In the quest for sustainable buildings, data is the new gold, and researchers are striking it rich with innovative ways to manage and reuse it. At the forefront of this digital revolution is Sara Karami, a researcher from the University of Coimbra, who is making waves with her work on digital building logbooks and energy performance certificates. Her recent study, published in ‘Developments in the Built Environment’ (translated from ‘Desenvolvimentos no Ambiente Construído’), is set to reshape how we think about building data and energy efficiency.
Karami’s research focuses on two critical approaches to capturing and managing building data: the Digital Building LogBook (DBL) and the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Both are designed to track a building’s energy use and performance over its lifecycle, but they’ve often operated in silos, leading to data duplication and inefficiencies. Karami aims to change that.
“Imagine if every time you moved into a new building, you had to start from scratch with energy data,” Karami explains. “It’s inefficient and wasteful. Our goal is to create a harmonized data model that allows for seamless data reuse, reducing the carbon footprint associated with data management.”
Her approach involves a semantic mapping-based comparison of DBL and EPC models. In layman’s terms, she’s creating a sophisticated matching system that identifies common elements between the two models and highlights where they differ. This isn’t just about tidying up data; it’s about unlocking its full potential.
The implications for the energy sector are profound. A harmonized data model could lead to more accurate energy performance predictions, better-informed decision-making, and ultimately, significant energy savings. For commercial buildings, this could mean reduced operational costs and a stronger competitive edge in the market.
But Karami’s work isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about paving the way for net-zero buildings. By enabling data reuse, she’s helping to reduce the energy and resources required for data management, bringing us one step closer to sustainable, net-zero buildings.
The construction industry is ripe for disruption, and Karami’s research is a testament to the power of data in driving this change. As she continues her work at the Centre for Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra and the Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers at Coimbra, the industry watches with bated breath, eager to see how her findings will shape the future of building data management.
In an industry often slow to change, Karami’s work is a breath of fresh air, a reminder that innovation is not just about new materials or technologies, but also about how we use and reuse the data that surrounds us. As she puts it, “Data is the invisible infrastructure of our buildings. It’s time we started treating it as such.”
