Building energy simulation is not widely used because most of the computer tools are stand-alone packages that require costly, error-prone data entry, re-entry, and translation. Research on interoperability addresses this problem. For example, direct transfer of geometric and other design data from computer-aided design (CAD) systems together with the availability of performance data from equipment manufacturers in a standard electronic format can reduce cost significantly. "Reusable data" and interoperable tools are the keys to changing the process by which buildings are designed and operated, across disciplines and throughout the building life cycle. The objective of this element is to develop specific systems to support a building life-cycle information management context.

Tasks:

The project goal is to extend IFC schemata to support the modeling and simulation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) components and systems in various IFC-compatible building simulation tools (such as EnergyPlus).

The objective of this task is to test, validate, finalize, and integrate the IFC schema developed in Task 2.3.1 into the IFC object model.

The objective of this task is to develop an interface between EnergyPlus and the IFC object model that will allow the acquisition of input data needed to run EnergyPlus simulations directly from IFC-compatible databases and libraries or from software that generates those data. This interface will also allow users to write information generated by EnergyPlus to IFC project files for direct use by other interoperable software.

Project Team:

Vladimir Bazjanac and Philip Haves (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

Jim Forrester (Marinsoft)