Systematic review of current academic production of the concepts of BIM, thermal performance, energy efficiency and sustainability

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the current applications of Building Information Modelling along with Thermal Performance, Energy Efficiency, and Sustainability. It proposes one integrative matrix of concepts, containing information about the practical applications of high-impact papers within the academic knowledge, exposing the discussion to other stakeholders such as constructors, students, and managers. With the integrated matrix the study aims to present a state-of-the-art synthesis in terms of BIM applied, along with energy and thermal efficiency and sustainability, which may aid BIM practitioners in developing BIM applications in the context presented. This paper will perform a critical review of the existing literature, using the science web knowledge base, analysing works published between 2018 and 2021, with a higher impact factor. This research has a focus on works that perform practical applications of BIM tools to perform thermal performance and energy efficiency analysis, presenting the sustainability factor as a topic of discussion. After the systematic review, the works are selected to compound the integrated matrix will be analysed in order to clarify its practical applications. After selecting 29 (20% of the most relevant) high-impact academic papers, they will be schematized in an integrated matrix that summarizes the discussion about the applications of each paper. The paper provides qualitative data about the current applications of BIM, summarizing high-impact applications into an integrated matrix, allowing BIM practitioners and academics to use these results to find new applications, authors, discussions, and data more efficiently.