Analysis of the Surroundings Impact on the Building Energy Performance by Means of a BIM Analytical Model Coupled with Dynamic Simulation

Building design often does not result in an actual limitation of energy consumption during the building occupation phase since a performance gap emerges. This gap is often related to occupant behaviour, but other factors, such as uncertainties and errors occurring during the design, construction and management phases, may also have an impact. Because of this, the correct evaluation of the interactions between the building and the context is an important consideration, but is often not correctly incorporated into energy analyses. The correct modelling of neighbouring buildings can be an expensive activity due to the difficulty in gathering data. The research reported here describes a methodology to develop a simulation model of an existing building and its surroundings by using a drone survey. With reference to a point cloud created from a drone survey, a geometric description of an existing building is developed in the BIM environment (Building Information Modelling). Following this, the BIM model is converted into a dynamic simulation model and the impact of neglecting the building’s surroundings is quantified. The aim of this complete and complex approach is to propose a working methodology and a process that integrates geometric-architectural and energy d isciplines. The results suggest that it is possible to develop an innovative operating methodology for intervention in existing built heritage