Diffusion of sustainable HVAC innovations in BIM platforms

Abstract: Sustainability attributes of building ventilation products have considerable impacts on building performance aspects such as energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality. Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) manufacturers allocate resources to develop innovating ideas for improving the sustainability attributes of their products. The diffusion of those sustainable innovations, however, needs effective communication of product information with the key stakeholders. Building Information Modelling (BIM) objects represent products such as ventilation system components in design, simulation and purchasing processes. The availability of high-quality BIM objects is thus significant for increasing the efficacy of these processes and demonstrating the relative advantage of the products they represent. BIM library platforms are growing as the ecosystems for creating and exchanging BIM objects. The aim of this research is to explore the ways of facilitating the diffusion of the abovementioned innovations and creating sustainable value in BIM library platforms. Critical realism is the philosophical approach adopted for this research. A qualitative methodology was employed to conduct three studies designed as single and multiple cases. The findings indicate that the potential of BIM library ecosystem for supporting the diffusion of sustainable innovations has not been exploited effectively. The factors influencing the quality of BIM objects, BIM library interfaces, and participation on the platforms run the risk of impeding the diffusion of sustainable innovations. The detailed exploration of relevant standards performed in this research suggest that standardization can improve the quality of product information and BIM objects, and consequently enable the diffusion of innovations. This research has implications for the key stakeholders including HVAC manufacturers, BIM platform owners, standards organizations, Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) companies and facility owners. The theoretical contributions of this research are: a framework for interdisciplinary study of BIM platform ecosystems. A model illustrating the theoretical functions of standards on product information in supporting the diffusion of innovations, a model showing the relations between those functions and the characteristics of BIM objects in supporting the diffusion of innovations, a matrix for the assessment of BIM library platforms, a model visualizing the theoretical function of BIM library platforms in the diffusion of innovations and a diagram illustrating this research as a contribution to the field of applied critical realism.