Architects and designers using Google SketchUP will now be able to evaluate their building designs to see how much energy they use.
Integrated Environmental Solutions is now offering a plug-in to Google's 3D design package which gives access to its Virtual Environment tools.
This allows designers to carry out energy, carbon, daylight and solar analysis on early schemes and optimise the designs.
Users will be able to assign information such as location, building and room type, construction type and HVAC systems to their SketchUp model and then import it directly into their chosen IES analysis tool, without having to rebuild any geometry.
"With this release, IES is plugging a set of energy analysis tools into SketchUp at just the right level of complexity - enabling designers to think not just about how a building might look, but also how it will perform in a sustainable world," says John Bacus, product manager of Google SketchUp.
The plug-in is compatible with both Free and Pro versions of Gogle SketchUp.