Does anyone have experience with both Trane Trace and DesignBuilder?

I am researching the advantages my firm will gain from DesignBuilder. The 3D, Revit compatibility, Daylighting, Optimization and CFD are very appealing and I can see how these would allow us to help client's in new ways. DesignBuilder seems to be relatively new as a full-fledged EnergyPlus interface. I am having trouble finding 3rd party reviews or comparisons of this software. Really just having trouble finding anything bad about it at all except for bloggers complaining about it not being as user friendly as they thought(I can't imagine it being any worse than Trace). I am also skeptical about its ability to transfer geometry from Revit - Especially since generally our Revit models are not full BIM models.

A little background:
I work for a full service A&E firm. We are primarily a "production" firm and work with a lot of Commercial - Retail building. We are looking to expand what we do with our energy services. We currently run all of our HVAC loads, LEED and Code compliance models with Trane Trace. We use Revit for almost all of our projects.

Thanks everyone!

Shane Wells
Mechanical Intern II

t 479.273.7780 ext 320
f 888.520.9685

shane.wells at hfa-ae.com
www.hfa-ae.com

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1705 S. Walton Blvd Suite 3 Bentonville, Arkansas 72712

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