Performance Metrics and Life-Cycle Information Management for Building Performance Assurance

Commercial buildings account for over $85 billion per year in energy costs, which is far more energy than technically necessary. One of the primary reasons buildings do not perform as well as intended is that critical information is lost, through ineffective documentation and communication, leading to building systems that are often improperly installed and operated. A life-cycle perspective on the management of building information provides a framework for improving commercial building energy performance.

This paper describes a project to develop strategies and techniques to provide decision-makers with information needed to assure the desired building performance across the complete life cycle of a building project. A key element in this effort is the development of explicit performance metrics that quantitatively represent performance objectives of interest to various building stakeholders. The paper begins with a discussion of key problems identified in current building industry practice, and ongoing work to address these problems.

The paper then focuses on the concept of performance metrics and their use in improving building performance during design, commissioning, and on-going operations. The design of a Building Life-cycle Information SyStem (BLISS) is presented. BLISS is intended to provide an information infrastructure capable of integrating a variety of building information technologies that support performance assurance. The use of performance metrics in case study building projects is explored to illustrate current best practice. The application of integrated information technology for improving current practice is discussed.