A Test Bed for Verifying and Comparing BIM-Based Energy Analysis Tools

Abstract

With the development of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology, there has been an increased application of BIM-based modeling and energy analysis tools in building design. Although there are several popular energy analysis tools available, there is currently no effective way for users to verify the accuracy and reliability of their results and to compare the differences between different analysis tools. Therefore, the Computer-Aided Engineering Group at Department of Civil Engineering, National Taiwan University is developing a test bed for researchers and practitioners to share verification data, with both the BIM model of a test-case building and the actual measurement data of the energy performance of the building, which can be used for verification and comparison of various building energy analysis tools. This paper discusses the design and implementation of the test bed. The test bed consists of three major parts: (1) the repository of the BIM model of the test-case building with measured energy data; (2) user interfaces for users to upload and retrieve test-case information and model data in an organized and convenient way; and (3) utilities for users to convert data between different formats used by different energy analysis tools and to evaluate the energy analysis tools based on comparisons of analysis results with actual measurement data.