Early-Stage Design and Energy Performance Analysis of Residential Buildings in Hot–Arid Climates Using BIM-Based Modeling Tools

Building energy performance is largely determined during the early conceptual design stages. However, energy evaluation is often postponed until after key architectural decisions—such as massing and façade configuration—have been finalized, limiting opportunities for meaningful optimization. This study addresses this gap by demonstrating a Building Information Modeling (BIM)-based comparative approach for integrating energy analysis into early design stages. Focusing on residential villas in Abu Dhabi, UAE, three residential forms were selected for testing: compact, L-shaped, and U-shaped designs. Each form included multiple iterations representing the design progression process, namely the base building form, façade refinement (glazing and shading adjustments), and spatial layout and/or orientation adjustments. The analysis incorporated variations in glazing ratio and building orientation to evaluate their combined impact on Energy Use Intensity (EUI). Among the tested options, the L-shaped configuration achieved the lowest EUI (79 kWh/m2), representing the best-performing option, followed by the compact (81 kWh/m2) and U-shaped (82 kWh/m2) configurations. The results also confirm that orientation remains an important factor even after façade refinement. Overall, the findings suggest that BIM-based energy analysis is most effective when applied early as a comparative and iterative design-support tool.