Innovative SRI Evaluation Through BIM: Developing a Unique Rule-Checking Methodology Utilizing the IFC Schema

The promotion of smart-ready systems and digital solutions in the built environment poses as a crucial pathway for a more comfortable, energy efficient, and grid-integrated building stock. The EPBD recast set forward the Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) as a common European scheme for rating the smart readiness of buildings. The smart readiness of a building or building unit is determined based on the assessment of smart-ready services present or planned in, or relevant for, the building or building unit, and their functionality levels. Consequently, the value of digital building models to facilitate the SRI assessment is recognized. However, to date comprehensive methodologies to automatically retrieve input data necessary to the SRI from digital building models are lacking. Here, a novel and simple rule-checking procedure is proposed leveraging few basic entities and attributes within the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) schema from the Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and electricity domains. The rule-checking procedure is estimated to facilitate the inference of the applicability of between 60-80% of the HVAC and 100% of the electricity related services.