Developing an IFC interoperabilityspecification for integrated and energyefficient building design

Human activities release greenhouse gases (GHG) that are warming and changing theclimate and putting at risk the life on the planet. Among these activities, the buildingsector has an important position as it consumes 30-40% of global energy. The primary useof energy is domestic heating, and it contributes 12% of GHGs. More efficient housingdesign should mean a reduction in the carbon emissions generated by the building sector.Unfortunately, current energy design tools are not sufficient enough to deal with thisproblem. Energy rating and standards are able to evaluate energy performance andreduce energy consumption respectively, but they are not able to represent thecomplexity of the multiple variables involved in energy performance. Recentmethodologies such as Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Building PerformanceSimulation (BPS) have been able to handle the complexity of energy simulation.Nonetheless, the current interoperability issues need to be improved to allow thecollaboration of both disciplines.This research proposes to develop an interoperability specification for integrated andenergy efficient building design. This standard will allow any user to integrate BIM and BPStools in order to facilitate the workflows between both disciplines and to promote an earlycollaboration with the energy designer to achieve a better energy performance and,consequently, lower consumption and fewer carbon emissions