Open AccessGuidelines for analysing the building energy efficiency using BIM
Author(s) -
José Pedro Carvalho,
L. Bragança,
Ricardo Mateus
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/588/2/022058
Subject(s) - building information modeling , interoperability , computer science , efficient energy use , systems engineering , energy (signal processing) , set (abstract data type) , risk analysis (engineering) , construction engineering , architectural engineering , engineering , operations management , world wide web , medicine , statistics , electrical engineering , mathematics , scheduling (production processes) , programming language
The benefits of Building Information Modelling (BIM) for the construction industry are already known and proved. One of the applications of BIM is to estimate buildings energy demand and foster the introduction of more efficient design alternatives. BIM creates information to support designers’ decision-making and to allow them to compare and select the best options, enhancing buildings energy efficiency. With the increasing use of BIM and energy simulation tools, there is a need to establish a common and valid procedure for buildings energy assessment. Material and Methods By carrying out a building simulation with BIM, this paper identifies and describes the fundamental stages and requirements to perform a reliable, concise and fast energy assessment. These guidelines will consider Autodesk Revit as a BIM platform to create and prepare the building 3D model. Results The proposed guidelines cover all the required tasks for a BIM energy assessment, as the building modulation details and requirements, the software interoperability modes and restrictions and the comparison and selection of improvement measures. Inputs and advice are given regarding the use of some of the existing energy simulation BIM tools. Conclusions With the increasing number of studies addressing energy simulations with BIM, it is essential to define a set of requisites to precisely perform them. By identifying the minimum requirements and tasks, the proposed guidelines will support future studies in achieving more reliable and comparable results. The possibility to estimate and improve the energy demand of a building during the initial project stages allows for the opportunity to build high performance and more sustainable buildings. BIM capabilities might be an essential support to effectively improve the built environment energy efficiency and accomplish environmental goals. Grant Support The authors acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology for its financial support for this study (Reference SFRH/BD/145735/2019).