Framework for a UAS-based assessment of energy performance of buildings

The following paper presents a framework for an assessment of energy performance of buildings based on the identification of physical parameters characterizing a building regarding its thermal behavior. Data acquisition within this framework is performed primarily by using UAS, equipped with RGB-camera and thermography-camera for a simultaneous application during the flight. To ensure a reproducible flight for the parallel acquisition of thermography and RGB data, a flight path automatically computed from a basic three-dimensional model is used. An estimation of U-value is applied to the thermography data obtained, allowing the derivation of a probable material set of the investigated structure. The framework also proposes suitable data models for data storage and management to act as a foundation for all algorithmic components, including numerical assessment of energy performance of buildings. Conclusively the framework is applied on a school building illustrating the previously defined methods. The validation of the Building Performance Simulation (BPS) performed within this framework shows an oscillation of Mean Bias Error (MBE) for the heat demand between −6.4% and 6.3%.