The building sector is a major source of energy consumption worldwide, underscoring the need for innovative building energy efficiency strategies that yield tangible results. Building information modeling, or BIM, is an established tool for integrating design, construction, and operational data to enhance building energy performance. Studies of five international building projects show examples of how BIM can help achieve energy efficiency in different project contexts. Project teams seeking to use BIM for high-performance energy efficiency projects face a choice among three strategic pathways: passive design optimization, active design engineering, and hybrid retrofit design. Passive design optimization leverages BIM to create building envelopes and interior spaces that improve energy efficiency by reducing building energy loads. Active design engineering uses BIM to directly improve building energy performance by integrating and managing onsite generation and energy-intensive building systems. Hybrid retrofit design uses BIM to plan and implement phased performance retrofits to existing buildings, combining both structural and systems upgrades. The cases illustrate that BIM’s impact on building energy performance depends on its integration with energy modeling tools. The paper concludes with recommendations for how practitioners can use BIM to achieve energy efficiency goals within each strategic pathway.
Smith et al. (Thu,) studied this question.