Building Information Modeling-Based Building Energy Modeling: Investigation of Interoperability and Simulation Results

Abstract

There is increasing need to apply building information modeling (BIM) to low energy buildings, this includes building energy modeling (BEM). If a building energy model can be flawlessly generated from a BIM model, the energy simulation process can be better integrated within the design, can be more competent, and timesaving. However, concerns about both the reliability and integrity of the data transfer process and the interoperability between the BIM and BEM prevent any implementation of BIM-based energy modeling on a large scale. This study addresses the accuracy and integrity of BIM-based energy modeling by investigating how well Autodesk's Revit (BIM), in conjunction with two of the most used energy modeling programs (BEM) known as DesignBuilder and Virtual Environment (IES-ve), were integrated in terms of interoperability, including location and weather files, geometry, construction and materials, thermal zones, occupancy operating schedules, and HVAC systems. All misrepresented data during the interoperability process were identified, followed by benchmarking between the BIM-based energy modeling simulation outcomes and the actual energy consumption of the case study, to assess the reliability of the process. The investigation has revealed a number of interoperability issues regarding the BIM data input and BEM data interpretation. Overall, BIM-based energy modeling proved to be a promising tool for sustainable and low energy building design, however, the BIM to BEM process is a non-standardized method of producing building energy models as it varies from one modeler to another, and the BIM to BEM process. All these might slow down any possible application for the process and might cause some uncertainties for the professionals in the field applying it.