THE USE OF 3D GEOVISUALIZATION AND CROWDSOURCING FOR OPTIMIZING ENERGY SIMULATION

Abstract. As the world continues in the quest to fight global warming and environmental pollution by gradually moving to renewable sources of energy, there is also a need to reduce building energy consumption by refurbishing old and historic buildings to meet the required energy standards. While this approach may differ from city to city across the globe, the refurbishment of old and historic buildings would make a significant impact. That is why it is necessary to educate building owners or occupants by simulating the existing energy consumption and proposing appropriate refurbishment strategies. Because the accuracy of energy simulation is directly proportional to the amount of data available and its reliability, there is a need to find creative ways of supplying incomplete or missing building information. The present paper describes a concept that enables individual building occupants or owners to provide this missing information. Implemented and tested with the 3D city model of Aachen, the proof-of-concept enables individual building owners or occupants to perform energy simulations based on energy information supplied.