Development of a BIM library for building energy retrofitting: current workflows and a proposal for a recommender system

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an object-oriented design process based on the assembling of building components virtually prototyped. Both the BIM objects available in BIM authoring platforms and the ones provided by manufacturers in digital marketplaces do not include the level of information need suitable to manage each purpose and use case within a BIM environment. Considering the purpose of energy retrofitting, this study analyzes the use of a BIM library of External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS) as provided by a global manufacturer. The set of requirements for supporting a preliminary energy analysis is evaluated. Moreover, a data spreadsheet for energy analysis, bi-directionally linked to the BIM model, has been developed as a calculation tool for the energy evaluation of design options. Finally, the outline concept of a web-based system able to support the recommended selection of the most suitable BIM object from one or more BIM libraries based on various project parameters, including the selected BIM uses, is proposed.