During the Zero Carbon Co.Lab Sessions we were learning how to used the IESVE software, which stands for Integrated Environmental Solutions. This software allows you to design and operate comfortable buildings which would consume significantly less energy and incorporate low-carbon and renewable technologies.
On our first sessions we were learning how to model a basic building in IES, for e.x: how to create walls, add holes, doors, windows and roofs.
Later on, during the next sessions, we started assigning construction materials to our building, by basically picking what type the building is and then looking at the examples of the constructions and later editing them.
Then we set up the location of our building (for this model we used Birmingham Airport), and then we looked at sun path diagrams.
After these small steps we set up the profile for our building (at what time would the windows open, when does the heating turn on) and started simulating in. The simulation shows different values, like boiler loads, solar altitude, carbon emissions and many other values, which could be looked at in numerical or graphical form.
And during our last tutorial sessions we looked at Radiance, which produces photo-realistic renderings based on real-life lighting simulations.
After these sessions, we are going to receive an old Victorian building and try to make it a zero carbon building through IES software.
In my opinion this software is really useful for testing and even inspiring your ideas as it is a precise tool which can help you overcome different problems in your design, and I would like to see more of this software used throughout the university.
\\ 