Sustainability

Sustainability

Building materials account for 11% of the world's CO2 emissions. In order for world governments to achieve their ambitious climate goals, they need to move to more sustainable materials and more sustainable use of these building materials.

By creating a solution designed to alleviate the developer's fear of building in wood, we support Wood I Construction's ambition to lift the use of wood in construction from 8% to 20% by 2030.

At the same time, we help minimize waste through all the damage we capture with the sensors. For any damage that gets caught, the less extra materials must be produced to repair the damage.

Financial and environmental sustainability

Using sensors to improve LCA calculations.

By catching damage in exposed areas, the average life expectancy of materials is extended. However, it is not something that goes directly in and affects an LCA calculation.

Wood often gets a better score in LCA calculations in concrete constructions. According to a report by BUILD, 41% of builders see moisture as a barrier to building in wood. If we can take that fear away from the builders and get them to build in wood instead, then the project's LCA calculations can be improved.

Using sensors from a total economic perspective.

It has been shown that the use of sensors to operate everything from cars, bridges and buildings is the best long-term investment. Rarely, however, does it fit into the shorter budgets that operators have.


On exportation

Taking 10 measurements with a sensor every time it has rained during a construction process does not take long, but these sporadic insert measurements are not as useful as continuous automatic measurements.

Often the measurements are not taken in exactly the same place. It's being done on the back foot, so if there turns out to be a problem, it's often too late. It may be that the executioner does not know exactly by what limit values they should raise a flag and react.

On top of that, no measurements are taken after handing over the building. And if that does, it costs some advisory hours for execution and driving to the construction.

In normal quality assurance systems, a picture must be taken of the meter to document execution, the value must be written into a box and a position must be placed on a floor plan where the measurement was made.

Wireless moisture meters - a great alternative to manual meters

At the same time as it takes to perform and record a manual insert measurement, you can set up our sensor solution. And then continuous measurements will be taken for the next 10 years - without costing additional working hours.


Operation

To streamline operations, many sensor solutions are being solved. Our moisture meter can be used to keep an eye on when a roof needs to be replaced, when a facade waterproofing needs to be refreshed, etc. This way, the city owner can better plan his operating schedule and save money.

By building sensors into all cavities and areas where moisture can accumulate, major damage can be avoided. Studies from Grohe show that houses are affected by water damage every 8 years and figures from Insurance and Pensions show that an average water shaft costs approximately DKK 100,000.
Therefore, it does not require us to catch many damages before the investment of our solution pays off.


Use of sensors against climate change.

Already in the last few years we have seen how the weather is changing globally. Coastlines are changing, making many coastal houses prone to moisture problems.

The long droughts followed by extreme downpours challenge the previous construction practices. The ways we have built historically will not last for the weather of the future. Therefore, ERFA magazines are constantly updated with new knowledge in relation to new circumstances.

Sensors to monitor the building's health will be essential to pick up the damage that will occur in the future. It will be important to keep an eye on the performance of buildings to find out what works and what cannot withstand the new climate.