ecotect learning

Jan 6 '13 4 Last Comment
Jan 6, 13 12:50 am

what is difference between ecotect and vasari in energy analysis ? 

could you give me some  files of ecotect tutorial ? The information on the internet seems likely not enough. And i have trouble in learning ecotect.


Jan 7, 13 2:19 am

Ecotect is environmental analysis software for things like lighting and sound in rooms.

Vasari does similar things but is meant to be designer friendly with experimental systems. It's also a bim software whereas Ecotect is not.

Then you have green building studio which might be on the cloud.


You can probably search for Ecotect files online, tutorials can be started with a 3d dxf you can make.

Vasari can be downloaded with an autodesk account. It might have become project Falcon at this point.

Jan 7, 13 3:04 pm

For architectural purposes, would you recommend learning Ecotect or Vasari?

Jan 7, 13 4:29 pm


Software alone, assuming the firm you apply to cares about this sort of thing,

Probably Vasari as it has a better future.

Ecotect is used by a lot of lighting designers but it's hard to say what reach it has in the rest of architecture design. I learned it in school when it was the only game in town. The more bim you learn the better because it can eventually become integrated with other software. If you can get someone to teach you either software or learn it on your own then go for it.  The fact is that these programs go in tandem with each other to make much use of them because no sustainable design software stands on its own yet.

Amy LeedhamAmy Leedham
Jan 8, 13 9:00 pm

Ecotect has more functionality than Vasari for detailed analysis (although the thermal analysis in Ecotect is not trustworthy) but Vasari is more easily integrated into your workflow. If you are not an engineer or have a degree in building science I would highly recommend against trying to do thermal analysis.. you may be able to get results, but they will most likely be meaningless.  Ecotect is really good for detailed overshadowing and solar access analysis which can be easily learned and performed by a designer/architect. The wind tunnel tool in Vasari is not accurate either (and as a general rule wind analysis is significantly more complicated than thermal analysis) but might be useful in certain very conceptual instances. 

Diva is another option that can plug into rhino for daylight and solar analysis.

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