Building Energy Performance Gap: A Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Review of Global Research Themes
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Building energy simulations are useful for analyzing decisions impacting energy performance. However, significant discrepancies exist between simulated building energy performance and real-world measured performance, thus inhibiting progress towards sustainability. This paper examines recent Building Energy Performance Gaps (BEPG) research trends using bibliometric measures. It also aims to assess global research trends by examining global research engagement and thematic development to build a more comprehensive understanding of BEPG. The systematic review of the Web of Science (WoS) database identified 331 relevant articles published between 2012 and July 2023. A quantitative approach of bibliometric procedures (including title, abstract and keywords) was used for analyzing the documents, alongside the VOSviewer software program. This methodology enabled the authors to produce scientometric maps, showcasing the relationships in authorship, citation, occurrences, and bibliometric coupling. The results indicate that BEPG research is primarily conducted in more developed regions such as Europe and North America, while severely lacking in many developing countries within the Global South (GS). Results further indicate a broadening research scope, with less than ten percent of the 1,118 keywords used by authors three times or more. Solutions towards resolving BEPG need to be highly contextualized. Therefore, this study identifies major BEPG research areas and highlights the multidisciplinary nature of the field. Additionally, fostering international collaborations and developing building energy performance standards could aid in creating a more sustainable built environment and developing capacities, focusing critically on the needs of GS countries.
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