This year has been a busy one…too busy to be paying much
attention to the posts, but it’s time to get back to some writing. So here’s
the latest….
Live at AU – Energy Modeling!
AU 2016 turned out to be one of the fastest ones I’ve ever
attended. The days screamed by, but it was cool to see Autodesk extend some
events into the Monday before. We’ve always had our Expert Elite and
Speaker/Blogger socials on Monday, but getting the rest of the crowd together
as well for a social expands what I consider to be the most important parts of
AU – the networking. I learn as much from my co-workers and fellow attendees
just from sitting down and talking shop, so that time is valuable to me.
I did three classes this year, two labs on Perfecting the
System with Revit, and a lecture on Powering BIM – Capitalizing on Revit for
Energy Modeling. You can see the latter at au.autodesk.com under the live streaming section. The labs were a blast this year, since we made sure everyone’s
datasets were open to the right models, and even to the right view. That way,
we could focus our time on the key topics, rather than having to wait for users
to find and open the projects. There was a lot of good feedback as well (as
well as a bizarre comment about not willing to have an open discussion, since
the class was based on my personal beliefs – huh? A lab?).
But the lecture, which was featured live, left wishing I had
more time to expand on why conservation is important to me. So here’s a clearer
view of my belief this time, to help fill up a few holes.
First – climate change. Yes. The climate changes. The
climate has always changed. Nothing about weather and related events is static.
While science can give us averages, most models are based on current
conditions, human assumptions and past trends. The input can cause a wide
variety of results, based on what outcome you want. That’s why I don’t believe
climate change should be used as a political football to force human behavior.
The world is so culturally diverse that it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get
every person on the planet to go back to the dark ages, even though some areas
may seem like that’s where they already are.
I love the outdoors. I love to hunt and fish. I love to
hike. Was raised by a family that loved to camp, and enjoy a lake. Love being
able to play with my dogs. Get awed by the beauty of God’s creation, whether it’s
standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, straying 20-30 miles of the coast to
fish and seeing more life than you can possible imagine, to the beauty of an
early morning sunrise in central Tennessee, turkey hunting on my uncle’s farm.
You can’t sit still in those times, and not appreciate how important it is to
save all of this – and share it with others.
In the US, we’re consumers – always have been and always
will be, as are most developed countries. If you look around objectively, you’ll
learn that we are already of the mind to be conscious of our resources. The
impact of this consumption goes back centuries, and became prevalent during the
Manifest Destiny. But we’re only talking about one country on one continent. It’s
probably just as likely that pollution, deforestation, and other behavior that
was occurring during this period, already has had its impact. Wholesale changes
in the US alone, won’t be enough to alter the outcomes – you’ve got to get
other developed nations around the world to also uphold the same standards that
we’ve come to now. And some governments see this strictly as a US problem,
expecting us to be the leaders but not necessarily taking the same steps.
Where does that leave us? It’s not the fact that we have
abundant resources. It’s the fact that we have them, and use them like there’s
no tomorrow. As I stated in my lecture, I come from a different time – my approach
of conservatism is rooted in the belief that we have an obligation to conserve
our natural resources for future generations, and is why I support hunting and
fishing organizations that promote resource conservation. As long as it’s not
at the expense of relieving property owners of their assets, but rather working
in conjunction with them to set aside a reasonable amount that assures a
balance between personal/private needs with the overall common good. It can be
achieved as long as you don’t fail into the fears disseminated by the extremes
of our political parties. It can be achieved by providing non-biased, easy to
understand education about conservation combined with personal responsibility.
Second – this is why I say that leveraging our energy models
tools and practices is an industry obligation – not a government one. We don’t
need a group of politicians – which are far more likely to follow a trend to
win votes that actually be of service to their constituents, or being
technologically savvy enough to understand the science – to be the ones making
decisions about leveraging design technology to reduce our impact on the
environment. All natural resource utilization should be based on how, in the
free market, providers can develop the technologies that we need to move past
the consumption of non-renewable resources, such as oil and gas. We should have
a balanced plan for using and managing these resources that are not based on
the government’s selection of favorites.
That’s why I’m such a large advocate for the use of solar
power, which offers the best small scale ROI compared to the larger scale
energy industries. If government is going to be involved, it should be to
incentivize both individuals and small businesses, the backbone of our country,
to integrate and leverage this growing technology. Make the tax incentives
enough to offset the early investments costs, so that homeowners aren’t breaking
the bank by adding solar power to their homes. I’d do it, for nothing more than
being able to kick the energy providers to the curb. That kind of independence
will do more to reduce residential consumption that any other idea on the
market. Even giving large scale corporations similar incentives frees up other
financial resources, which can be used in other areas of a business – such as
salaries…
What influences peoples beliefs more than any government program
is the fear of the unknown, of what’s to come. Fear in and of itself is counterproductive,
and only serves to prevent us from making the changes we need. We need clarity
in the message, all the way down to the layman – my mother. She’s a great
woman, but not technologically savvy. We have to be able to frame the
discussion in her terms, which was a point I was trying to make in the lecture.
And that’s where I think Autodesk – and other energy
modeling software companies – have a large, untapped gold mine. The details are
not in the reams of variations in data, which are compiled by PHD’s based on
complex models. It’s in the ability to make the complex, understandable. It’s
what I love about tools like Insight 360, which provide simple, easy to use
graphics and reports to explain how changes in a design can dramatically affect
the building energy performance.
Here’s a thought – BIM is a sales tool, not just a process.
It’s being able to take what were a complicated series of documents stretched
out over hundreds of sheets of 2D documentation, and convert it into a visual
that a client can more clearly understand. It expands our ability to make sense
of design decisions, and helps us avoid the short term construction issues,
while also helping us see the long term implication of the same design
decisions. Insight 360 is just one of those tools that will help us sell these
concepts to the general population, and achieve the common goal – preserve our
resources for future generations while allowing us to still enjoy what we have
developed from the same resources for centuries.
So, don’t get caught up in the TV and the hype, and the
politics and scare tactics. Instead, do your part – get your boss to let you
work from home more often – and actually work at home. Spend the extra money to
get a high efficiency HVAC system for your house – and don’t give the money to
the power company in the first place. And pick up the cans and newspapers, and
put ‘em in the recycling bin. Like we say at church – reach the Triangle and
change the World.
By the way – if you
watch the live stream video recording from class, I didn’t finish the joke. We’re
a rock blazing its way through space at 268,000 miles per hour, and we get
behind an asteroid – driven by a blue haired old lady doing 35 in the fast lane
with her left turn signal on.
Forgot to say we ran
over it – and caused a tsunami that wiped out the Pavilion in Myrtle Beach,
causing widespread vacationers to go back indoors to turn up the AC, advancing
climate change by 20 minutes…
Back to AU
Did I forget about AU? Man it was packed – love the fact it
is before Thanksgiving, and lets me stay home more for the holidays. But the
Sands is by far the best place to have the event. The people were awesome, and
the accommodations worth the price. Of course, I need to find cheaper places to
eat – they do think highly of their food.
The keynotes were a little much – not fond of Autodesk
taking an extra block of time away from classes, and offering fewer choices in
the time slots. I know, we’re still getting in over 700 classes, but I’d really
like to see more of them. Consolidate the keynotes back to opening and closing,
and we’re good.
The industry sessions were also cherry – I like the fact
that Autodesk is opening up about their future plans. Even though it’s only a
crack in the door, I like the idea that they are trying to communicate better
with their clients, and make sure we’re all headed to the same goals. Nice!
And the people that hang out with me when I present...man, I love you guys, especially the ones that keep coming back year after year. I've always wanted to make sure you left with more than just a set of directions or tips. Keep plugging, and improve your own world. I'm glad you're in mine!
Having the Expert Elite program members, which I became a
part of last year, as guests to the event, shows the appreciation has for this
extraordinary group of users. Since the program has started, we have taken –
and solved – over 30 percent of all the support cases that are posted to
Autodesk. The new Directly program that I’ve been involved with puts the
general users directly in touch with Expert Elite team members, who bring their
solutions based on real world project experiences – and the same ones you
encounter every day. These folks are family, and have a great respect for one
another. I’m happy to say I appreciate the opportunity to become friends with
some awesome people in this program.
And thanks to Carl Bass, Autodesk CEO, for hanging out with us at our annual lunch meeting. Your insights help us keep moving in the right direction. One of these days, maybe I'll get to see Pier 9 myself...
Next year, we’re back at the Sands on the same week before the
holidays, 11/14-16. And I’ll be happy to be there again – and hang out with my
extended family.
So it's Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the 'Quay. Ya'll have a great rest of the year!
thanks - David B.
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