BIGMODERN Subproject 7: Monitoring concept

This project is a sub project of the flagship project "BIGMODERN – Sustainable modernisation standards for buildings owned by the Federal Republic of Austria of the period from the 1950s to the 1980s"

Status

completed

Abstract

Starting point/Motivation

The Federal Real Estate Company BIG Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft is one of the biggest public building owners in Austria. In the course of international agreements, the Republic of Austria has committed itself to climate protection as well as to the implementation of energy efficiency and CO2-saving measures within the scope of European Directives. Apart from the international obligations, there are national standards for public buildings. An agreement according to 15a B-VG between the federal government and the federal states deals with measures in the building sector, aiming at the reduction of the emission of green house gases. In article 12 and 13 of this agreement, the demands for new buildings and for the renovation of public buildings, which ought to be implemented by the contract parties, are specified. Taking these agreements and guidelines into account, it is evident that the BIG has to meet high demands concerning energy efficiency in renovation.

Hence, the BIG has submitted the flagship project BIGMODERN in the framework of the research programme ‘Building of Tomorrow Plus’. The core element of this flagship project is the implementation of two demonstration projects. These demonstration projects are refurbished according to above-average quality standards concerning energy efficiency and sustainability (compared to other general refurbishments executed by the BIG) while keeping an eye on the adherence of economic aspects as well. Thus, the awareness within the BIG shall be raised, that innovative refurbishments are not uneconomical if new paths are followed within the planning process. The aim is to set new standards in energy efficiency within the sector of general refurbishment, based on the BIGMODERN demonstration projects. Furthermore, the competence of the BIG to realize and implement innovative projects shall be pointed out.

Contents and Objectives

Subproject 7 is one of 11 subprojects of the flagship project BIGMODERN. Important elements of the flagship project are the parts dealing with evaluation and documentation. Within these parts, experiences and knowledge gained during the planning phase as well as during the constructional implementation phase are recapitulated and evaluated. On this basis, requirements for default target criteria for sustainable and energy efficient renovation as well as default planning processes are developed.

Against this background of the aims of BIGMODERN, the current subproject pursues the target of preparing the evaluation and documentation of the results of the demonstration projects, which will take place within the scope of subproject 10 by using a holistic and detailed conceptive monitoring approach. Within the various work packages, concepts dealing with the following monitoring-contents have been developed:

• Monitoring of the energy and resource use under real building operation condition (WP 1)
• Evaluation of the real costs of the demonstration projects – especially of the costs related to the use of innovative technologies (WP 2)
• Checking of function and convenience, especially as far as the appropriateness of innovative technologies for the given purpose and the actual use of innovative solutions in the building operation is concerned (WP 3)
• Definition of the interface to the cross-flagship-project monitorPLUS, which deals with the verification management of the TQB/ÖGNB-certificate (AP 4);
• Integration of the monitoring results into the business-management activities as a basis for the optimization of the building operation.

Methods

The project makes use of an integrative, multi-dimensional monitoring-approach. The individual monitoring-concepts, which are developed in the scope of the very subproject, display this approach methodologically. Comprehensive demands concerning evaluation and monitoring from the monitorPLUS-project, which are set as requirement for all the flagship-projects, can be regarded as an important basis for the adaption of the subproject, especially in regard to the functional specification for energy- and resource-monitoring in demonstration projects, the functional specification for socio-scientific monitoring of demonstration projects as well as the TQB-certification which is required for all demonstration projects.

Results

The results can be derived from the conceptive papers about various monitoring-contents. From the point of view of the project team, the most important conclusions are:

• The requirements for data collection and the access to the collected data can be set well, if the aspect of monitoring is already considered in the planning phase;
• A continuous, lasting monitoring-approach for the energy-use-monitoring has better benefits than a temporary monitoring-concept while costing approximately the same;
• Additional measures for the monitoring of the functionality and the achievement of convenience turn out to be very complex and therefore costly;
• The preparation of cost data in a way so that they can be applied for future LCA during the planning phase is hard to do even though adequate cost data is available. Moreover, this is only applicable when using a well structured concept and approach.

Prospects / Suggestions for future research

As the very subproject is a preparation project for sub-project 10 ‚evaluation, documentation and safekeeping of the transferability of the flagship project BIGMODERN’, the results derived from sub-project 7 are reflected in the project proposal for sub-project 10 that has been submitted at the call on October 31st 2011. Concerning the contents, sub-project 10 sticks to the structure that has been followed in sub-project 7.

Project management

Mag. Dirk Jäger
Bundesimmobiliengesellschaft m. b. H.

Project partners

• DI (FH) Gerhard Hofer, Mag. Klemens Leutgöb, DI Margot Grim, DI Christoph Kuh
  e7 Energie Markt Analyse GmbH
• DI Gerhard Bucar
  Grazer Energieagentur GmbH