BIM IFC information mapping to building energy analysis (BEA) model with manually extended material information

Abstract To reduce fossil fuel based energy consumption in buildings, different methods have been proposed. Interestingly, one of the most significant factors in building energy consumption has been reported in the area of improving building designs. However, building energy analysis (BEA) is typically conducted late in design, by energy analyst specialists. The ability to try out new ideas early in the design process in order to choose the best alternative is not ordinarily taken advantage of, due to the difficulty and expense of modeling the building and energy systems. Building information modeling (BIM) provides the user with an opportunity to explore different energy saving alternatives in the design process while avoiding the time-consuming process of re-entering all the building geometry, enclosure, and HVAC information necessary for a complete energy analysis. While significant time savings are being made by not having to create the building geometry within the simulation interface in BIM energy modeling simulation, there is a good possibility of missing, misplaced, or deformed building elements during a BIM data exchange process. This research focuses on one of the major limitations – inaccuracies through simplifications in construction/material data – and aims to improve the accuracy of energy modeling process by developing an object based approach in materials in which the energy modeler may change and expand various properties in building materials. In testing the performance of the proposed approach, the results from the proposed energy modeling process in the case study are compared to those of existing energy modeling software which showed significant gains in accuracy.