Between the Poles

Building energy performance optimization using BIM and an integrated project delivery approach

As part of a seminar series supported by the Algonquin College Office of Applied  Research & Innovation and the Canada Green Building Council Ottawa Chapter, Jean Carriere, President and Building Performance Technologist at Trailloop gave a seminar on integrated energy modeling.  

The seminar was intended to give an overview of how to design high performance buildings using leading edge methodologies to optimize energy usage and analyze life cycle costs.  

Integrative energy modeling is about optimizing energy usage over the entire lifecycle of the building for multiple objectives. An integrated project delivery process based on building information modeling (BIM) enables the energy performance designer to collaborate with others in the design team on a common platform.  From a cost perspective, designing a building for efficient energy usage is more expensive in the early design and construction phases, but it reduces building costs over the entire lifecycle.  LEED v4 includes a credit for using an integrated project delivery process.

The primary motivation for energy performance modeling is currently aggressive building codes that push energy efficiency, for example, customer driven certification such as LEED and other "green" certification, and financial incentives from local governments and power utilities to reduce energy consumption, peak load or both. LEED v4 incorporates up to 18 credits for demand response. The EU, US and Japanese governments have already mandated net zero energy, near zero energy and zero emissions for public and other buildings starting as soon as 2018.

BIM

While building information modeling (BIM) is not a requirement of energy performance modeling for buildings, Jean has found that it simplifies creating and maintaining a model that can be reused and it facilitates collaboration with engineers and architects who need to understand the results of the energy performance analysis. It also provides a degree of future proofing enabling the information stored with the BIM model to remain accessible throughout the lifetime of the building.

Jean not only uses BIM (Revit in his case) to create and maintain the spaces, walls, and other aspects of the building that are required for the energy performance analysis, but also as a visualization tool for presenting the results of the energy analysis to the mechanical engineers and others who need to understand heating and cooling requirements of the building at a very granular level.  

The BIM model required for energy performance modeling does not require a lot of detail.  Jean estimates that on the industry scale for level of development (LoD) or level of detail, an energy performance BIM model is about at level 250.

Jean tries to use industry standards wherever possible, either de facto standards like Revit for BIM design, or an industry standard like gbXML for migrating the model from the BIM design tool to the energy performance application. Jean use a commercial energy performance analysis IES-VE, but other tools can import gbXmL models such as the DoE's open source EnergyPlus.

Jean uses a tool called BIMLink from Ideate to populate the BIM model with the results of the energy performance analysis.  With Ideate BIMLink, you can pull information from a Revit file into Microsoft  Excel and push BIM data from Excel into Revit.  Jean uses BIMLink to push all the information that the mechanical engineers need to design lighting, heating and cooling into the BIM model, where is can be queried.

Jean relies on young graduates to develop the BIM models for his energy performance modeling projects and he finds that it is relatively easy to find recent graduates with Revit training to create and maintain BIM models. 

Energy performance modeling

The typical process that Jean and his team typically follow to optimize energy usage for a new building is

1. Use Revit to create a BIM model of the building.  If there is an architect's BIM model, an energy performance BIM can be derived from that or alternatively from CAD drawings.  The model has to be very "tight" - not leave holes in walls or empty spaces. It doesn't have to be complex, but all spaces have to be enclosed and all windows represented. This involves some tricky modeling for non-rectangular spaces, for example.
2. Create custom schedules in Revit to provide an information framework for the data that is required as input for the energy performance analysis and for storing the results of the analysis.
3. Generate the gbxML model from Revit.
4. Import the gbXML model into IES-VE.
5. Clean-up the model and add external features such as nearby buildings.
6. Run the energy performance analysis.
7. Export the results of the analysis from IES-VE into Excel and use BIMLink to populate the custom schedules within Revit.
8. Make the BIM model with the results of the energy performance analysis available to the mechanical engineers.
9. Collaborate with engineers so they understand why a room needs extra cooling or more artificial lighting, for example. This can result in changes to the building design.  
10. Iterative design - iterate this process to incorporate changes suggested by HVAC engineers.

Demonstration

Jean demonstrated elements of this process showing

• creating the Revit BIM model
• using Excel to create custom schedules for the BIM model
• generating and importing the gbXML model into IES-VE
• cleaning the model up in IES-VE
• exporting the geometry from IES-VE to simplify and get rid of extraneous objects
• reimporting the simplified geometry file
• using Excel to add room ids, thermal templates and other tabular information required for the simulation
• running simualtions such as thermal analysis, daylighting analysis, etc
• exporting the results back into the BIM model using BIMLink

Future

Jean foresees some important future developments

• Energy performance audit for existing structures - Jean foresees that a similar process could be used for existing structures, using scan to BIM to create a BIM model and an additional calibration step to ensure the base model reproduces the observed bldg performance.
• Operate and maintain (O&M) - Jean estimates that the BIM model incorporates 45 % of what facilities management (FM) would require to operate and maintain the building from an energy usage perspective.

EPA's Cross-State Air Pollution Rule for reducing power plant emissions reinstated

On July 6, 2011, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a rule designed to protect the health of Americans by reducing air pollution. The rule, which is known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), requires states with significant generation capacity to improve air quality by reducing power plant emissions that contribute to ozone and/or fine particle pollution in other states. The rule required significant reductions in emissions from power plants in 28 Eastern and Midwestern states. This rule replaced EPA's 2005 Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR).

On Aug. 21, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in a 2-to-1 decision vacated the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR).

On April 29, 2014 the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 2 in favor of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) reversing the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Construction industry moving to maximize geospatial content

At the SPAR International conference Kevin Gilson, Director of the Design Visualization group at  Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) gave an insightful presentation on integrated 3D modeling and visualization for large transportation projects with some examples from several of the projects that PB is engaged in.  The central message that I came away with is that more and more geospatial data is being incorporated in documenting and visualization large construction projects.  The term reality capture has been in use for a number of years, but at SPAR I came across the term reality computing  which has been applied to computing that uses spatial data captured using a variety of geospatial data techniques including LiDAR, optical/IR, oblique imagery, and satellite and aerial imagery as input.  This is moving in the direction of making spatial data a foundation for BIM and other data used in the construction industry.

PB has more than 30 staff dedicated to 3D modeling and visualization and has been using  innovative processes that integrate 3D, BIM, and geospatial for many years to gain efficiencies on large municipal transportation projects. Recent projects for which Kevin provided examples include the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (SFOBB) East Span, San Francisco's Presidio Parkway, Seattle's Alaskan Way Viaduct, and the I-95 New Haven Harbor Crossing Corridor Improvement.

Kevin pointed out that the use of intelligent computer models and processes such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Civil Integrated Management (CIM) is transforming the delivery of transportation programs. CIM is the term promoted by the Federal Highway Administration under the Every Day Counts initiative. Owners, designers, and contractors are using these processes to design, build, and simulate projects virtually before executing them in reality. The use of virtual modeling increases communication and coordination among project stakeholders by providing an easily accessible vision of the entire project. 3D, 4D models (x,y,z and time), and 5D (x,y,z,time, and $) reduce risks, errors, and inefficiencies that are common to more traditional forms of project management.

The major trends that Kevin sees are contributing to this transformation of construction are 3D integrated models that extend across the lifecycle from design through build and operate and maintain, integration of increasing amounts of geospatial data from a variety of reality capture techniques, the use of LiDAR to provide as-built data not only from scans at the end of the project, but during construction, real-time monitoring including sensors and applications that operate in near real-time, and mobile devices.  In addition many cities are developing 3D models and are making them available to designers, architects and engineers so they design structures in an accurate urban context.  This is important for sustainability, but is critical when certain areas and structures strictly have to be avoided.  Kevin gave the examples of a cemetery very close to the projected Doyle Drive right of way, and a heritage building very close to the I-95 harbour crossing.  Another example is viewports that cities like London and Vancouver have protected in by-laws.

The PB Design Visualization team uses a very eclectic suite of tools which highlights how critical standards for interoperability that cross discipline and vendor boundaries ( for example,GIS, BIM, energy performance modeling, 3D visualization, simulation, project management) are becoming.

Geospatial
ESRI, Global Mapper, Infraworks
CADD
Microstation/InRoads/GeoPak, AutoCAD/Civil3D, Revit, Solidworks
Visualization
3DS Max, Sketchup, Realtime-UDK, Unity
Collboration/4D
Navisworks, Navigator, Synchro

Using an integrated 3D model-based approach increases communication and coordination among all project stakeholders resulting in a greater level of confidence in the design, the schedule, and the overall execution of the program among the construction team and owners. The end result is reduced rework and reduced risk of cost and schedule overruns.  Conflicts/issues are identified and resolved earlier in the process, visualization helps non-technical stakeholders get involved in the decision-making process and reduces the risk of surprises at project completion.  Kevin also sees the new approach as producing benefits such as greater sustainability that extend over the full lifecycle - design, construction, and operate and maintain.

In summary integrated 3D modeling programs benefit design team, construction planning, stakeholder communications through

• better communication/collaboration
• conflicts resolved sooner
• more sustainable and efficient

Kevin recommends starting with a robust BIM/3D modeling plan and specification including

• real-world coordinate system
• defined roles and responsibilities including a model manager
• specified 3D model level-of-detail (level of development)
• specified model deliverables

ESRI enables open data for ArcGIS Online

The trend to open data is accelerating.  April 1, 2010 the Ordnance Survey opened much of its data and now ESRI is helping organizations make their data open and freely available to the public.

ESRI has announced that any organization subscribing to ArcGIS Online can enable open data over the web.  ArcGIS Open Data is a public beta for open sharing of data from ArcGIS Online.

Data providers can specify open data groups that are open to the community to be shared, downloaded, and reused in other open data sites and applications.  I assume the licensing is determined by each organization.

Data consumers can access open data sites to download data in common formats such as KML, comma-delimited (CSV), Shapefile, GeoJSON and via web services.

Standard level of development (LoD) specification for BIM models

At the Spring BIMForum in Boston James Vandezande and Will Ikerd gave an update on the status of the BIMForum's Level of Development (LoD) specification.  The Level of Development (LOD) Specification is a reference that enables practitioners in the AEC Industry to specify with a high level of clarity the content and reliability of Building Information Models (BIMs) at various stages in the design and construction process. It allows model authors to define what their models can be relied on for, and allows downstream users to clearly understand the usability and the limitations of models they are receiving.  The specificaton does not prescribe what Levels of Development are  reached at what point in a project. Its primary objectives are;

• To help teams, including owners, to get a clear picture of what will be included in a BIM deliverable
• To help design managers communicate the level of detail that needs to be provided at various points in the design process
• To provide a standard that can be referenced by contracts and BIM execution plans.

Version 1 of the specification which was released in 2013 includes LOD levels

• LOD 100 - A model element may be graphically represented in the model with a symbol or other generic representation.
• LOD 200 - A model element is graphically represented as a generic object  with approximate quantities, size, shape, location, and orientation.
• LOD 300 - A model element is graphically represented as a specific object  with quantity, size, shape, location, and orientation.
• LOD 350 - A model element is graphically represented as a specific object with quantity, size, shape, orientation, and interfaces with other building systems.
• LOD 400 - A model element is graphically represented as a specific object with size, shape, location, quantity, and orientation and with detailing, fabrication, assembly, and installation information.

The specification has been accepted into the National BIM Standard (NBIMS) and a number of major organizations have adopted and are using it including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mayo Clinic, and Massport.

Additions to be expected in the future include

• LOD 500 - A model element is a field verified representation in terms of size, shape, location, quantity, and orientation.

DDoS attacks on Typepad blogs

If you have been unable to reach this blog over the past week, Typepad which hosts this blog and many others experienced multiple distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks which made Typepad hosted blogs unavailable for about six days.  Typepad appears to be up and increasingly stable now.

Mobile scanning interiors of buildings with automatic feature extraction for energy performance modeling

At the SPAR International conference Avideh Zakhor from the University of California Berkeley gave an enthralling presentation about her research on capturing optical and thermal point clouds of the insides of buildings using a portable backpack containing a collection of sensors.   Her team has also developed analytical software tools for generating floor plans, distinguishing rooms, identifying staircases, texture mapping surfaces, identifying windows, finding heat sources such as computers and human occupants, identifying lights, and even estimating plug load lower consumption - all automatically. The software her team has developed can generate input in the form of an IDF file for the Department of Energy's EnergyPlus energy performance analysis program. Avideh said that soon it will also be able to generate a gbXML file, which can be consumed by almost all building energy performance analysis software.

Man portable system

 

The "man portable system" her team has developed is a 32 pound backback with a collection of sensors.  There are sensors for accurately tracking the six degrees of spatial freedom which determine the location and orientation of the backpack in addition to sensors for recording optical and thermal point clouds. The operator walks through the building going into all rooms, halls, stairwells and other human accessible spaces. With the backback this is a much faster process than capturing indoor spaces with static laser scanners. For example, Avideh's team was able to scan Union Station in Washington DC in a matter of hours. A comparable static scan takes days.

 

Automated feature extraction

 

The resulting georeferenced data is then offloaded from the backpack and analyzed to generate different 3D data products including optical and thermal 3D point clouds, a colourized 3D point cloud, surface texture map,  and triangulated mesh surfaces.  Two different triangulated surfaces are generated for different applications - a very detailed surface and a much simpler model of spaces and walls. Using these data products the software automates feature extraction. It can distinguish  windows, staircases, and individual rooms and generate a floorplan.  Surface textures can be added to create a 3D photorealtistic rendering.  By analyzing both the optical and thermal point clouds the software tools can identify heat sources including computers and human occupants and can even identify lights and estimate power plug loads.

 

Building energy performance modeling

 

Usi‎ng the results of the automated feature extraction the software tools can be used to generate the input required for a building energy performance audit. Currently the tools are able to generate input in the form of an IDF file for the Department of Energy's Energyplus whole building energy simulation program.   Avideh said that soon it will be possible to generate an gbXML file, which can be consumed by most building energy performance analysis applications including IESVE and Green Building Studio.  This clearly has the potential to convert what is now a slow, manual, expensive process into a fast, repeatable, affordable process.

Bridging the generation gap for spatially-enabled asset management

I've blogged many times about the aging workforce challenge facing many industries.  At the SPAR International conference Wayne Rodieck of Anadarko Petroleum outlined what this means to the oil and gas industry and how he is uing IT to bridge the generation gap.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is projecting that by 2020 the U.S. will surpas Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer.  US oil and gas production, driven by technologies that are unlocking light tight oil and shale  gas resources, is rising dramatically.  Since 2008 the U.S. oil and gas industry has increased production by 25%.  This expansion has created 1.7 milllion new jobs. 

Most of these have been filled by young workers with no or little experience in oil and gas, but better acquainted with IT technology than the experienced workers who are on the verge of retirement.  As with other industries oil and gas is faced with the challenge of knowledge transfer to enable younger workers to be as productive as possible and to avoid a massive decline in productivity as the older generation retires.

Dr Apostol Panayotov of UC Denver described an online spatially-enabled asset information system at Anadarko that is designed to be accessible to both generations.  It provides a web-based user interface designed to serve up information about equipment on oil and gas facility sites including visual photographs, facility attributes and accurate geolocation.  It is based around point clouds captured by scanning valves, pumping stations, and other oil and gas pipeline infrastructure, but it hides the point cloud behind an intuituve user interface that relies on smart digital photographs of faciltiies.  Clicking on a particular piece of equipment such as a valve, tank, or catwalk in a digital photograph links the user to information about that picece of equipment including geolocation and dimensions, information that is derived from a point cloud.

Wayne described a simple use case which explains what he sees as the critical advantage of this approach.  There is an emergency and at 2:30 am he has to send a young, inexperienced worker out to a site where there are a 120 valves to turn off one of them.  He feels confident that by providing the young worker access to this online system which includes accurate geolocaton that he go to the right site and turn off the right valve.  Equally important the intuitive photograph-based used interface will not put off the experienced workers who are less comfortable with IT systems.

Jane Goodall MOOC course on community mapping

According to Wired UK, Jane Goodall has launched a massive open online course (MOOC) based around digital mapping for communities.  The course is being offered through Roots and Shoots, a community action and learning program run by the Jane Goodall Institute.  The course is intended to provide young young people with the skills to map their local communities.

Handheld scanners set to revolutionize construction

At the SPAR International Conference today Kirk Knorr from Burns & McDonnell and Gregory Lawes of point3D gave a presentation about their experience using a handheld scanner from DotProduct LLC.  This is a professional device intended for engineers and others working in the construction industry.  It is basically a 7" Android tablet with a compact near infrared structured light and rgb 3D imaging system.  It weighs less than a kilogram and is accurate for engineering purposes at distances up to 3.3 meters.  It costs thousands of dollars, much less than the tens of thousands of dollars for terrestrial laser scanners.

To use it, you walk through or around the area of interest holding the scanner in your hand.  It is particularly good at getting into spaces that a traditional tripod-mounted laser scanner can't see.  Another major advantage is that the processing is done in near real-time on the Android tablet so that when you have finished scanning you have a point cloud on the tablet that you can visualize in 3D and verify that you've got everything you need before you leave the site.  You can then download the point cloud from the DotProduct device to a laptop or other device running the same industry standard software for manipulating, analyzing measuring or visualizing the point cloud that you've always been using.

Kirk Knorr described how he successfully used the DotProduct device on a live engineering project.  Another engineer from Bechtel reported that he had been using the device on live construction projects for a year and in his view the DotProduct and similar handheld devices are going to revolutionize how we do construction.  He added that he foresees this happening very soon, within a year.  Another engineer in the aerospace industry said that his company intended to get one of these devices into the hands of all of their technical staff.