BEM Validation Dashboard

Workspace Locations:

The Building Energy Model (BEM) Dashboard view will provide a tree structure representation to show the state of completeness/readiness of the selected Design Alternative – for Simulation. The Validation Dashboard provides the user constant feedback regarding the integrity of the model. While the BEM is being created rule-based model validation checks are happening in the background. More information on the rule sets included in Simergy is provided in Validation. As the BEM expands so does the "integrity matrix" and the areas that are being evaluated. The intent behind the Validation Dashboard is if the integrity of the model is evaluated as the user moves forward, then there is less likely to be major issues and/or surprises for the user when they get to the point of simulating the model. However, if problems persist, the user has a guide to where the problem areas are located. For the cells in the matrix that are being evaluated one of three icon options will appear in the cell:

a green circle with a white checkmark, which indicates everything is in order
a orange circle with a white exclamation point, which indicates the user should review this issue
a red circle with a white "x", which indicates that this issue needs to be addressed prior to simulation.

When either the orange circle with an exclamation point or the red circle with the "X" appear in a cell, the user can select on the circle and additional information on the issue and the issue detail will appear in the table below.

The user can view the Validation Dashboard on either the Design Alternatives or Simulation Workspace. It is recommended that the user check the Validation Dashboard early and often, so that potential problems with the BEM can be identified and addressed earlier in the process.

Note: It is important to note that each Design Alternative will have its own Validation Dashboard. To change the Validation Dashboard between different Design Alternatives, the user must go to the Design Alternatives workspace and select the desired Design Alternatives from the Select Design Alternatives table. Selecting a different Design Alternative not only updates the Validation Dashboard, but also changes the Project Model Tree as well.

The Validation Dashboard is composed of five tabs that contain different topic areas that are being evaluated during the development of the BEM. The table has the five tabs as column headers and the rows are the validation check categories. The matrix displays the validation check categories that are common across the different tabs, as well as the unique ones. The validation checks within each validation check category are discussed in the following sections.

Validation Checks	Project/ Site/ Context	Spaces and Zones	Systems	Simulations	Building Elements
Identification and Other Data	x	x	x	x
Required Properties	x	x	x	x
Weather	x
Other	x
Geometry	x	x	x
Containment	x
Referencing	x
Rules Based Validation	x		x
Space Bounds		x
Zones		x
Zone Groups		x
Loads		x
Conditions		x
Template Assignment			x
Topological Model			x
Design Alternative				x
Simulation Parameters				x
Output Requests				x
Output Formats				x
Slabs/Floors					x
Ceilings					x
Roof					x
Walls/Windows					x
Doors					x

Validation Overview

The Overview tab provides exactly that - an overview showing which high-level sections of the model have No, Some, and Many Issues.

Project/Site/Building

This tab evaluates the geometry and other information about the BEM. The validation matrix has eight headings that are the validation check categories identified in the matrix. The image is an example from one of the sample files. As the BEM gets larger the extent of the validation checks expands.

Validation Check: Identification and Other Data

Validation status: varies based on the individual validation property

The table below takes the Identification and Other Data column in the Project/Site/Context table, rotates it 90 degrees and expands it to include a row for each validation check. The columns represent the different BEM components that are being evaluated.

Validation Property	Design Alternative	Site	Building	Bldg Stories	Adjacent Sites	Solar Obstructions
Name <Type>	x	x	x
Simunique ID	x	x	x	x	x	x
SimModelClass	x	x	x	x	x	x
SimModelSubType	x	x	x	x	x	x
SimModelName	x	x	x	x	x	x
SourceModelSchema	x	x	x	x	x	x
SourceModelObject Type	x	x	x	x	x	x
No Overlap/Adjacencies		x

Validation Check: Required Properties

...

Validation Check: Weather

Validation status: (2) settings - Yes, No

Confirms the presence of annual 8,760 hour weather files and checks for the following properties:

SimSite_Latitude
SimSite_Longitude
Locations Template

Validation Check: Constructions

...

Validation Check: Geometry

Validation status: (2) settings - Yes, No

The table displays the two validation properties being evaluated for the Building Site, Adjacent Sites and Solar Obstructions.

Validation Property	Site	Adjacent Sites	Solar Obstructions
Placement	x
Geometric Representations	x	x	x

Validation Check: Containment

Validation status: (2) settings - Yes, No

The table displays the two validation properties being evaluated for the Building Site, Adjacent Sites and Solar Obstructions.

Building Site - Does the site contain a valid building
Building - Does the Building contain a valid story (Minimum = 1)
Story - Does the Story contain a valid space (Minimum = 1)

Validation Check: Referencing

...

Spaces and Zones

Validation Check: Identification and Other Data

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Property	Story (roll-up)	Occupied Spaces (roll-up)	Individual Spaces	Occupied Spaces (roll-up)	Plenum Spaces
Name	x	x	x	x	x
Description	x	x	x	x	x
Energy Type	x	x	x	x	x

Validation Check: Required Properties

Validation status:

Validation Check: Geometry

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Property

Story

(roll-up)

Occupied Spaces

(roll-up)

Individual Spaces

Occupied Spaces

(roll-up)

Plenum Spaces

Geometric Boundary for all spaces

3d bounding box

Validation Check: Space Bounds

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Zone

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Zone Group

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Loads (People, Lights and Equipment)

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Conditions

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Daylighting Zone Group

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check:Daylighting Template

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Natural Ventilation Zone Group

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Natural Ventilation Template

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Zone Lighting Group

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Zone Lighting Template

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Zone SHW Group

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Zone SHW Template

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Systems

Validation Check: Identification and Other Data

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Required Properties

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Geometry

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Template Assignment

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Containment

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Topological Model

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Rules Based Validation

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Validation Check: Sizing

Validation status: 3 states (complete, partial data, incomplete)

Checks if sizing has been selected and is defined properly within the model. For example, Simergy will check if there has been consistent use of "Autosize" throughout the model on the different system components. Note: This "Autosize Validation Check" is not done or displayed at the Loop Level Validation, so it is a good best practice to check the Validation Dashboard Systems Tab prior to simulating models.