223P on Gabe Fierro

Validating ASHRAE 223P models

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Note: I’ll be using my ontoenv tool to build this post

The ASHRAE 223P standard defines a set of SHACL shapes for validating building models. This post explains how to use those shapes to validate a building model, and also how to handle the ontology dependencies that the 223P shapes have.

Ontology Dependencies

A shapes graph contains a set of SHACL shapes that define the validation rules for a particular domain. Ontologies like ASHRAE 223P contain shapes which govern the structure and semantics of models; I’ll use “shapes graph” and “ontology” interchangeably here, but the important thing is that the graph contains SHACL shapes that we want to use for validation.

Deriving Views over RDF Graphs

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 00:00:00 +0000

(the model is in the eye of the beholder)

Part 2 of this post explores how we can define loops in a knowledge graph and how we can derive different views of the same loop for different applications.

Ontologies are a formal representation of a perspective on a domain. They are specific in what details they care about, and which details they don’t. This means that some ontologies are more appropriate for certain applications than others. Correspondingly, knowledge graphs using such an ontology may be better suited to answer certain questions over others. Some applications may require us to derive a new perspective on a particular knowledge graph. It is convenient to think of this derivation as a “view” or “projection” of the underlying knowledge graph which abstracts away the unnecessary detail for a particular application.

Present and Future of ASHRAE 223P (as of 2024/1/18)

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

I get enough questions about the current state of ASHRAE 223P https://www.ashrae.org/news/esociety/ashrae-bacnet-committee-works-with-other-organizations-on-new-standard that it was worth putting together a quick post collecting some of the slide decks, papers, and online resources that have emerged.

Open223

The current best resource for learning about 223P is the Open223 project. Open223 “is a collection of permissively-licensed open-source tools to facilitate exploration and usage of the emerging ASHRAE 223P standard. These tools are neither developed nor endorsed by ASHRAE – instead, they are maintained by a small community of enthusiasts and developers who believe in making RDF data easier to use.”