Utilities, Code Authorities, and Rating Systems use building performance modeling (BPM) protocols to demonstrate design compliance, predict building performance, and justify financial incentives. However, the BPM protocols data requirements can vary greatly from protocol to protocol. The BPM protocols rely on building energy modeling (BEM) outputs to populate the requested data, but don't always align in terms of output categories, units, data aggregation, and terminology. BEM software users often manually bridge this gap to the best of their abilities to comply with the BPM protocol's data requirements. Standardizing a base set of BEM outputs for BPM protocols would streamline the submission documentation and review process, as well as simplify workflow automation.

IBPSA-USA, with funding from the DOE, created a research project to review BPM protocols and common BEM software outputs with the goal of summarizing patterns and commonalities in current practice. The report from that project provided common outputs and levels of aggregation, reporting trends, high-level recommendation for standardization, and suggested next steps.

This session will present a summary of the report and the conclusions and then open the floor to provide attendee opinions for specific issues and potential future work such as:

Should IBPSA-USA work on common definitions and terminology for protocols and BEM program outputs?

Should IBPSA-USA pursue a consensus data model for compliance protocol reporting?

Are there other protocols that should be included in a standardization?

Are there other things IBPSA-USA could do to improve the compliance modeling reporting process for practitioners?

IBPSA-USA commissioned a report on the feasibility of forming a national certifying body to establish and oversee the quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) framework for code and beyond-code programs that use building energy modeling to help improve consistency, market acceptance and penetration of compliance modeling. That report developed a BEM Certification Body Initiative Roadmap that proposed strategies for establishing certifications for BEM tools, modelers and reviewers. Working groups were convened for each of the three certification areas to flesh out the recommendations of the report and develop seed documents that a body could utilize in the formation of a certification program.

The IBPSA-USA Certification Committee has now begun the task of implementing the seed documents into a certification program. This session will introduce the certification program including the purpose of such a program, why IBPSA-USA is a proper body to maintain such a program, and provide a high-level description of the three different certifications and how they work together. Then feedback from the audience will be solicited to provide the public's opinion on topics including:

Are such certification programs needed?

Is IBPSA-USA the appropriate body to develop such programs?

What areas are missing from the certification plans?

Are the certification plans too onerous?