[Radiance-general] modelling software

[Randolph M. Fritz]

> which software is more preferable to create geometry and then export 
> to radiance for results.

Depends a lot on your goals and budget, as well as personal 
preferences.  As Guigi says, obj2rad is your friend.  If you are 
primarily an architectural designer and already have a preferred 
modeling tool, I would say stick with it if at all possible.  If your 
interest is simulation design and you have a budget I'd pick up 
Autodesk Ecotect, which has some nice tools for setting up simulations 
and processing the results, but is a rather difficult modeling tool.

If you're starting out and have a modest budget, try Rhino.  If you're 
starting out and have no budget, try SketchUp.

Other tools: Free - Blender, but the UI is 20 years old and it takes a 
long time to learn.  AutoCAD is widely used in architectural practice, 
but the full version is expensive, the 3D modeling capabilities are 
cranky, and the student versions are limited in ways that may interfere 
with simulation work.  Still, if you have it, you might give it a try.

Anyone used Revit, Microstation, or Bentley with Radiance?

-- 
Randolph M. Fritz • RFritz at lbl.gov
Environmental Energy Technologies Division • Lawrence Berkeley Labs

Links:
http://usa.autodesk.com/autocad/
http://www.blender.org/
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?id=12602821&siteID=123112 
(Ecotect)
http://www.rhino3d.com/
http://sketchup.google.com/