Measurement Led Actionable Building Diagnostics
For meaningful impact on business-as-usual building management and maintenance, performance measurements must be able to identify if a building is performing as expected and crucially: if not, why not?
Project
Measurement Led Actionable Building Diagnostics
Lead Organisation
Build Test Solutions
URL
buildtestsolutions.com/news/actionable-building-diagnostics
Location
Weedon Bec
Funding
£211,145
About the project
Presently, there are a range of tools available for measuring the physical properties and indoor environmental quality of buildings but interpreting results is challenging. This project has developed a software platform that allows multiple building performance parameters to be combined; unlocking improved diagnostics and actionable insights.
What has the project successfully delivered?
- BTS Cloud software platform and UI, including underlying database structures.
- Innovative occupancy evaluation method developed by SOAP.
- New mould risk, overheating risk and healthy home indicator metrics researched and validated by Loughborough University.
- Lay-up of Heat Transfer Coefficient (HTC), airtightness, U-values, EPC, energy and environmental condition monitoring data.
What has the project achieved?
An industry-first software platform that allows multiple building performance parameters to be combined and used to provide users with powerful, actionable insights. Starting with an address and an EPC record, users can build out their understanding of a building by layering in measurements such as HTC, airtightness, U-values, energy data and monitoring data from environmental sensors. With this, the platform then overlays these readings to undertake cause and effect analysis and present the user with invaluable diagnostics capabilities with actionable feedback and insights.
Key lessons learned
The project faced a number of challenges, including:
- Determining a data architecture that could allow for the pooling of both internal and external datasets. The team generally finding there to be very few common data capture and storage standards and conventions.
- Overcoming the nuances of how internal conditions, building fabric performance and energy use all interact to determine a healthy home and what actions may be best taken to improve energy performance whilst managing the risk of unintended consequences.
Next steps
Build Test Solutions is currently carrying out further testing and validation of the platform and plans to carry out extensive user testing later in the 24/25 heating season before launching the product later in 2025.
The project found a major barrier to the uptake of building performance evaluation, as prescribed by BS40101, PAS2035, and the RIBA plan of work, was due to the absence of a joined-up approach. It is hoped that this new platform will serve as a useful one-stop solution to readily deliver against such growing regulatory and guidance requirements.