GREEN BIM SOFTWARES

Building energy simulation

Prepared by: Dr. Nagham Ali HassanPhD in environmental design, energy efficiency and renewable energy

Agenda

Green BIM: how green BIM contributing green design and construction How to select the best simulation software?

Building energy simulation: Energy model Whole Building Energy Modeling

Energy ratingDesignbuilder ver 2.3

2

Introduction:

Spitler (2006) states that “simulation of building thermal performance using digital computers has been an active area of investigation since the 1960s, with much of the early work.

Over the last 20 years large and continuous increases in computational development of software tools that designed to help designers and environmental engineering consultants make such predictions.

 

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 3

How Green BIM Contributing Green Design & Construction?

Green BIM:

4

THE 5D DIMENSION

It is sometimes referred to as a “5D representation of a building”, where the 4th and 5th dimension are time and cost

Building information modeling 5

Some BIM Software

Architecture BIM software

8

BIM to BEM

standards and scales

The measurement techniques:

9

1- International standards & calculations

2- Computer Simulation

The International Standards

A psychrometric chart is a graph of the thermodynamic parameters of moist air at a constant pressure, often equated to an elevation relative to sea level. 

The ASHRAE-style psychrometric charthttp://me.emu.edu.tr/hacisevki/

MENG443%20PPT1B.pdf 10

Adoption of “sustainable

building rating systems offer a

roadmap that lead to sustainability

goals and help align requirements”

Rating systems, that are used to evaluate and benchmark sustainability, are constantly evolving

Sus

tain

able

Des

ign

Rating systemsS

usta

inab

le D

esig

n Green Building rating system – third party verification for the design,

construction, and operation of superior green buildings.

How Building

Information Modeling

(BIM) Helps Buildings

Go Green

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 15

• Decisions making:

Energy use, indoor air quality and occupant thermal and visual comfort in buildings are largely influenced by decisions taken in the early stages of

design, often by choices made even before design commences.

Systems, Models, and Simulation

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 16

Ways to study a system

A good model is a judicious trade-off between realism and simplicity

Generally, a model intended for a simulation study

The model should be flexible and easy of use

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 17

Simulation is used to simulate everything from games to economic

growth to engineering problems .

Simulation can be one tool used to examine possible scenarios that can be followed.

What is simulation?

Building Form Optimization for Natural Ventilation with Using CFD simulation, ISOENV

with MODU Architecture NY, 2014

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 18

Automation simulation

Aspects of using environmental design tools

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 19

What tool, which one?What for, why?

When?How to (how not to)? What does result

mean?

Building software tools can evaluate:1. Energy efficiency, 2. Renewable energy, 3. Sustainability in buildings

When?Simulation tasks:

Current use of performance simulation in practical building design.

The actual application is generally restricted to

the final phases in building design

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan20The application stages:

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 21

Energy SimulationLoad Calculation

Renewable EnergyRetrofit Analysis

Sustainability/Green Buildings

Envelope SystemsHVAC Equipment and Systems

Lighting Systems

Atmospheric Pollution (CO2)Energy Economics

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)Solar/Climate Analysis

Ventilation/AirflowWater Conservation

Whole Building Analysis

Materials, Components,

Equipment, & Systems

Other Applications

What tool, which one? Building simulation tools by category

Few of the available tools deal with all of the tasks

and operations encompassed by

environmental design.(Whole Building

Analysis)Some were designed to

deal specifically with only one or some of these

processes .(Codes &

Standards)

 ED-Tools: selection and evaluation criteria

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 22

COGNITIVE CRITERIA (what does the tool do ?) Heuristic Domain (capabilities /

suitability )

Hermeneutic Framework (meaning and value)  what kind of outputs are

provided (form / detail)?

• how does the tool work?• which physical processes are modelled or

omitted ?• what simplifications are made?• what does the tool help find?• what does the tool does not find?

• what do the outputs mean, how do they compare with other available data and with targets and benchmarks?

• can we bypass the tool's modelling or other limitations and how?

  ED-Tools: selection and evaluation criteria

 Applicability  range of use (simple - complex)

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 23

PRACTICAL CRITERIA (usability and user-friendliness) Ease of Use  (how fast to

learn, how easy to use?)how fast to get results?what communication with user?how easy to make changes, re-run

and draw comparisons?

range of application (single purpose - multiple)

range of action (single task - multitask)

accuracypractical usefulness / comparability

  ED-Tools: selection and evaluation criteria

documentation and training available technical support from developer? further development? peer group / community of users

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 24

MARKET CRITERIA (acquire or not ?) 

Cost  

Support and Updates

purchase cost (hardware / software license )

speed and ease of learning (time / knowledge required)

Input data questions: In order to improve predictions and help designing more

robust solutions: should We focus on getting all the required “correct” data?? or should we rather be more realistic and take (sometimes huge)

physical and scenario uncertainties into account??

What is more relevant: Getting the answers right, or Getting the right answers ?

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 25

simulation model steps The steps involved in developing a simulation model,

designing a simulation experiment, and performing simulation analysis are:

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan26

Identify & Formulate the problem

Collect and process real system data. &develop the model

Validate the

model .

Select appropriate experimental design

Perform simulation

runs .

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 27

The problem can be solved

using "common

sense analysis“

it's easier

to change or perform

direct experiments on the

real

the cost of the

simulation exceeds possible savings

there aren't proper

resources available for

the project or there is no data – not

even estimates

project expecta

tions can't be met

the model can't be verified

or validate

d

Don’t simulate when …

28

What a future environment for building system modeling and simulation may look like???

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan

Dr. Nagham Ali Hasan 29

BIM Applications

Revit is not BIM

Revit is one of many BIM tools as well as:• Autocad MEP• Archicad,• Navisworks,• Microstation.

34

Revit is a single software application that supports a BIM workflow from concept to construction.

Use Revit to model designs with precision, optimize performance, and collaborate more effectively

BIM software list for Sustainability:• Autodesk Ecotect

Analysis• Autodesk Green Building

Studio• Graphisoft EcoDesigner• IES Solutions Virtual

Environment VE-Pro• Bentley Tas Simulator• Bentley Hevacomp• DesignBuilder

Model simulation

35

Building energy simulation is the use of software to predict the energy use of a building

A typical energy model will have inputs for:climate; envelope; internal gains from lighting, equipment, and occupants; heating, cooling, and ventilation systems; schedules of occupants, equipment, and lighting.

Energy models will output:Building energy use predictions in typical end-use categories: heating, cooling, lighting, fan, process. And energy costs.

36

Energy-savings measures can be calculated using simple spreadsheets and a wide variety of bespoke software

applications are available.

37

38

What is EnergyPlus? Fully integrated building &

HVAC simulation program Based on best features of BLAST

and DOE-2 plus new capabilities Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux

operating systems Simulation engine only Interfaces available from private

software developers An updated version 8.5.0 with

bug fixes was released on March 31st, 2016

Energy models output

39

Energy Simulation Plug-ins for Revit

Energy simulation plug-ins available for Revit:

IES-VE, Design Builder and Sefaira.   IES and Design Builder are 2 standalone energy simulation software

famous among energy modelers and MEP consultants.

Sefaira is a new player and started with energy and daylight plug-ins for Sketchup and then launched a Revit plug-in.

40

DesignBuilder, a whole building energy use analysis simulation tool, is the oldest, easiest to use, most powerful graphical user interface to EnergyPlus available and includes ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G Baseline HVAC System templates, materials, and construction libraries

41

http://www.designbuilder.co.uk/Note : This is good since we can change some or all input parameters and do more in-depth analysis, but it is bad for anyone who is not aware of the complexities of energy simulations. Plus you lose the ability to quickly compare different options within Revit.

Import BIM models from Revit, SketchUp etc

42

DesignBuilder Packages for Architects

Accurate daylighting calculations

43

integrated generation of illuminance reports through Radiance

DesignBuilder Packages for Architects

Interactive rendered views, shading and walk-throughs

44

DesignBuilder Packages for Architects

Solar calculations

45

DesignBuilder Packages for Architects

The Architectural simulation packages allow you to link with BIM solutions, analyse solar shading, maximise the use of renewable technologies and test facade options all in one place, adjusting as you go according to client requirements.

High quality technical and rendered outputs help communicate findings to clients in a way they can easily understand. Key performance indicators such as energy consumption, carbon emissions, thermal comfort, daylight availability and cost can be provided throughout the design process in both naturally ventilated and air-conditioned buildings.

Accurate EnergyPlus simulation made easy

46

Simulate to check performance and comfort of the building

DesignBuilder Packages for Architects

BUILDING MODELING AND SIMULATION EASY

47

48

49

Energy software website

Building Energy Software Toolshttp

://www.buildingenergysoftwaretools.com/

http://energy.gov/eere/femp/energy-incentive-programs

50

Lighting and daylighting software

http://thedaylightsite.com/library-3/links/simulation-tools-2/

http://web.mit.edu/sustainabledesignlab/projects/DIVATutorials/index.html

51