Integrating Parametric Analysis with Building Information Modeling to Improve Energy Performance of Construction Projects

Abstract

Buildings demand a significant amount of energy during their life cycles, hence, effective design measures need to be adopted to ensure efficient energy usage and management in buildings. This study proposes a framework based on various performance parameters to enable decision-makers utilizing standard procedures and software to empower the process of sustainable energy use and management in buildings, through a parametric analysis in different climatic conditions. Experimental design is adopted within the framework via the use of various performance parameters related to the building design (i.e., construction materials for exterior walls and roofs, as well as a set of window-to-wall ratios). Results indicate that climate data plays a fundamental role in the choice of design factors that are best suited for effective energy consumption in buildings. In particular, sub-type climate classifications, as opposed to the primary climate group, have a minor influence. Around 15% improvement in the energy consumption in buildings is noticed due to changes to the design factor such as the window-to-wall ratio. Insights that can be gleaned from this study include the impact of space area, exterior openings and material thickness and choice for the envelope of the building in all climate classifications, aiding in the design of low-energy buildings.

A Procedure for Automating Energy Analyses in the BIM Context Exploiting Artificial Neural Networks and Transfer Learning Technique

“…Several studies analyze this aspect, exploiting BIM technology and its capability of virtualizing the design and construction process, therefore being able to perform preliminary analysis in a more exhaustive way. In [20], BIM is used to perform a parametric analysis aimed at designing the building performance parameters based on climate conditions towards energy efficiency. They studied various design standards (exterior walls material, roofs material and a set of window-to-wall ratios) in combination with building location.…”

Evaluation of School Building Energy Performance and Classroom Indoor Environment

“…Strategies for energy consumption [15][16][17][18][19][20][21] and thermal comfort assessments [22][23][24][25][26] were developed for educational buildings.…”

Adoption of BIM technology to develop sustainable buildings in the Iraqi construction sector

“…The researcher adopted the questionnaire approach where results illustrate that of the respondents currently use BIM technology in their projects and that around three-quarters of respondents adopt sustainable concepts. (18) Studied various design standards (exterior walls material, roofs material, and a set of window-to-wall ratios) to enable architects and designers to use software to enable the process of sustainable use of energy in buildings. The researcher found through results around 15% improvement in the energy consumption due to change design options such as window to wall ratio (19) , studied the effect of different green envelops on energy efficiency and consumption.…”