Softdesk energy: A case study in early design tool integration

Softdesk Energy is a design tool that integrates building energy analysis capability into a highly automated production drafting environment (AutoCAD and Softdesk AutoArchitect). This tool provides users of computer aided software the opportunity to evaluate the aided design/drafting (CAD) energy impact of design decisions much earlier in the design process than previously possible with energy analysis software. The authors review the technical challenges of integrating analytic methods into design tools, the opportunities such integrated tools create for building designers, and a usage scenario from the perspective of a current user of Softdesk Energy. A comparison between the simplified calculations in Softdesk Energy and detailed simulations using DOE-2 energy analysis is made to evaluate the applicability of the Softdesk Energy approach. As a unique example of integrating decision and drafting, Softdesk Energy provides an opportunity to study the strengths and weaknesses of integrated design tools and gives some insight into the future direction of the CAD software towards meeting the needs of diverse design disciplines