immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: immmobilien

  • Scandens is successful with software for refurbishments

    Scandens is successful with software for refurbishments

    Scandens, a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), launched a software solution in June 2023 that optimises remediation planning. According to a press release, the first seven months have been successful. It has been used to analyse and optimise 274 properties. Housing cooperatives, planning offices, real estate companies, architects and insurance companies are expected to save CHF 42 million in costs and 116,500 tonnes of carbon dioxide over a period of 25 years.

    The web-based software combines artificial intelligence with building modelling and life cycle cost calculations. It can be used to automate data collection, feasibility checks, component planning and component design as well as profitability calculations and CO2 balancing, including grey emissions.

    The software has been well received by energy consultants and building owners. They use the tool for holistic, rapid planning of refurbishment projects. These can be implemented more efficiently and cost-effectively, which contributes to an increase in the renovation rate, as Diego Sigrist, co-founder of Scandens, is quoted in the press release.

    The ETH spin-off is supported by the Migros Pioneer Fund and was founded with the aim of making energy-efficient building refurbishments simpler and more cost-effective, thereby promoting the shift towards greater sustainability in the construction sector.

  • PSI researches for low-CO2 cement

    PSI researches for low-CO2 cement

    A research team wants to bring previously unknown processes in the hydration of cement to light. Through a deeper understanding, it wants to pave the way for low-carbon cements. Under the leadership of the University of Malaga, the French University Grenobles Alpes, the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility(ESRF), also located in Grenoble, and the Paul Scherrer Institute are involved in the study.

    According to a PSI statement, the biggest disadvantage of the current proposals for low-carbon cements is the slow hydration kinetics in the first three days. However, it is precisely the understanding of the processes involved in cement production in the early stages that is “crucial”, explains study first author and PhD student at the University of Malaga, Shiva Shirani. “That’s why we developed a method to get a complete picture of the hydration of Portland cement.”

    To do this, the scientists combined complementary experimental approaches at the ESRF and the Swiss Synchrotron Light Source at PSI. Near-field ptychotomography revealed the hydration of commercial Portland cement, according to the release.

    “Understanding the mechanics of the slowest processes will hopefully lead to strategies to reasonably accelerate the hydration of low-carbon cements,” said co-author Professor Miguel A.G. Aranda. This could be done, for example, by using strength-increasing admixtures “to allow early removal of the formwork”.