Updated technology preview: The solar analyses for Revit continue

Solar Analysis for Revit is our free technology preview where you can quickly, easily, and iteratively perform solar analysis on the faces of a mass in Autodesk Revit. You can visualize and quantify the distribution of solar radiation on various areas of a mass by taking into account the shading effects from adjacent objects, such as vegetation and surrounding buildings in an urban setting. Using the technology preview can also help with shading device design (effective strategies in blocking unwanted solar radiation) and aperture placement (allowing wanted solar radiation). Let's all get a tan!

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Yesterday Revit API Technical Writer, Elizabeth Shulok, provided me with an update of the technology preview. This update extends the technology preview to May 15, 2015 and, based on an email from Product Line Manager, David Scheer, includes the following:

1. You can run solar analysis on building elements surfaces (standard Revit geometry) by selection.
2. There is a new UI focused around analysis-based workflows with one-click results.
   • Open the tool and click 'Analyze' to get initial results, then refine your settings.
   • Only one type (Custom) is available now, with defaults set to a typical PV surface analysis workflow, with all roofs selected, annual cumulative calculation, medium density grid.
   • What other analysis types are valuable?
3. The preset defaults that affect the analysis results are all definable for each view.
4. There is an automatic selection set to reduce the need for clicking each surface — first prototype is 'All exterior roof surfaces.'
5. Modeless windows are available for analysis settings. These can be placed for reporting screenshots.
6. Analysis settings are always in synch with the active 3D view and the modeless windows. When settings change, out of date results are removed.
7. The update features improvement of workflows so results are more intuitively compared to NREL validation results. The algorithm has been validated, but timesteps using the sun settings still need some refinement.
8. Thanks to your feedback, the developers fixed bugs associated with Sun Settings.

Thanks Elizabeth. Thanks David. Thanks to everyone who contributed feedback that resulted in this update. Keep it coming.

Accounting for sunlight is alive in the lab.