“UCL has been using DesignBuilder in a variety of ways in recent years, but in 2019 we introduced both DesignBuilder and their new on-demand online training into our simulation-related curriculum. Both the software and training have been well received by lecturers and students. The on-demand training has provided a cost-effective and convenient way for our lecturers and students to learn DesignBuilder fundamentals, providing extensive content that they could either follow through progressively or just dip into specific topics. Our students typically learn DesignBuilder more quickly and the on-demand training helps to accelerate their learning in a logical and structured way. The students can access the online training any time, so it removes the need for us to teach software fundamentals, and that means our lecturers can focus on more specific/advanced priorities during valuable classroom time. Introducing DesignBuilder and their on-demand training this year was so successful that we are exploring deeper integration of the online learning content within our teaching modules in the next academic year.“

"We have had a very positive experience with DesignBuilder this semester as it was the first year we shifted from our previous simulation software to DesignBuilder. Our students seem to spend less time on learning the software and more on actually understanding the results and being able to analyse them."

"I used DesignBuilder for my MA thesis. The purpose of the work was to carry out yearly energy simulations for several variants of an office building. DesignBuilder allowed me to clearly understand the impact of the details various parameters on energy use in the buildings under analysis. The program has a very accessible interface and many useful functions. Thanks to its intuitive design the program is useful not only for engineers or architects but also for students. A large library of materials, schedules and systems helped me to create the simulation models. A great advantage is the number of simulation results available, which enable efficient and multivariate performance of various energy analyzes."

"DesignBuilder not only helped me to validate my results but allowed me to get in touch with an advanced building energy simulation tool and test some of its capabilities. As a mechanical engineer, the 3D interface when developing the graphics models is really easy to use and when setting materials, activities and HVAC properties the libraries and information available is really useful under a very user-friendly environment. The simulation speed is short which made easier the iteration process."

“We used Design Builder at Lodz University of Technology on our Master Engineering course “Energy Systems in the Built Environment. Projects were executed in the groups of three students. Selected aspects of analyses were distributed among students and each of them was responsible for the group of problems. They used the program to build the simulation models in a whole building and a single room scale. It means that students had an opportunity to work at the one computational model considering different building design challenges. The students mainly analysed energy performance, thermal and lighting comfort as well as indoor air quality. The main goal of the project was to design building and get the highest assessment according to BREEAM methodology. Using Design Builder allowed us to work in groups from conceptualisation to final technical solution. This licence helped us to execute the project efficiently and quickly, accurately.”

"I used DesignBuilder for the first time during my doctoral studies at the Berlin University of Technology. Since it uses EnergyPlus as its simulation engine, it is a very accurate and powerful simulation software tool and at the same time has a very easy to use interface. DesignBuilder has extensive capabilities that cover most of the features building energy simulation users need. Therefore it is a fantastic simulation software tool for all building simulation user groups, especially for architects and architecture students. I was so satisfied with the capabilities of DesignBuilder as well as with the high quality of customer service during my doctoral studies that I am using the software for my postgraduate sustainable design and simulation course at the Institute of Architecture at the Berlin University of Technology. Another reason for choosing DesignBuilder for education is the easy and quick to learn teaching process. The experiences from my course show me that students were able to learn how to use and apply DesignBuilder very quickly for simulation and optimization of building energy performance."

"I have been using DesignBuilder in the context of my Sustainable Energy Management graduate course in Mechanical Engineering since 2009. The driving factors in choosing DesignBuilder were the software’s extensive capabilities and EnergyPlus engine, coupled with an easy to use interface. Students have been able to very quickly learn to use and apply it as an experimental tool to explore the adequacy of energy management measures. It has allowed the introduction of an experiential learning component into the course that is invaluable in providing insight into the building energy balance and the effectiveness of energetic measures. I am highly satisfied with DesignBuilders capabilities and interface, and with the support and service received. Thank you very much."

“At a time when we are all busier than we would like to be, it is refreshing to do business with a company in tune with the needs and limitations of the academic sector. The level of customer service we have received from DesignBuilder during the testing, purchase and installation of the software has been exemplary and pain-free. Thank you."

"First of all I would like to thank you very much for the outstanding online training that you made possible for our team. I was very happy that we could join with three people in an online training that offered us as an outstanding value. ... The course with DesignBuilder is going very well and we have some great feedback from the students.... Your data entry GUI makes it easy for students not only to “accept defaults” but to experiment. In addition your online help is extremely thorough and you present not only the theoretical background but also offer great links to the reference. You might not realize what a powerful learning tool this is; but it is. We think you have created something very valuable and we are looking forward very much to where your company goes from here... Thanks again for your great support. "

“DesignBuilder’s clear, well-structured layout and intuitive help system makes it a much simpler tool to learn and use, and compared to other simulation packages the creation of professional-looking geometry is much easier. The ease of use extends to other areas of the program such as thermal bridging analysis and setting up HVAC systems, and the capability to easily model adjacent ground conditions is very useful. A very important aspect of our work is optimisation, and DesignBuilder seems to be the only software that currently provides this functionality. We are encouraged that the development team have taken some of our functionality and user efficiency suggestions on board for the next release. We are already using DesignBuilder for research, and for the above reasons we think it is a tool that our students will find easier to use so we will be using it for teaching next academic year.”

"The graphical user interface of DesignBuilder is comprehensive and intuitive, allowing us to model complex buildings simply and quickly. The data management structure (data hierarchy and inheritance) allows us to assign model data quickly and accurately, improving our efficiency. The power and flexibility of EnergyPlus, the underlying simulation engine, enables us to model a building in fine detail where required so that we can accurately analyse its performance. This is particularly helpful when calibrating the model with actual energy consumption to obtain a reliable close match when assessing potential improvements and energy conservation measures."

"The early years of DesignBuilder Software were the formative years for our research centre too. We are glad that we invested in the correct tool early on. We have greatly benefitted from the capabilities of the software for our research and academic purposes. We appreciate the DesignBuilder team’s effort to pay attention to details and creative approach to make the design process intuitive."