Li-BIM, an agent-based approach to simulate occupant-building interaction from the Building-Information Modelling

International audienceBuilding design involves many challenges and requires to take into account the interaction between the building and the users. Different occupant behaviour models implemented with building simulation tools (thermal, air quality, lighting) have been proposed. Among these, models based on the agent approach seem to be the most promising. However, existing models poorly describe human cognition and the social dimension. Moreover, they are often oriented towards a specific use (thermal simulation, waste management) without being transposable to another field, and they require a significant instantiation effort for each new case, making their use difficult. This article proposes an agent-based model called Li-BIM that simulates the behaviour of the occupants in a building and their indoor comfort. Li-BIM model is structured around the numerical modelling of the building-BIM-(with standard exchange format IFC), a high-resolution cognitive model, and the coupling with various physical models. Li-BIM simulates the reactive, deliberative and social behaviour of occupants in residential dwellings based on the Belief-Desire-Intention architecture. This model, thanks its ease of use and flexibility, is an operational and relevant tool to support building design process with a human-centred approach. An application of the model is presented, focusing on energy consumption and the inhabitants' comfort. In-situ data obtained from the instrumented house that served as case study have been compared with simulation results from Li-BIM and a standard energy simulation software, demonstrating the reliability of the proposed model

A spatio-temporal life cycle assessment framework for building renovation scenarios at the urban scale

Reducing the energy consumption of buildings is a priority for carbon emissions mitigation in urban areas. Building stock energy models have been developed to support decisions of public authorities in renovation strategies. However, the burdens of renovation interventions and their temporal distribution are mostly overlooked, leading to potential overestimation of environmental benefits. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) provides a holistic estimation of environmental impacts, but further developments are needed to correctly consider spatio-temporal aspects. We propose a spatio-temporal LCA framework to assess renovation scenarios of urban housing stocks, integrating: 1) a geospatial building-by-building stock model, 2) energy demand modelling, 3) product-based LCA, and 4) a scenario generator. Temporal aspects are considered both in the lifecycle inventory and the lifecycle impact assessment phases, by accounting for the evolution of the existing housing stock and applying time-adjusted carbon footprint calculation. We apply the framework for the carbon footprint assessment of housing renovation in Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg). Results show that the renovation stage represents 4%–16% of the carbon footprint in the residual service life of existing buildings, respectively after conventional or advanced renovations. Under current renovation rates, the carbon footprint reduction would be limited to 3–4% by 2030. Pushing renovation rates to 3%, enables carbon reductions up to 28% by 2030 when combined with advanced renovations. Carbon reductions in the operational stage of buildings are offset by 8–9% due to the impacts of renovation. Using time-adjusted emissions results in higher weight for the renovation stage and slightly lower benefits for renovation

Building information modeling for facility managers

A Decision Support System (DSS) can help facility managers to improve building performance, occupants’ comfort, and energy efficiency during the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) phase. These DSSs are normally data-intensive and have specific data requirements. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has the potential to advance and transform facilities O&M by providing facility managers with a digitalized virtual environment that allows them to retrieve, analyze, and process such data. However, the implementation of BIM in O&M phases is still limited. The majority of issues in the BIM-O&M context lie in the interoperability between different software that requires different data structures and formats. In a BIM environment, there are issues associated with extracting, storing, managing, integrating, and disseminating data so that interoperability is assured. Considering the aforementioned aspects, the aim of this thesis is to enable interoperability between BIM models and the DSSs for building performance aspects such as building condition, maintenance, and occupants’ comfort. This integration automatizes the data transfer process which can assist Facility Management (FM) team in properly establishing the necessary measurements to moderate the negative consequences on buildings and thereby improve their performance and occupants’ comfort. The approach can also provide FM teams with an effective platform for data visualization in a user-friendly manner that can assist in integrating digital insights into FM decision-making processes and converting them into positive strategic actions. The proposed approach is validated in existing software as a case study. It is possible to demonstrate the applicability of this approach by ensuring that its interactions and outcomes are feasible using case studies. Case studies also identify how much the task efficiencies are in comparison with the manual method, helping facility managers to optimize operation strategies of buildings in order to enhance their performance. Verification tests are also performed on the information exported from a software program. The results demonstrate an efficiency increase in high-quality FM data collection for different kinds of DSS, reducing the time and effort that the FM team spends on searching for information and entering data. A Dynamo script is designed to allow administrators to include as much information as they wish in BIM models. Moreover, a novel approach is proposed to create a new category in BIM to assist public and business administrations with managing assets efficiently. In addition, building performance aspects can also be analyzed using the proposed method of integrating occupants' feedback into BIM models. By implementing the proposed approach, FM teams are able to correctly establish measurements which can be applied to mitigate the negative effects on buildings, thus improving their performance and enhancing their occupants’ comfort. Besides, the proposed approach enables BIM to be a more useful tool for visualization by using the most appropriate charts and formatting.Un Sistema de Soporte de decisiones (SSD) puede ayudar a los gestores de edificios a mejorar su rendimiento, su eficiencia energética y el confort de sus ocupantes. Para el buen funcionamiento de los SSD se requieren muchos datos. El Building Information Modeling (BIM) permite mejorar la gestión de las operaciones y el mantenimiento de los edificios al proporcionar un entorno virtual digitalizado que permite recuperar, analizar y procesar los datos requeridos por los SSD. Sin embargo, la implementación de BIM en las fases de Operación y Mantenimimento (O&M) aún es escasa. La mayoría de los problemas en el contexto de BIM-O&M radican en la interoperabilidad entre diferentes programas que requieren diferentes estructuras y formatos de datos. En un entorno BIM, existen problemas asociados a la extracción, el almacenamiento, la gestión, la integración y la difusión de datos para garantizar la interoperabilidad. Teniendo en cuenta los aspectos antes mencionados, el objetivo de esta tesis es facilitar la interoperabilidad entre los modelos BIM y los SSD relacionados con el rendimiento de los edificios, su estado de conservación y el confort de los ocupantes. Esta integración automatiza el proceso de transferencia de datos que puede ayudar a los gestores de edificios a establecer correctamente las medidas necesarias para mejorar su rendimiento y el confort de sus ocupantes. Esta integración también va a proporcionar a los gestores de edificios una plataforma eficaz para la visualización de datos de una manera fácil de usar que puede ayudar a integrar resultados de los SSD y convertirlos en acciones estratégicas. Para demostrar la aplicabilidad y la eficiencia de este integración, ésta se valida a través de casos de estudio. También se realizan pruebas de verificación sobre la información exportada en los diferentes sistemas. Los resultados demuestran un aumento de la eficiencia en la recopilación de datos de alta calidad para diferentes tipos de DSS, lo que reduce el tiempo y el esfuerzo que los gestores de edificios dedican a buscar información e introducir datos en la diferentes aplicaciones. Un script de Dynamo está diseñado para permitir que los gestores incluyan tanta información como deseen en los modelos BIM. Además, se propone un enfoque novedoso para crear una nueva categoría en BIM para ayudar a las administraciones públicas y empresariales a gestionar los activos de manera eficiente. Además, los aspectos del rendimiento del edificio también se pueden analizar utilizando el método propuesto de integrar los comentarios de los ocupantes en los modelos BIM. Al implementar el enfoque propuesto, los gestores de edificios pueden establecer correctamente las medidas que se pueden aplicar para mitigar los efectos negativos en los edificios, mejorando así su rendimiento y el confort de sus ocupantes. Además, la integración propuesta permite que BIM sea una herramienta más útil para la visualización mediante el uso de los gráficos y las opciones de formato más apropiados, guiando a la toma de decisiones para gestionar los edificiosPostprint (published version

Simulation multi-agents de la phase d’utilisation lors de l’analyse du cycle de vie de systèmes sociotechniques : cas des domiciles intelligents

Résumé: L’objectif de la consommation durable est d’encourager des modes de vie qui soient plus respectueux de l’environnement, tout en assurant un développement économique et une équité sociale. Quantifier les impacts environnementaux de différents modes de vie est cependant complexe. En effet, cela requiert de prendre en compte la temporalité des pratiques constituant ces modes de vie. Les comportements humains formant ces pratiques sont aussi complexes à modéliser, car ils dépendent à la fois du réseau social et technologique des individus. Ces aspects ne sont usuellement pas pris en compte dans les outils d’évaluation environnementale comme l’analyse du cycle de vie (ACV) et demande des connaissances sortant du cadre usuel de l’ACV.----------Abstract: The goal of sustainable consumption is to encourage lifestyles that are more respectful of the environment, while ensuring economic development and social equity. Quantifying the environmental impacts of different lifestyles, however, is complex; this requires considering the temporality of the practices constituting these lifestyles. The human behaviors that form these practices are also complex to model because they depend on both the social and the technological networks of people. These aspects are not usually considered in environmental assessment tools such as life cycle analysis (LCA) and thus require complementary knowledge which is out of the scope of LCA