An Internet of Things Approach to Support a High-Tech House

One of the main goals of modern housing is to ensure living comfort for users. Modern BIM-based house design involves creating a digital, three-dimensional model of a building containing all the information needed to support an integrated design. In addition, modern buildings are being equipped with new smart devices that can communicate with each other, exchanging information and data through the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm. Integrating BIM and IoT leads to the creation of the so-called Digital Twin (DT), a digital copy of a real element, which, through the use of information, may provide real-time monitoring and management. This paper aims to introduce a methodology that enables the integration of BIM and the IoT to conduct a predictive study of living comfort. In particular, the proposed method includes using an IoT-based platform to collect and store sensor data and software to integrate this data within the BIM environment. The case study involved the implementation of a DT using a BIM model of a real building, from which a real-time output of the information provided by the sensors can be obtained. This information may suitably be used for a predictive study of living comfort. One of this methodology’s strengths lies in its versatility, as it can be applied not only for comfort assessment but in all phases of a building’s life, from its design to its decommissioning and structural or energy monitoring.