A key aspect of the digitisation of the construction industry is Building Information Modelling (BIM), which significantly improves the efficiency of planning and construction.
BIMERR is an extension of BIM functionality, which adds tools supporting the energy renovation of residential buildings. Budimex SA will be the leader of one of the stages of this international innovative project.

Objectives responding to climate changes have been formulated around the world. Research presented in reports, including by the International Energy Agency, indicates that buildings are the key “consumers” of energy in the European Union, being responsible for almost 40% of its total consumption, as well as high CO2 emissions — nearly 36%. An improvement of energy efficiency in built-up areas can therefore by a way to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. According to the “Energy Roadmap 2050” published by the European Commission in 2011, most residential buildings in Europe are over 50 years old, and the overall improvement in their energy efficiency is characterised by a low renovation rate of around 1% per year.

Technological solutions

One of the main factors affecting the slow pace of energy modernisation of buildings is the unavailability of their digital models, which significantly hinders planning, cost estimation and calculation of the efficiency of work. The goal of the BIMERR project is to develop a package of tools for the creation of improved digital models of existing residential buildings.
BIMERR assumes the development of Scan-to-BIM technology involving smart glasses and augmented reality (AR). Thanks to this, in addition to geometric data, digital models of apartment buildings will include characteristics of materials and components that affect energy efficiency, energy consumption data, and information on how they are used. Another innovation of BIMERR will be the algorithmic extension, providing the ability to analyse the behaviour patterns of building residents that have an impact on energy consumption.
The project also assumes the development of additional applications that support BIM. The first of them, Renovation DSS (RenoDSS), will be dedicated to designers of energy modernisation of buildings, and property managers. It will make it possible to assess the renovation options, e.g. replacing heating systems, insulation materials, and windows. It will also help to assess the impact of modernisation on the economic indicators of the building. The second application is Process & Workflow Modelling and Automation (PWMA), which will simulate the renovation process at every stage, from preparation to execution.
The tools will work in synergy to create more accurate models of building information. The extended digital modelling process will certainly bring greater opportunities for using BIM and result in higher efficiency in planning the energy renovation of buildings in terms of quality, time and cost.

Tests in Poland and Spain

The solutions developed under BIMERR will be tested in real conditions. Two residential buildings requiring energy modernisation will be selected for this purpose. Tests will be conducted in Poland and Spain, because of the differences in building regulations, standards for buildings made using different components, and different heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Budimex SA, the leader of the test implementation stage, and Ferrovial Agroman will independently develop BIM models for testing the performance of BIMERR tools. This will provide a set of tips and guidelines to improve the innovative package.

European project

BIMERR is an international undertaking financed from EU funds under the Horizon 2020 program. The project is being carried out by 16 consortium members — companies and scientific entities from 10 European countries such as: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Great Britain and Italy.
The project started in January 2019 and is expected to be completed in September 2022. The funding value is EUR 6,933,320.

The BIMERR consortium consists of: BOC Asset Management GmbH (AT), Budimex SA (PL), Conkar SA (GR), Ethniko Kentro Erevns Kai Technologikis Anaptyxis (GR), Extergy Ltd (UK), Fraunhofer Gesellschaft zur Foerderung der Angewandten Ferschung E.V. (DE), Glassup SRL (IT), Heriot-Watt University (UK), Hypertech (Chaipertek) Anonymos Viomichaniki Emporiki Etaireia Pliroforikis Kai Neon Technologion (GR), Merit Consulting House SPRL (BE), Novitech AS (SK), Suites Data Intelligence Solutions Limited (CY), Ubitech Limited (CY), University of Peloponnese (GR), Unoversidad Politecnica de Madrid (ES), and Xylem Science and Technology Management GmbH (AT).

BIMERR — a project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. Subsidy agreement number: 820621