Early Design Energy Analysis Using Building Information Modeling Technology

With the advent of Military Construction (MILCON) Transformation, the responsibility for conducting energy modeling late in the design process falls solely on the Design/Build contractor or their consultants. This research utilized Building Information Modeling (BIM) for energy analysis during the conceptual design phase. Most building energy analyses are conducted later in the design process by energy analysts. This report describes a process of exploring different energy saving alternatives in early design using 3D-CAD (computer-aided design)/BIM technology. This project investigated the feasibility of exporting a gbXML file from a BIM model for use in Green Building Studio, a computer-based energy analysis tool. The goal was to assess the applicability of this technology during a planning or early design charrette in order to identify energy saving measures equal to or exceeding the 30% energy-saving requirement over the ASHRAE baseline. This type of tool could potentially be used early in the project life cycle to evaluate alternative energy design schemas as part of an integrated whole-building design process. The original document contains color images.