BEMTrace: Visualization-driven approach for deriving Building Energy Models from BIM

Information

• Publication Type: Journal Paper (without talk)
• Workgroup(s)/Project(s): not specified
• Date: January 2025
• DOI: 10.1109/TVCG.2024.3456315
• ISSN: 1941-0506
• Journal: IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
• Number: 1
• Pages: 11
• Volume: 31
• Publisher: IEEE COMPUTER SOC
• Pages: 240 – 250
• Keywords: Solid modeling, Data visualization, Three-dimensional displays, Data models, Buildings, Computational modeling, Object oriented modeling, BIM, BEM, BIM-to-BEM, 3D Data Wrangling, 3D selections, Visualization for trust building

Abstract

Building Information Modeling (BIM) describes a central data pool covering the entire life cycle of a construction project. Similarly, Building Energy Modeling (BEM) describes the process of using a 3D representation of a building as a basis for thermal simulations to assess the building's energy performance. This paper explores the intersection of BIM and BEM, focusing on the challenges and methodologies in converting BIM data into BEM representations for energy performance analysis. BEMTrace integrates 3D data wrangling techniques with visualization methodologies to enhance the accuracy and traceability of the BIM-to-BEM conversion process. Through parsing, error detection, and algorithmic correction of BIM data, our methods generate valid BEM models suitable for energy simulation. Visualization techniques provide transparent insights into the conversion process, aiding error identifcation, validation, and user comprehension. We introduce context-adaptive selections to facilitate user interaction and to show that the BEMTrace workfow helps users understand complex 3D data wrangling processes.

Additional Files and Images

Weblinks

• Entry in reposiTUm (TU Wien Publication Database)
• DOI: 10.1109/TVCG.2024.3456315

BibTeX

@article{walch-2025-bemtrace,
  title =      "BEMTrace: Visualization-driven approach for deriving
               Building Energy Models from BIM",
  author =     "Andreas Walch and Attila Szabo and Harald Steinlechner and
               Thomas Ortner and Eduard Gr\"{o}ller and Johanna Schmidt",
  year =       "2025",
  abstract =   "Building Information Modeling (BIM) describes a central data
               pool covering the entire life cycle of a construction
               project. Similarly, Building Energy Modeling (BEM) describes
               the process of using a 3D representation of a building as a
               basis for thermal simulations to assess the building's
               energy performance. This paper explores the intersection of
               BIM and BEM, focusing on the challenges and methodologies in
               converting BIM data into BEM representations for energy
               performance analysis. BEMTrace integrates 3D data wrangling
               techniques with visualization methodologies to enhance the
               accuracy and traceability of the BIM-to-BEM conversion
               process. Through parsing, error detection, and algorithmic
               correction of BIM data, our methods generate valid BEM
               models suitable for energy simulation. Visualization
               techniques provide transparent insights into the conversion
               process, aiding error identifcation, validation, and user
               comprehension. We introduce context-adaptive selections to
               facilitate user interaction and to show that the BEMTrace
               workfow helps users understand complex 3D data wrangling
               processes.",
  month =      jan,
  doi =        "10.1109/TVCG.2024.3456315",
  issn =       "1941-0506",
  journal =    "IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics",
  number =     "1",
  pages =      "11",
  volume =     "31",
  publisher =  "IEEE COMPUTER SOC",
  pages =      "240--250",
  keywords =   "Solid modeling, Data visualization, Three-dimensional
               displays, Data models, Buildings, Computational modeling,
               Object oriented modeling, BIM, BEM, BIM-to-BEM, 3D Data
               Wrangling, 3D selections, Visualization for trust building",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2025/walch-2025-bemtrace/",
}