ABSTRACT
Building Energy Performance Simulation (BEPS) software is a powerful tool for the whole building life cycle. However, providing the required input information is often challenging, which has given rise to an increasing research need focused on the automatic generation of BEPS input files from Building Information Modelling (BIM) data. This work presents a first proof of concept of a conversion tool targeting the TRNSYS simulation environment. The tool is capable of automatically extract information from a building model, specified according to the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) open standard, and consistently creates the required BEPS input files. Data requirements for the IFC-to-TRNSYS interoperability are commented, and finally, the tool is demonstrated through a case study running a yearly thermal load calculation for a simple test building. This contributes to put the TRNSYS modelling potential at disposal of the AEC industry and opens up to very promising research challenges.
