BIM-based optimum design and energy performance assessment of residential buildings

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Civil Engineering, Chalous Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran

2 Department of Civil Engineering,Chalous Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran

Abstract

Buildings are the largest energy consumer in the world, according to the United Nations Environment Program. Most of the energy will be used during the building life-cycle stage. Thus, achieving sustainable development at the national level requires minimizing the impact of buildings on the environment by reducing energy consumption. Using Building Information Modeling technology in energy performance assessment could be significantly reduced time and cost. This study aimed to optimize energy consumption in a residential building using BIM technology. The main focus of this study was to evaluate energy performance through the simultaneous evaluation of building components using BIM technology with a conceptual design approach, comparison, and reduction of energy consumption. To investigate different design ideas were created several conceptual masses in Autodesk Revit software with a top-down design approach. After reviewing the conceptual masses, the main building form was chosen for modeling. Then, building energy consumption was computed using related tools in this field, based on the type of materials, equipment, and project location. Finally, the most optimal mode was selected by examining different energy consumption forms. The results of parametric studies on alternative schemes of energy optimization showed that 58.46% of energy cost savings could be achieved compared to the initial model of the building on a 30-year time horizon.

Keywords

Main Subjects


1. U.S. Energy Information Administration, “Annual Energy Outlook 2020,”
Technical Report, 2020. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/. (accessed
Jan. 29, 2020).
2. Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, “Emerging Technologies,”
2020. https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/emerging-technologies.
(accessed Sep. 02, 2020).
3. N. Amani, “Energy simulation and management of the main building
component materials using comparative analysis in amild climate zone,”
Journal of Renewable Energy and Environment, vol. 7, pp. 29-47, 2020.
4. C. D. Douglass, “Instructional modules demonstrating building
energy analysis using a building information model,” Unpublished master’s thesis. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/18219/Douglass
_Christian.pdf?sequence=1, 2010.
5. N. Amani, “Building energy conservation in atrium spaces based on
ECOTECT simulation software in hot summer and cold winter zone in
Iran,” International Journal of Energy Sector Management, vol. 12, pp.
298-313, 2018.
6. J. Choi, J. Shin, M. Kim, and I. Kim, “Development of openBIM-based
energy analysis software to improve the interoperability of energy performance assessment,” Automation in Construction, vol. 72, pp. 52–64,
2016.
7. J. Park, J. Park, J. Kim, and J. Kim, “Building information modelling
based energy performance assessment system: An assessment of the
Energy Performance Index in Korea,” Construction Innovation, vol. 12,
no. 3, pp. 335–354, 2012.
8. N. Amani, and E. Kiaee, “Developing a two-criteria framework to rank
thermal insulation materials in nearly zero energy buildings using multiobjective optimization approach,” Journal of Cleaner Production, vol.
276, pp. 122592, 2020.
9. S. J. Guo and T. Wei, “Cost-effective energy saving measures based
on BIM technology: Case study at National Taiwan University,” Energy
and Buildings, vol. 127, pp. 433–441, 2016.
10. A. Schlueter and F. Thesseling, “Building information model based
energy/exergy performance assessment in early design stages,” Automation in Construction, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 153–163, 2009.
11. T. Laine, A. Karola, and O. G. Oy, “Benefits of Building Information Models in Energy Analysis,” 2007. Available:
https://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB8170.pdf.
12. D. B. Crawley, J. W. Hand, M. Kummert, and B. T. Griffith, “Contrasting
the Capabilities of Building Energy Performance Simulation Programs,”
Building and Environment, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 661–673, 2008.
13. Ministry of Energy, “Energy balance sheet, Office of Planning and
Economics of Electricity and Energy,” 2016. http://pep.moe.gov.ir/. (accessed Feb. 25, 2020). (In Persian).
14. H. Gao, C. Koch, and Y. Wu, “Building information modelling based
building energy modelling: A review,” Applied Energy, vol. 238, no.
December 2018, pp. 320–343, 2019.
15. S. Egwunatum, E. Joseph-Akwara, and R. Akaigwe, “Optimizing Energy
Consumption in Building Designs Using Building Information Model
(BIM),” Slovak Journal of Civil Engineering, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 19–28,
2016.
16. C. P. Kurian, S. Milhoutra, and V. I. George, “Sustainable building
design based on building information modeling (BIM),” in 2016 IEEE
International Conference on Power System Technology (POWERCON),
Wollongong, NSW, 2016, pp. 1–6.
17. M. Valinejad Shoubi, M. Valinejad Shoubi, A. Bagchi, and A. Shakiba
Barough, “Reducing the operational energy demand in buildings using
building information modeling tools and sustainability approaches,” Ain
Shams Engineering Journal, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 41–55, 2015.
18. M. Eguaras-Martínez, M. Vidaurre-Arbizu, and C. Martín-Gómez, “Simulation and evaluation of building information modeling in a real pilot
site,” Applied Energy, vol. 114, pp. 475–484, 2014.
19. Y. F. Li, H. C. Wang, M. Zhao, and W. Y. Pan, “Analyses on the BIM
Technology Using in the Design of Green Village Buildings,” Applied
Mechanics and Materials, vol. 548–549, pp. 1758–1762, 2014.
20. K. din Wong and Q. Fan, “Building information modelling (BIM) for
sustainable building design,” Facilities, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 138–157,
2013.
21. M. Najjar, K. Figueiredo, A. W. A. Hammad, and A. Haddad, “Integrated
optimization with building information modeling and life cycle assessment for generating energy efficient buildings,” Applied Energy, vol. 250,
no. April, pp. 1366–1382, 2019.
22. P. Singh and A. Sadhu, “Multicomponent Energy Assessment of Buildings using Building Information Modeling,” Sustainable Cities and Society, p. 101603, 2019.
23. A. Banteli and V. E. Stevenson, “Building information modelling (BIM)
as an enabler for whole-building embodied energy and carbon calculation in Early-Stage building design,” WIT Transactions on the Built
Environment, vol. 169, pp. 89–100, 2017.
24. S. Beazley, E. Heffernan, and T. J. McCarthy, “Enhancing energy efficiency in residential buildings through the use of BIM: The case for
embedding parameters during design,” Energy Procedia, vol. 121, pp.
57–64, 2017.
25. S. Egwunatum, E. Joseph-Akwara, and R. Akaigwe, “Assessment of
energy utilization and leakages in buildings with building information
model energy,” Frontiers of Architectural Research, vol. 6, no. 1, pp.
29–41, 2017.
26. G. Gourlis and I. Kovacic, “Building Information Modelling for analysis of energy efficient industrial buildings – A case study,” Renewable
and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 68, no. 2, pp. 953–963, 2017.S.
Habibi, “The promise of BIM for improving building performance,” Energy and Buildings, vol. 153, pp. 525–548, 2017.
27. S. Habibi, “The promise of BIM for improving building performance,”
Energy and Buildings, vol. 153, pp. 525–548, 2017.
28. F. H. Abanda and L. Byers, “An investigation of the impact of building
orientation on energy consumption in a domestic building using emerging BIM (Building Information Modelling),” Energy, vol. 97, pp. 517–527,
2016.
  • Receive Date: 03 July 2020
  • Revise Date: 09 September 2020
  • Accept Date: 11 October 2020
  • First Publish Date: 11 October 2020