BIM’s social role in building energy modeling

With increasing awareness of the contribution of buildings to global warming, the construction industry has begun to be more responsive to energy-efficient buildings. The emergence of building information modeling (BIM) with building energy modeling (BEM) provides industry with means to address related issues through integrated energy analysis of buildings. Nevertheless, connecting BIM technology to BEM includes issues of information exchange among the participants in the process. While the prevailing view in the literature is that there is a need to redefine the process, it is suggested that beyond that the success of BEM includes stakeholder management, which can be implemented through BIM’s social capabilities. Therefore, in order to address the integration issues between them, this study proposes a social concept for connecting BIM to BEM, which is reflected in the model for implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) through BIM for BEM (CSR–BIM–BEM model). The examination of the relevance of BIM’s social capabilities to the BEM process according to this model was conducted on three levels. First, the implications of integrating BIM technology into the BEM process were examined through expert interviews, and the need for social perception became apparent. Second, the examination of the model’s criteria by the experts supported its ability to promote the BEM process. Third, an examination of two case studies proved, using social network analysis and participant interviews, the model’s feasibility, in terms of BEM process parameters. A direct link was found between BIM’s management centrality, reflected in BIM involvement in stakeholder management, and progress in the BEM process. These results illustrate the importance of BIM’s social role in building energy modeling. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].