The BuildON Project team has implemented a range of advanced solutions in social housing building in Helsinki, Finland, to optimise energy consumption and improve indoor comfort. Through these actions, the team has demonstrated how digitalisation and automation can transform social buildings, making them more efficient, sustainable and better adapted to current needs.
During the renovation of the building in 2022, the municipal housing company HEKA centralised its heating and the ventilation system through the use of geothermal and district heating heat pumps. This was further complemented by the modernisation actions implemented under the BuildON project, such as the installation of electronic radiator thermostats in all apartments, common areas and service spaces.
Other digital solutions tested in the Finnish pilot building include a digital building logbook and energy flexibility services. The logbook provides a comprehensive record of the building’s technical history, facilitating maintenance activities and enabling better decision-making throughout its service life. In addition, energy flexibility services allow thermal demand to be modulated according to actual usage conditions and the state of the electricity grid itself.
The main objective of the BuildON project is to develop a new generation of smart buildings through the creation of replicable, affordable and adaptable technologies, capable of integrating heterogeneous systems and delivering smart services that monitor, assess and optimise the energy performance of buildings.
The project will be completed by the end of 2026 and aims to demonstrate that smart building digitalisation is technically feasible and represents a valuable tool for achieving the energy efficient and sustainability objectives of the building sector across the Union Europe.