Optimising energy performance analysis using building information modelling

Abstract

Construction industry is broadly recognised as a major contributor to the economy of a country however it also contributed to our rising environmental issues. The sustainability in the construction industry in the aspects of social, environment and economic is gaining more attention from the researchers. Back in 1992, Agenda 21 is proposed in the United Nations Conference to kick start program of action internationally in order to achieve sustainable development for 21st century. In order to achieve sustainability, energy performance is a crucial aspect to be considered. However, the current energy have deteriorated performance issues, loss of data greatly affect the accuracy of the analysis conducted. Thus, the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) improves the energy performance measurement. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential benefits of BIM integration in Energy Performance Analysis using the case study of Eco-Home followed by three objectives which are, to identify the high energy consumption equipment in a building; to compare and contrast the simulated values from BIM with the actual measured data of electricity production; and to propose solutions and recommendations for energy optimisation. This study integrates BIM and energy analysis tools to explore the energy performance analysis using the case study of Eco-Home in UTM. The energy performance analysis conducted through Green Building Studio software with the exported Revit file in gbXML file format. In this study, the high energy consumption equipment in Eco-Home is the air conditioner. Meanwhile, the simulated and actual energy performance of Eco-Home is 7,981 kWh/year and 7,597 kWh/year respectively. Further design alternative analysis shows that Eco-Home has the potential to further improve the energy performance by implementing daylighting sensor and greywater collection system. In conclusion, the simulation using Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Green Building Studio enable the building owner to forecast the future energy usage with different design alternative to select the most suitable design with better energy performance.