As shown in Fig. 1, some components, such as wall, windows, door, floor and ceiling can lead to the most energy dissipation.
The alternative changes in material compositions in the mentioned components of the case study building were examined to evaluate their effects on reducing the building’s annual operational energy use. Subsequently, some alternative, traditional, sustainable designs that could reduce energy consumption were identified using 3D Max software. Fig. 2 illustrates the hierarchy of the study. According to Fig. 2, after providing the drawing plans and materials specifications of the case study building, the building is simulated in Revit Architecture 2012 software. After simulation, for integrating between Revit and Energy Modeling tool (Autodesk Ecotect Analysis software), zones must be formed for creating various parts of the building. Without creating zones in Revit architecture, energy of the building’s various spaces cannot be modeled. In fact, the file cannot be exported to Ecotect software. After creating zones, for exporting the simulation file from Revit to Ecotect, the gbXML based export way explained in the next parts must be used. This is the way that can export all building’s specifications defined in Revit to Ecotect. By choosing gbXML based export, some basic and necessary assumptions for energy modeling such as location and types of the building must be established. After considering essential assumptions, the file is exported to the Ecotect software for energy modeling and analysis. In Ecotect, after establishing some additional assumptions, such as activity, type of system, and environmental temperature range for comfort of the building the baseline building annual operational energy use is calculated. Then, some alternative materials to evaluate their effects on annual operational energy consumption are examined to establish a set of energy efficient materials. In the next step, some alternative, sustainable solutions are recommended for achieving a higher energy efficient building.