Requirements for BIM-based thermal comfort analysis

When designing and creating a working or living space, the provision of thermal comfort for a building’s occupants remains a key objective. However, energy consumption associated with the delivery of indoor environmental conditioning in the commercial building stock is not necessarily translated into improved thermal comfort conditions. When collaborative design utilises Building Information Models (BIMs), much of the data required for thermal comfort analysis is already defined by other project stakeholders. Furthermore, mechanical equipment such as HVAC and lighting fixtures, play a major role in functional performance, resultant thermal comfort and energy consumption. Monitoring building performance and thermal comfort requires additional representative data about indoor environmental conditions and energy consumption. This paper presents a holistic review of the data and information needed for the integration of BIM with thermal comfort modelling for commercial office spaces. Thermal comfort is dependent on multiple factors such as indoor environmental conditions, user behaviour, properties of building materials, etc. For inclusion in the design process this data must first be categorised in a standardised manner. The outputs of this work contribute to a Model View Definition (MVD) for thermal comfort using the IFC standard.