BIM-based real time building energy simulation and optimization in early design stage

Abstract

Increasing requirements of sustainability has prompted architects to pay more attention to the energy performance of their design. The design decisions, such as building form, orientation, window size, and construction materials, made in the early design stages have the significant impact on the building energy performance. However, architects who has limited knowledge of energy modelling usually suffer from selecting and using the common building energy simulation tools. Consequently, building energy simulations are rarely used in the early design process. It is imperative to develop a tool integrated with the deisgn tool to help architect to understand the effects of various design stratigies on building energy performance. Fortunately, the simplified building energy calculation method and Building Information Modelling (BIM) provide an innovative approach for architect. In this paper, a BIM-based real time building energy simulation and optimization tool is proposed and developed based on quasi-steady state method, Revit API and Dynamo, which can assist architects to optimize the building form, building orientation and window to wall ratio (WWR) based on building energy performance in the early design stage to provide better stratigeis for buildings energy efficient design.