 2030 is
US specific program
targeting emissions
reduction and n/a
outside
t id th
the US
US.
• VE-Ware gives
architects/ mech
engineers ability to
check CO2 footprint
of design throughout
process

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Case Study
• 257 Clarence St, Sydney
• 13 Levels p
plus g
ground floor and basement
• 10 Levels (2524m2) of office space
• Neighbouring buildings

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Exporting model from Revit Architecture to IES

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

• Ceilings
C ili are represented
t d as
roof/ceilings or floor/ceilings in
IES constructions
• In Revit 2008, issues may
arise when curtain walls are
used (eg. elements not
i l d d iin IES model,
included d l holes
h l
etc) - due to centrelines not
matching & fixed in 2009

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

• Custom
C t shade
h d on ffrontt off building
b ildi
appears in Revit, but not IES
• Shade was created as a “create-
in-place” component using solid
in-place
and void modelling
• IES requires that any shading/
bounding g elements are from a
system family in Revit, i.e. floors,
walls, roofs
• Details like this can be added in
th IES modeller
the d ll if you h have a
license

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Preparing IES model for analysis – basic steps

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

C t C
Create Construction
t ti T Templates
l t

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

C t C
Create Construction
t ti T Templates
l t

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Create
C t Th
Thermall T
Templates
l t
• Provide details of room conditions, HVAC system, internal gains and air exchanges

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Create
C t Th
Thermall T
Templates
l t
• Provide details of loads for lighting, equipment, occupancy

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Create
C t PProject
j t Profiles
P fil
• HVAC operation hours, occupancy hours, lighting hours, equipment hours

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

A i construction
Assign t ti ttemplates
l t tot the
th model
d l

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

A i various
Assign i th
thermall ttemplates
l t tto th
the rooms as required
i d

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

S
Specify
if adjacent
dj t conditions
diti ffor external
t l surfaces
f if nott outside
t id air
i ((eg. b
basements)
t )

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

C t D
Create Detailed
t il d Model
M d l off HVAC S
System
t &C
Control
t l Al
Algorithms
ith – Using
U i ‘A‘Apache
h HVAC’

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

R solar
Run l shading
h di calculations
l l ti - Using
U i ‘S‘Suncast’t’

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

R H
Run Heatt L
Loads
d CCalculation
l l ti – Using
U i ‘A
‘Apache
h & CIBSE Loads
L d DiDialogue’
l ’

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

R d
Run dynamic
i simulation
i l ti – Using
U i ‘A
‘ApacheSim’
h Si ’

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Post processing
• Heat Load Analysis

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Post processing
• Energy Use Analysis

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Australian Building Greenhouse
Rating
(NABERS E Energy))
• ABGR 4.5 Star base building rating desired
• Reverse calculator downloadable free from
the website www.nabers.com.au
• NABERS Guide to Building Energy
Estimation provides guidelines for
simulation input parameters
• Off-axis model required to investigate sub-
optimal operation
operation.

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Energy end-use summary
• Common area lighting, lifts and domestic hot water energy calculated separately
using a spreadsheet
• Other energy taken from IES dynamic simulation results

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

ABGR Rating Tool
• 5 star Base Model;
• 4.5 Star Off-axis Model;;
• 4.5 Star rating likely.

Base model Off-axis model

Revit MEP – IES Analysis
Limitations
• Limited 2-way communication between Revit & IES;
• Rework in IES whenever BIM model changes g & vice-versa;;
• Inability to create user defined construction materials in Revit or use IES libraries;
• Use of imperial units and overseas constructions / standards;
• Inability
ab ty to recognise
ecog se ccreate-in-place
eate p ace sshading
ad g eelements
e e ts & cocomplex
p e geo
geometry;
et y;
But…
• Both software packages still in their infancy in terms of integration;
• New developments & improvements occurring roughly quarterly;
• Many improvements realised with release of Revit 2009.

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Conclusions
• Building Simulation is integral to the BIM concept
• IES successfullyy integrates
g with Revit – speeds
p upp model creation;;
• Some 2 way communication – Retains ‘BIM’ concept, no loss of info;
• IES/Revit have a range of simulation tools available:
– VE-Ware ((free)) ÆSustainability ( p ) Æ Full IES Suite ((Expensive)
y Toolkits (Inexpensive) p )
• Other alternatives:
– Green Building Studio – US Based, Purchased by Autodesk
• Available free of charge
• C
Conceptual
t l iinformation
f ti only,
l nott a compliance
li solution
l ti (ABGR
(ABGR, BCA
BCA, LEED etc)
t )

Revit MEP – IES Analysis

Th k you!!
Thank

Questions?

Andrew Bagnall