A BIM-based Lifecycle Decision Support System for Early Stage Design

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Akonovia, a consultant company specialized in building energy efficiency, helps design teams and owners toreduce building lifecycle costs. Akonovia (formerly Simulead) has been the first company in Quebec to carryout mandates of energy simulation using BIM (Building Information Modeling). Designing mechanical andarchitectural systems during the conceptual and schematic design stages is normally limited to qualitative (andsometimes, high-level quantitative) evaluation of available alternatives. According to the Akonovia experts'experience, energy simulations are currently mostly performed when the preferable design is selected (mostlyby relying on the engineering experience). This project, however, develops a robust decision support system bycombining building energy simulation with economic analyses to provide a quantitative support to data-drivendecision making in schematic and conceptual design phases. Several recent studies in Canada and elsewherehave highlighted the benefits of coupling economic analyses with energy simulation, to decrease the energyconsumption and lifecycle costs. Optimizing the lifecycle performance requires taking actions as early as inconceptualization steps of the building design. Decisions made at the early design phases of buildings,normally tend to commit considerable costs (or savings) that will be incurred at later phases of the lifecycle andhave the greatest level of impact on the lifecycle costs and benefits. On the foundation of the state-of-the-art ofBIM, open source technologies, and economic analytics, this Engage Grant supports development of acloud-based decision support system which combines energy simulation with economic analyses forquantitative analysis of building lifecycle performance, at early stages of building conceptualization. The futurecollaboration between the research team at Concordia University and Akonovia, as the industry partner, canextended the decision support system to be integrated with IoT (Internet of Things) and provide a tool forcontrolling the energy consumption behavior of the built facility, and also to enrich the system's database formore accurate analyses and forecasts in new designs.