

One common criticism of all Autodesk products is that keyboard shortcuts and graphic layout varies slightly from program to program and is not yet entirely standardised. As with these other Autodesk products, Ecotect's interface is logical and straightforward, It uses both graphic menus and command lines to input data. Familiarity with these programs would greatly improve the ease with which a new user could pick up Ecotect.

However, Ecotect still produces some numerical data results.Įcotect's interface operates along similar lines to Autodesk's 3DS Max and Revit and AutoCAD. This means that much of the analyses which Ecotect provides the designer are provided in a graphic way which increases readability. One of the major innovations that Autodesk has made since its acquisition of Ecotect in 2008 has been to dramatically increase the visual content and display methods of analysis data. For thermal analysis some users recommend ALF over Ecotect.įuture versions are expected to see stronger integration with Revit and other Autodesk products.Īs analysis software the outputting from Ecotect is essentially data. Similar to Ecotect in terms of functionality, though far less sophisticated, is ALF (Annual Loss Factor).

The speed with which this can be acheived means that the results from the analysis can be incorporated into the design process more efficiently allowing increased interaction between Revit for design and Ecotect for testing. In this way, a designer can quickly test part of the building against a certain environmental parameter. More often than not, only a partial analysis is conducted. Sun shading analysis can be achieved quickly without the use of manual calculations.

To this end the program concentrates on:ġ. The program is integrated with a web-based application for globally specific climate information.Įcotect's primary function is to achieve green building analysis and energy efficiency. Formally produced by Square One Research, Australia.Įcotect is a building analysis software geared towards environmental design.Įcotect is a comprehensive sustainable analysis tool that delivers a wide range of simulation and analysis functionality including energy use, water and carbon analyses amongst many others.
