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Budimex will test the innovative BIMERR project in Warsaw’s Praga district

News date: July 9, 2020
Budimex will test the innovative BIMERR project in Warsaw’s Praga district

BIMERR is a project to expand the BIM functionality with tools which support the energy renovation process of residential buildings. BIMERR is an international project financed with EU funds under the Horizon 2020 programme. An innovation on a European scale, BIMERR is now entering the test stage managed by Budimex in cooperation with Warsaw City Council and ZGN (Property Management Authority) of Warsaw. The first tests of energy efficiency and energy retrofit scenarios based on BIMERR technologies will begin as early as in July, in a building in Warsaw’s Praga district.

 

The building selected by the authorities of Warsaw and ZGN for the BIMERR tests requires thermal upgrading. So far, it has been retrofitted with central heating and domestic hot water production systems, and a DHN connection. The first stages of BIMERR-based work will now begin to select the best-case energy retrofit scenario for the building. In the future, the deliverables of the BIMERR-based tests will shape the energy efficiency of the building and reduce the costs of heat and hot water.

 

The BIMERR test building at Wiarusów Street will undergo a standard energy survey, BIM (building information modelling), 3D scanning of the structure and thermal imaging. The test work outputs will include an energy and cost efficiency analysis of the potential energy retrofit scenarios performed with innovative tools, while the Warsaw City Council will receive an as-is energy performance certificate for the building.

 

Since 2019, BIMERR’s objectives have included the development of state-of-the-art tools for the end-to-end energy efficient renovation of residential buildings. One of the objectives of BIMERR is the development of Scan-to-BIM technology, which uses smart glasses and augmented reality (AR). The solution will enable populating facility information with the data of energy-efficiency critical building materials and components. It will also enable an analysis of occupant behaviour which is important to the energy consumption of buildings.

The BIMERR deliverables include auxiliary applications to support the energy efficiency renovation system, like Renovation DSS. The application will be dedicated to energy efficiency renovation designers and building managers. The application will assess the feasibility of renovation by replacement of heating systems, insulation materials, or windows, among others. It will also help to estimate the effects of energy efficiency renovation on the economic indicators of the building. Another BIMERR application is Process and Workflow Modelling and Automation (PWMA), which is used to simulate the entire efficiency renovation process, from preparatory work to execution.

 

The BIMERR tests and research are performed in Poland, Spain, and Greece. Given the differences in building laws and construction standards between the countries, Budimex SA, the leader of the testing stage, and Ferrovial Agroman will independently develop BIM models that will serve to assess the performance of BIMERR tools. This will help to produce a set of guidelines to improve this innovative package.