Integration between BIM and thermoenergetic simulation to obtain ENCE from a building of the Brazilian army

Abstract

In Brazil, the National Program for Energy Efficiency in Buildings promotes, together with INMETRO, the evaluation of energy efficiency of buildings using the National Energy Conservation Label (ENCE). The regulation that defines the methods for energy evaluation, in the scope of public buildings, is being updated, becoming known as INMETRO Normative Instruction for the Energy Efficiency Class of Commercial, Service and Public Buildings (INI-C). In order to comply with Federal Government Regulatory Acts, the projects of Brazilian Army buildings must obtain ENCE Level 'A' and must be prepared using the BIM methodology. In INI-C, there is a method that uses thermo-energetic simulation of buildings for their classification. Therefore, the objective of this work is to evaluate the possibility of making interoperability between a project developed in Revit and a software used for simulation, indicating strategies to be followed in this process. For this, an energy analysis of a military pavilion was carried out using the INI-C simulation method, using three combinations of softwares: building modeling in ScketchUp and OpenStudio, characterization and simulation in EnergyPlus; building modeling, characterization and simulation in DesignBuilder; and use of the Revit project for characterization and simulation in DesignBuilder, after an interoperability process. The simulated annual energy consumption in the real condition of the three models was, on average, 32,243.44 kWh with a maximum deviation of 1.00% between the models. In the reference condition, 80,118.71 kWh with a maximum deviation of 0.01%. In all, General ENCE Class 'A' was obtained, with an average of 59.76% of energy savings. The modeling that uses interoperability between Revit and DesignBuilder was more advantageous, with time savings in the evaluation process and excellent precision (maximum deviation of 1.00% in relation to the others). To take advantage of this potential, some recommendations in the interoperability process, presented in this work, must be followed.