New Free Autodesk Course: Design Performance and Sustainability with Forma, Revit, and Insight (I Created)

I’m excited to share that a brand-new free course I developed for Autodesk is now live: Design Performance and Sustainability with Autodesk Forma, Revit, and Insight.

The timing couldn’t be better—Autodesk University 2025 in Nashville was full of energy and inspiring announcements, especially around Autodesk Forma and its critical role in the future of the AEC industry. I was also fortunate to present another session on Forma this year, continuing an ongoing conversation about how these tools are reshaping practice.

This new course is designed primarily for students, though professionals will also find value in it. Through engaging video lessons, hands-on exercises, and real-world examples, learners will explore how Forma, Revit, and Insight can be used to design with measurable impact—integrating performance analysis, sustainability, and outcome-based BIM practices from the start. And best of all, it’s free for everyone.

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Hands-On with Autodesk Insight Total Carbon at AIA East Tennessee COTE

Last week I had the pleasure of leading a half-day workshop for AIA East Tennessee focused on Autodesk Insight’s new Total Carbon tools and practical workflows in Revit 2026. Huge thanks to Cameron Bolin for organizing and to everyone who joined us—nearly 60 attendees, with a few participating online. Your thoughtful questions made the session lively and full of real-world perspectives.

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Insight (Total Carbon) HVAC Systems Added!!!

Announcement: I will be presenting on the (new) Insight in-person later this week for AIA East Tennessee... and at Autodesk University (also in Tennessee)!

An important feature missing from the (new) Autodesk Insight has just been added, making it a valuable update to the feature it replaced in the (old) Autodesk Insight, which has been decommissioned.

HVAC Systems!

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Exporting Autodesk Insight Data

On July 1, 2025, both Insight Energy Analysis and Green Building Studio will be fully retired by Autodesk. Make sure to download any critical data before then! Read this post for details on how to do that...

Related: I will be doing an in-person 4-hour workshop on the Next Gen Insight (Total Carbon) the first week in September in Knoxville for AIA East Tennessee COTE!

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Autodesk is phasing out Autodesk Insight Energy Analysis and Green Building Studio

If you use Autodesk Insight for early energy modeling, you will want to read this and be aware of the big changes that will happen soon.

In less than two months, you will not be able to run an analysis, and by mid-2025, previous runs will not be accessible!

This is giving way to a new tool/workflow (next-gen Insight Total Carbon) we are already using at Lake|Flato for our AIA 2030 Commitment reporting for the 2024 reporting season (i.e., last year).

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New YouTube Videos - Early Energy Modeling Course

I've added three new videos to the Early Energy Modeling series on YouTube.

See the new videos, and the entire series, via this YouTube Playlist link: https://bit.ly/3O9ZtuK

The new videos were created using Revit 2024 and recorded in 4k.

Internal Loads

Learn how to manage light power density, latent/sensible heat per person, set points, ACH, schedules, & more.  https://youtu.be/n0oG3bkti3E

FYI: I will create another video soon showing how internal loads can be defined on a space-by-space basis.

Building Evenlope Settings

Learn how to apply and manage the building envelope's thermal resistance and thermal mass properties. This demonstration looks at both a Revit model and a Revit mass and the various ways these properties are applied to the energy analysis model. https://youtu.be/HMUwTRD8w54

Defining Glazing

This video shows how glazing can be defined very accurately... including custom SHGC, VLT, and U values. https://youtu.be/ARijTvuOw7E

I plan on doing another video looking specifically at glazing.

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For BIM Chapters updates, follow @DanStine_MN on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn

Lighting design professionals: check out my Revit & ElumTools training https://bit.ly/3NJjhCV

Early Energy Modeling with Autodesk Insight - Free YouTube Course

The third of three courses I am making freely available is fully uploaded: Early Energy Modeling with Autodesk Insight!

This course covers the same workflows we use at Lake|Flato, which results in the data we enter into the AIA 2030 Committment DDX... all of which is free if you already have Autodesk Revit.

Course highlights:

• 14 Videos
• 1.0+ hours

This course is ideal for anyone interested in early energy modeling in an architectural practice. Even experienced Insight users will find value in the tips and tricks offered throughout the course.

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Three Free Courses Coming Soon - Enscape, Early Energy Modeling & Revit MEP

Seven hours of recorded content across 57 videos will soon be available for free on my YouTube channel.

If you are interested in learning about rendering with Enscape, early energy modeling with Autodesk Insight, or managing remodels and alternates within Revit MEP (or Revit, in general), you will want to keep reading!

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Zero Tool Integration within Autodesk Insight

Did you know that Autodesk's early energy modeling workflow has an API-based connection to ARCHITECTURE 2030's Zero Tool to provide a convenient pEUI target? We use this workflow and resource on nearly every project at Lake|Flato.

I will highlight this valuable feature in today's post.

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Troubleshooting Revit EAM Creation + Insight and Systems Analysis Issues

As with any sophisticated program developed for a professional application, there is a learning curve and a number of things that can go wrong. Some of the problems arise from user error while others can be bugs or limitations within the application.

This post is planned to be a living document on things that can go wrong, and what to do about it, when creating the energy analysis model (EAM) within Revit, as well as troubleshooting problems, further downstream, within Autodesk Insight and Revit Systems Analysis tools and workflows.

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Insight Workflows - Exporting Results with Higher Accuracy

When performing more refined comparisons within Autodesk Insight, it is helpful to export the results to a table, for a more accurate pEUI value... up to 8 decimal places. Today's post is an example from a current Lake|Flato project:)

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Revit + Insight - Custom Schematic Wall Construction

In Revit we can specify a Schematic wall construction which is applied to all walls/vertical mass surfaces, determined to be an exterior wall by the energy analysis model (EAM) creation algorithm. While the list has a fairly large number of wall constructions to choose from, it is possible create custom selections. That is the topic of today's post.

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Revit + Insight - Mixed Use Occupancy Energy Model

In today's post I will show how we can define a mixed use occupancy in Revit to develop a more accurate energy model.

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WWR Calculation Method in Revit + Insight Workflow

When an Energy Analysis Model (EAM) is pushed to Autodesk Insight for analysis, we find that the Revit Model's Window to Wall Ratio (WWR) is listed as the BIM Setting. Today's post will show how this number is derived... which is rather clever!

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Revit + Insight Workflow - Defining Spandrel Panels in Curtainwall

A few weeks ago I was presenting a three hour workshop on Revit + Insight for the AIA San Antonio COTE committee, sponsored by Autodesk. A good question came up about how to define a spandrel panel within a curtainwall. My answer was "I don't know, but it will probably be answered in a blog post someday". That "someday" is today:)

I wrote this post about that workshop: AIA San Antonio - COTE Committee workshop - Early Energy Modeling with Revit and Insight.

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Insight Energy Model - Mixed-use facility and part-time space usage

For mixed-use facilities and areas with reduced occupancy, we need to use the Space command, in Autodesk Revit, to properly define this for the Insight energy model. That is the topic of today's post.

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AIA San Antonio - COTE Committee workshop - Early Energy Modeling with Revit and Insight

Interested in learning how to use Autodesk Revit and Autodesk Insight to perform early energy modeling on your projects? If so, this three hour virtual workshop is for you!

The workshop is hosted by AIA San Antonio and sponsored by Autodesk!

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Creating a custom Thermal Asset for a Revit Material - early energy modeling with Insight

When using the Autodesk Revit + Insight workflow for early architectural energy modeling, and using the Detailed Items option which uses the Thermal Assets associated with each Revit material, it is often necessary to create a custom asset for a specific product.

In this workflow, the custom thermal resistance and mass values are what get feed into the DOE 2.2. energy modeling engine, for walls, floors roofs, etc.

That is the topic of today's post...

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Derated R-Value - Stud Wall Construction - Revit + Insight Workflow Example

When code (e.g. ASHRAE 90.1) says the minimum insulation value for a wall is R-13 in a stud framed wall, R-13 is not the input you would use in an energy modeling program. This is primarily due to the thermal bridging of the studs, which occur every 16 to 24 inches.

In today's post, I will show how Revit automatically accounts for this.

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Custom Occupancy Schedule in Revit + Insight for Early Energy Analysis

When developing an energy analysis model, the occupancy, lighting, and power schedules are very important. Is this building used all day long (e.g. hospital) or just a few hours in the morning (e.g. coffee shop)? Revit + Insight offers a good range of default options, however it is possible to create custom building types and schedules. In today's post I will show how to create a custom building type, schedules, and verify the data downstream in the GBXML/DOE2 exports.

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