ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA are convening this conference to improve the industry’s ability to accurately model building performance. The conference merges the IBPSA-USA SimBuild and ASHRAE Energy Modeling Conferences. The focus is on making better decisions through the application of simulation and modeling over the entire building life cycle from the earliest concept through operation and maintenance. “This conference is a first for the industry, and we’re excited about the benefits it can bring to the building energy analysis and performance simulation community,” Dennis Knight, Conference chair, said. The conference seeks to improve the industry’s ability to accurately model building performance. Modelers, software developers, owners and researchers will address the practices of energy modeling and building performance simulation using existing simulation tools, software development, and future simulation research and applications. The conference will take place at the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead.
Goals
The conference brings together the building energy analysis and performance simulation community for three days of discussion, seminars, and short courses. Modelers, software developers, owners, and researchers will address the practices of energy modeling and building performance simulation using existing simulation tools, software development, and future simulation research and applications. “The goal of the conference is help make better decisions through the application of simulation and modeling over the entire building life cycle from the earliest concept through operation and maintenance,” Knight said.
Student Participation
The conference will have a student component where students can submit a paper for a scholarship opportunity. More information will be posted.
Call For Presenters
The conference seeks to meet the needs of day-to-day energy modeling and building simulation practicing professionals, especially in Integrated Building Design and Modeling. Five broad conference tracks address these current needs. Each track describes specific topics around which the conference is being built. Program proposals must address a topic(s) listed in the track to be considered. If accepted, the length of time for the presentation will be about 20 minutes.
The five tracks are:
- State of the Art BIM
- Design Firms
- BIM in the Cloud
- Codes and Rating Systems
- Life Cycle Cost Analysis: Show Me the Money
For more information, click on the “Presentation Submission Process” tab.
Contact Info
Conference Chair: Dennis Knight
Email: dknight@wholebuildingsystems.com
Scientific Committee Chair: Carrie Brown
Email: carrie.b.energy@gmail.com
Scientific Committee Members:
Michael Wetter
David Bosworth
Rahul Athalye
Weimin Wang
Holly Wasilowski Samuelson
Christoph Reinhart
Alejandra Menchaca
Staff Support
For information on the technical program, special events, special sessions and general conference inquiries
Tiffany D. Cox
Conference Program Administrator
Email: tcox@ashrae.org
Technical Support
For technical problems or for help in submitting an abstract online, email Tech Support
Presentation Submission Process
Each presentation track describes specific topics around which the conference is being built. Program proposals must address a topic(s) listed in the track to be considered. If accepted, the length of time for the presentation will be about 20 minutes.
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Track 1: State of the Art BIM
BIM is finding innovative ways to streamline and distill traditional design processes. How is BIM being used in projects to push the design envelope? How did you solve multi-faceted problems involving HVAC, occupant comfort, lighting, daylighting, envelope, CFD, CMMS, FMMS, control, and so on, using BIM? What are some of the innovative mobile applications for BIM?- End-to-end BIM, BEM and SIM modeling tools: Current capabilities, limitations and next steps
- Utility and applications using BIM, BEM and SIM tools as a project moves through the design, construct, operate and maintain phases of a building life cycle
- What can you really do with a BIM: HVAC, Lighting, Daylighting, CFD, CMMS, FMMS, Controls, etc.
- Mobile applications for BIM, BEM and SIM: What’s out there and what’s coming
- Modeling for occupant comfort
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Track 2: Design Firms
BIM allows firms to develop leaner project workflows compared to long used methods and practices. It also allows better communication between multi-disciplinary design teams. How is BIM being implemented into existing design practices and inner office workflows? What are the advantages to using BIM in a multi-disciplinary team? How is quality control incorporated in a BIM-driven project?- BIM, BEM and SIM: How design firms are integrating these tools into their existing office practices and workflows
- Multi-firm teams using integrated tools: Complex, single project case studies
- Office standards and modeling quality control within offices and across multiple offices and multiple disciplines and trades
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Track 3: BIM in the Cloud
With the availability of vast computing power, large-scale simulations are now more common. Multiple scenarios can be analyzed to generate large quantities of data and to determine the optimum solution. Such large-scale runs are common in daylighting and cost-effectiveness analysis. Cloud computing is another fast-developing asset for large-scale computing. What are the challenges, limitations and successes of large-scale computing and BIM? How can cloud computing be leveraged in BIM?- Large batch (parallel, simultaneous, parametric) simulation of multiple scenarios
- Cloud computing and modeling tools: Where they are, where they need to be
- BIM and BEM in the cloud: Challenges, limitations, and successes
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Track 4: Codes and Rating Systems
Performance paths within codes, standards and rating systems are coming into focus with the growing capabilities of modeling tools. How are modeling tools used for compliance with standards and rating systems? What is the role of BIM in the compliance process? What affect do the rating systems have on modeling tools and vice-versa?- Rating systems codes and standards: BIM, BEM and SIM – integrated and interoperable modeling and compliance reporting tools
- Compliance with other codes and standards using BIM, BEM and SIM tools
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Track 5: Life Cycle Cost Analysis: Show Me the Money
Investments in energy-efficiency upgrades are, at their core, business decisions. In addition to examining the relative returns on invested capital, lenders also want to examine the investment risk. Considering model-generated LCCA results, input uncertainty forms a major source of risk. How are researchers and/or practitioners incorporating risk evaluation in their energy model workflows? What best practices can be shared? What tools / techniques can be used to help the investment community evaluate both the expected return and risk profile of a particular energy efficiency upgrade?- How energy models are used to evaluate portfolio investment risk
- How uncertainty calculations are being developed and used by practitioners (model input and model output)
- Risk Analysis: What inputs matter?
Publication Schedule
This is the overall publication schedule for the 2014 ASHRAE/IBPSA-USA Building Simulation Conference, Atlanta.
Conference Papers Schedule
| March 17, 2014 | Papers and speaker forms due |
| June 2014 | Final manuscripts from authors with required revisions |
Presentations Schedule
| February 26, 2014 | Abstracts Due |
| March 12, 2014 | Notifications of Acceptance of abstracts |
| March 26, 2014 | Speaker Acceptance and Forms Due |
| August 17, 2014 | Presentations Due |
Authors' Resources
Templates
Authors who have received an acceptance of their conference paper abstracts will be invited to submit a conference paper for review. The conference papers will be a maximum of 8 pages in length and will be uploaded in PDF format.
The conference papers will undergo a double-blind review and will need to receive two “accept” reviews in order to be accepted for the conference. Authors will be asked to omit their names and affiliations from the paper at this beginning stage.
At the time when the conference paper is uploaded, the author will also:
- Sign an “Agreement to Publish” form. The form will assign copyright of the paper to ASHRAE. Open access to the papers will be available online at the start of the conference.
- Provide 2 Learning Objectives for the paper.
- Provide 4 Questions with Answers for the paper.
- Sign a “Permission to Record” form that will allow the presentation to be recorded.
- Present the accepted paper at the conference.
Sponsorship
AN INVITATION TO SPONSOR
ASHRAE/IBPSA-USA BUILDING SIMULATION CONFERENCE
Wednesday, September 10 through Friday, September 12, 2014, Atlanta, GA
Marriott Buckhead Hotel
ASHRAE and IBPSA-USA are holding a co-sponsored conference that encompasses the ASHRAE Energy Modeling and IBPSA-USA SimBuild Conferences. The expected attendance for this first-ever joint venture is 300. Modelers, software developers, owners, and researchers will address current and new practices in energy modeling and building performance simulation using existing simulation tools, state-of-the-art software, and innovative simulation research. This conference, focused on “BIM, BEM and SIM – Integrated Building Design and Modeling”, seeks to promote industry collaboration, and address the most pressing market needs.
The conference organizers are pleased to offer several sponsorship opportunities to engage industry participation. The sponsorship offsets conferences expenses and provides access to talented new graduates coming into the job market, seasoned practitioners, and principals responsible for managing modeling services. Sponsorships also fund the Scholarship Program, which covers conference expenses for qualifying students and allows them to attend this important industry event. In recognition, sponsors are invited to mix with students at the Sponsors Reception held Wednesday evening.
All sponsors will have their company logo and name on the event flyer, the conference web site and recognition during the conference. A summary of the specific benefits of each sponsorship level is provided below.
| SPONSORSHIP LEVELS AND BENEFITS | Platinum | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Sponsor Plus | Sponsor Plus |
| $25,000 | $10,000 | $5,000 | $3,000 | $2,000 | $1,000 | |
| Individual signage for sponsored events | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
| Complimentary registration to the Conference* | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| 30-minute demonstration scheduled during theconference (Only 6 slots available. First come, firstserved) | Yes | |||||
| Information Table | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Comments at Conference Opening Session | Yes | |||||
| Recognition as the sponsor of Closing Banquet withcomments | Yes | |||||
| Recognition as the sponsor of a coffee break | Yes | |||||
| Logo on the virtual conference website for 18 months following the conference. | Yes | |||||
| Sponsors Reception Wednesday evening | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
* Conference registration includes conference breakfasts, lunches, banquet and Sponsor Cocktail Reception with Scholarship Students
PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOP OPPORTUNITIES
Software companies and educators may also elect to conduct full-day or half-day workshop at the Marriott Buckhead Hotel prior to the start of the conference. On Monday, September 8 and Tuesday, September 9 three rooms for workshops are available. Each room will accommodate 32-seated classroom style. Vendors determine workshop fees. Workshop registration is handled as part of the conference registration through the online website. Online registration closes on September 3rd.
The rental fee for each room is $150 per day or $80 per half day. The fee will be subtracted from the registration revenue collected online. In addition, the conference organizers will retain 15% of the workshop registration fee to cover credit card and administration fees. All fees are negotiable for Platinum and Gold sponsors. Rooms cancelled due to insufficient attendance will be charged the room rental unless the room is rebooked. Audiovisual support, Internet, etc., will need to be set up directly with the hotel as well as any potential breaks or lunches.
Due to limited availability, space is available on a first-reserved basis. To book a meeting room please contact Judy Marshall at jmarshall@ashrae.org