Towards smart buildings : Utilizing sensor data and building information model in a multi-purpose environment
Salminen, Petri (2020)
2020
Tietojohtamisen DI-ohjelma - Master's Programme in Information and Knowledge Management
Tekniikan ja luonnontieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2020-11-19
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202011147963
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202011147963
Tiivistelmä
Smart buildings are built structures, which utilize information technological solutions to share information between different parts of the building and to automize different actions, such as air conditioning, heating and light conditions.
The objective of this master’s thesis is to provide insight on how sensor data and the building information models could be utilized in a multi-purpose environment. Additionally, how sensor data and business information model can be combined practically. A case building is used in order to study multi-purpose environments. The case building is located in one of the Finland’s largest cities and it contains a school, a maternity clinic and a library, for example. The case building has some characteristics of a smart building, such as sensors and automation, but they are not fully utilized. The thesis is performed as a part of 4Apis project, which is funded by Business Finland. The thesis consists of literature review, in which the literature surrounding the combination of sensor data and building information models is studied, and an empirical interview research, in which the staff and other stake holders of the case building are interviewed.
Many use-cases for the combination of sensor data and building information model was found from the literature. Literature use-cases were categorized into four different themes: people in 3D space, structural health monitoring, safety and sustainability.
From the literature, many ways of combining sensor data and building information model were found. For example exporting the BIM model into a more sophisticated 3D model. Although a majority of them were so-called ad hoc solutions, one model was found from the literature, which was designed for general usage, but there were no signs at all of its use in practice.
The case building had sensor data, which can be utilized with data analytics. The data was retrieved in a raw spreadsheet format, which was not utilizable as such, because of the structure of the data. By preprocessing, the data was processed by the study group into a form, from which it was possible to generate easily interpretable charts by the study group.
By analyzing the sensor data, many phenomena could be verified. The class rooms of the case building were empty in the evenings, at night and on the weekends. This means that a majority of time, the classrooms were empty. From the temperature sensors it was noticed, that the temperature in a third floor class room rose higher during the days, when compared to a class room which was located in the second flood. A more in depth analysis of the sensor data is necessary during further research.
In order to retrieve more qualitative data about the benefits of sensor data and building information models for the building users, three people, the principal of the case building, the energy supervisor of the city and the service coordinator of the case building, were interviewed. The interviews were conducted in a semi-structured fashion, with an emphasis on free discussion. The interviewees’ thoughts about the combination of sensor data and building information model were discussed in the interviews. There were three themes that were recognized from the interviews: efficacy, safety and wellbeing. Especially the emergency operations and energy efficiency were represented in the interviews. In both, the interviews and the literature, highlighted safety, sustainability and efficacy. Because of the small sample size of the interview study, it is recommended that the subject should be studied with a larger sample size.
This thesis offers multiple views to the combination of sensor data and building information model, especially to the field of building technology In the future, the subject should be researched for example with a more in-depth data analysis or with empirically testing the solutions.
The objective of this master’s thesis is to provide insight on how sensor data and the building information models could be utilized in a multi-purpose environment. Additionally, how sensor data and business information model can be combined practically. A case building is used in order to study multi-purpose environments. The case building is located in one of the Finland’s largest cities and it contains a school, a maternity clinic and a library, for example. The case building has some characteristics of a smart building, such as sensors and automation, but they are not fully utilized. The thesis is performed as a part of 4Apis project, which is funded by Business Finland. The thesis consists of literature review, in which the literature surrounding the combination of sensor data and building information models is studied, and an empirical interview research, in which the staff and other stake holders of the case building are interviewed.
Many use-cases for the combination of sensor data and building information model was found from the literature. Literature use-cases were categorized into four different themes: people in 3D space, structural health monitoring, safety and sustainability.
From the literature, many ways of combining sensor data and building information model were found. For example exporting the BIM model into a more sophisticated 3D model. Although a majority of them were so-called ad hoc solutions, one model was found from the literature, which was designed for general usage, but there were no signs at all of its use in practice.
The case building had sensor data, which can be utilized with data analytics. The data was retrieved in a raw spreadsheet format, which was not utilizable as such, because of the structure of the data. By preprocessing, the data was processed by the study group into a form, from which it was possible to generate easily interpretable charts by the study group.
By analyzing the sensor data, many phenomena could be verified. The class rooms of the case building were empty in the evenings, at night and on the weekends. This means that a majority of time, the classrooms were empty. From the temperature sensors it was noticed, that the temperature in a third floor class room rose higher during the days, when compared to a class room which was located in the second flood. A more in depth analysis of the sensor data is necessary during further research.
In order to retrieve more qualitative data about the benefits of sensor data and building information models for the building users, three people, the principal of the case building, the energy supervisor of the city and the service coordinator of the case building, were interviewed. The interviews were conducted in a semi-structured fashion, with an emphasis on free discussion. The interviewees’ thoughts about the combination of sensor data and building information model were discussed in the interviews. There were three themes that were recognized from the interviews: efficacy, safety and wellbeing. Especially the emergency operations and energy efficiency were represented in the interviews. In both, the interviews and the literature, highlighted safety, sustainability and efficacy. Because of the small sample size of the interview study, it is recommended that the subject should be studied with a larger sample size.
This thesis offers multiple views to the combination of sensor data and building information model, especially to the field of building technology In the future, the subject should be researched for example with a more in-depth data analysis or with empirically testing the solutions.