Estudo do desempenho térmico e energético de diferentes sistemas construtivos através da tecnologia BIM

Abstract

The pursuit of energy efficiency in the construction industry has become essential in light of sustainability requirements and the particular climatic conditions of Brazil. This study aims to analyze the thermal and energy performance of a standard single-family residential building located in Governador Valadares, Minas Gerais, using Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology. The research compared three distinct construction systems: conventional masonry with reinforced concrete structure, structural ceramic masonry, and Light Steel Framing (with and without thermal insulation). The methodology was based on three-dimensional geometric modeling using Trimble SketchUp software and thermo-energy simulations performed in EnergyPlus through the OpenStudio extension. The focus was to quantify the Ideal Heating and Cooling Thermal Loads, evaluating the passive behavior of the building envelope without the use of active air-conditioning systems. The results demonstrated that the conventional masonry system achieved the best overall efficiency, presenting the lowest annual thermal loads due to its high thermal inertia, followed closely by structural masonry. In contrast, Light Steel Framing without thermal insulation proved to be inefficient, increasing cooling demand by 32.3% during the summer. The incorporation of thermal insulation in the Steel Frame system reduced heat gain during the summer; however, its low thermal mass resulted in a heating demand nearly three times higher during cold winter early mornings. It is concluded that thermal inertia is a decisive factor for passive comfort in the studied region, reinforcing the importance of computational simulations during the early stages of building design.