BIMMER TOOLS

Building Energy Performance Estimation module (BEPE)

Responsible Partner

Hypertech

The utilization of Building Energy Performance Estimation (BEPE) simulation has gained significant attention recently that stems from its capability to accurately predict the energy performance of building sector under specific conditions. Among a wide range of calculation methodologies, the 3D zonal-type simulation approximation (e.g. EnergyPlus) is frequently used in many envisaged and practical use scenarios, as it manages to strike a balance between accuracy and computational complexity. However, 3D zonal-type BEPE models’ preparation suffers from two major drawbacks: (1) the models’ preparation is a very time-consuming process due to the difficulty to collect relevant information, often requiring more time than is available due to project’s deadlines, and (2) it is a non-standardized process that produces BEP simulation models whose results can significantly vary from one modeler to another according to their experience.

Within BIMERR, Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) files are used to streamline and expedite the collection of such information, while our BEPE approach introduce a methodology to automatically translate IFC to EnergyPlus input data, making the BEPE simulation modelling process much more expedient and less vulnerable to modelling errors. BEPE module, as a component of the RenoDSS, is responsible for estimating the building energy performance before and after the renovation interventions under examination. It enables the RenoDSS user to explore various what-if scenarios, quickly run energy models (or simulations) to estimate the energy performance and fine-tune the interventions in order to explore the trade-offs.

The BIMERR Interoperability Framework (BIF) consists of four components:
The BEPE module must be able to: (1) retrieve a notification/trigger message from RenoDSS that the data model for the baseline or a specific renovation scenario meets the BEPE module input data requirements and is stored in the data repository; (2) retrieve this data and apply a transformation process to populate the input data file of EnergyPlus; (3) given the input data file of EnergyPlus and the EPW of the building’s location, invoke the EnergyPlus execution, output of which will be the energy KPIs; and (4) when the simulation run is finished, generate a JSON file as an output message (to be listened by the RenoDSS) that contains the energy KPIs values for the specific renovation scenario. All above consist the functional requirements of the BEPE module, highlighting the fact that it only interacts with the RenoDSS.
Which specific use cases are the PRUBS addressing?
BIMERR consortium has collected requirements from all stakeholders that represent different actions in the renovation process, but also various roles. Elicitation and analysis of that requirements have resulted to numerous use cases, where the RenoDSS and BEPE, as a consequence, are applied. All relevant use cases refer to the RenoDSS and its components’ usage for evaluating the baseline energy performance of the building that is going to be renovated and analysing the impact of candidate renovation measures’ combinations on it. Estimation and analysis are translated to calculation of numerous metrics, that each use case defines, performing simulations based on widely accepted methods that achieve a trade-off between “accuracy” and “computational complexity”. As a matter of fact, four different uses cases of RenoDSS have emerged, while their difference relies on the calculated metrics (KPIs) and the respectively invoked RenoDSS components that each one requires.
When will the PRUBS be available?
The BEBE module roadmap starts with the its first release in August 2020, when the BEPE will be ready to interact with RenoDSS and provide functionalities that support the pre-validation deployment and testing activities. Its final version will be issued in June 2021 allowing the evaluation of its performance in real renovation projects (validation phase).

Subscribe to ourNewsletter

Subscribe now and receive our latest news!