Methodology for quality checks for energy efficient buildings

The built environment accounts for more than 40% of the overall energy consumption and 36% of the overall CO2 emissions in Europe. Moreover, statistics show that construction and the upkeep of European buildings and infrastructure is the largest industry worldwide accounting for approximately 10% of global GDP. A clear gap exists in the availability of structured and systematic mechanisms to support the decision-making, execution and commissioning phases of construction processes. This can result in defects that degrade the intended energy and comfort performance of new structures and retrofits. Such errors also weaken the trust and confidence in the implementation of the potentially higher-cost sustainable designs, construction and retrofit actions. This paper presents the overview, objectives and impact of the Built2Spec project, which brings together a new and breakthrough set of technological advances for self-inspection and quality assurance for energy efficient buildings. The project expands upon a cloud based construction support platform, following the most advanced integrated design and delivery framework for the building sector. The platform aims to facilitate worksite activities and quality compliance by putting knowledge in hands of contractors. This is done through shared design specifications and 3D models, installation guidelines, information on regulatory frameworks, and help from construction experts on smartphones and tablets. Furthermore, this research aims to develop a methodology for the use of sensor-embedded construction elements for continuous self-inspection and quality checks in energy efficient buildings. Those prototype smart building components are designed, tested and linked to models that predict performance and enable continuous product life cycle quality checks.This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 637221.The authors would also like to acknowledge the funding received from the Science Foundation Ireland through the Career Development Award programme (Grant No. 13/CDA/2200).non-peer-reviewe