Parametric energy building design workflow

Dear all

I have for some time followed this amazing grasshopper forum with particular interest within the architectural field. I would like to hear if someone in here has dealt with energy aspects (kilowatt) of grasshopper definitions? Specifically how to make energy calculations for buildings modeled in rhino / grasshopper.

Provided that you have defined a perhaps complex parametric designed building in rhino / Grasshopper. You know now more or less the wall/roof areas, window areas, building volume etc., you have information about ventilation need, heating reuse, air tightness, solar orientation, local weather data and you also want to implement active energy items such as solar cells, etc. Knowing all these factors, it must be possible to configure it parametric in a Grasshopper definition/ definitions, so all details are linked together from data about the building shape and its geometry to data about solar orientation to data about the U-values for walls/roof/windows etc. etc. Nearly all elements configured variable in grasshopper. In the sense that you could follow the energy changes 'live' (energy consumption per m2 / energy production) in line with modifications in the building shape / wall thicknesses / windows areas / solar cell areas and etc.

If it will become possible in grasshopper / rhino to work parametric with energy issues and building design in a single interactive design workflow it becomes just fantastic.

Products/initiative I know of in this area are:

Ecodesign from Graphisoft: www.graphisoft.com/products/ecodesign

Autodesk Ecotect Analysis: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?id=12602821&siteID=123112

And from this Grasshopper forum, sun studies made by Ted Ngai from studio Ngai: www.tedngai.net

Is there anyone in here who have worked in this direction by using grasshopper?


Best regards
Peter