Integration of outdoor human comfort in a building energy simulation database using CityGML Energy Ade

Handling data needed by Building Energy Simulation (BES) tools can be a tedious task, especially at the urban scale. Besides BES, users often have different needs (building energy use, human comfort, integration of renewables, urban planning…) in mind when using simulation tools, but often have access to the same dataset. To simplify and harmonize the process of obtaining a homogeneous dataset, we make use of a PostgreSQL database in the CityGML file format using the Energy Application Domain Extension (ADE), which can be accessed remotely to retrieve data. CityGML with Energy ADE is an open data model with the objective of having a common platform to store and exchange 3D information and energy data between municipalities, professionals and researchers. The structure of the CityGML covers the following modules: geometry, construction, occupancy and energy systems. However, in the CityGML structure an important parameter to describe the city livability is missing: the outdoor human comfort. Considering this, we propose to further develop the database, by adding outdoor human comfort parameters and results. A case study of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) campus will be set-up, stored in the database and simulated with the software CitySim. The resulting human comfort indices will further be sent back to the improved database for an offline analysis with GIS tools. With this new development, the CityGML with Energy ADE can benefit from information on the urban microclimate and its impact on people activities and wellbeing.