Bim For Electrical Contractors.

[Manator]

BIM, Building Information Modeling,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_information_modeling

What does this mean for electrical contractors, and how can we use BIM to achieve the targets set out by government?

BIM is not a new feature, it has been used by various architects for many years now, what is new, is the governments targets to reduce carbon emission over the whole project.

13 million tonnes of materials are wasted every year on construction sites due mainly on poor management and procurement issues.

Everything we do, and everything we build has a carbon footprint that can be reduced by proper and correct management of both time and energy.

The government have set out targets that by the year 2016 all buildings will achieve energy savings of 6% for dwellings and 9% for non domestics. Part L has just been changed, and is in effect now. The changes being implemented from April this year.http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/buildingregulations/approveddocuments/partl/approved

In order to comply for future ventures I can see that BIM will become an integral part for the electrical contractor, and a valuable asset.

With product sharing, and model libraries, the electrical contractor can use BIM to produce fully integrated wiring designs with all calculations to prove things such as volt drop, energy efficiency and power factor corrections required.

The architect, produces the drawings, sends them to you, you add a layer giving the electrical distribution and containment. The end result is a fully working model that can be adapted, manipulated, and used to prove the energy efficiency of any build.

By 2016 almost all buildings will have a digital plan, a recorded development from design to implementation and continued management of assets.

If we are going to provide hand over documents we are going to have to embrace BIM  and become more aware of its uses.

I see a great advantage in using BIM for design, for a start I can actively address anything, for instance the fire alarm system.

This can be designed within the structure, given distance spacings, void protection and types of alarm detection fitted. If its addressable I can designate addresses at the design stage.Greatly reducing the installation costs.

Motor designs have started to gain popularity in BIM design, with more and more companies sharing their data basis with the COBie protocol.

So if your active within the electrical contracting industry, and need an edge, get into the upcoming champion of design.

 

[Manator]

I have to agree with you, but the new approach is a joint development of ideas. Non of which can be hidden. Who you get to install it is up to the contractor.

 

[ProDave]

This is a subject close to my heart.

Many of you will know I am soon to start building my next house.  I am designing it to passive house standards so it will require very little energy to run it. Mainly so that when I retire, I have a cheap to run house and can cock a snoot at rising energy prices.

Present building regulations standards with regard to insulation, air tightness etc are pathetic.  Most houses are built just to comply with building regulations, and indeed quite probably many don't even achieve those low standards.

If anybody was REALLY bothered about energy usage by buildings, they wouldn't tackle the problem by some abstract concept like BIM, they would simply introduce some decent building regulations that actually demanded that houses built in the 21st century were not built to 20th century standards.

As I am finding out, to build a house that will require virtually no heating input is not difficult and is not expensive.

 

[batty]

Will it be healthy though to me modern houses are not healthy no fresh air to me you need air to live. I am probably behind with the times and talking rubbish though.

 

[NozSpark]

If it isn't leaky, then where will your farts go

 

[batty]

Nozzler we don't fart we parp.

 

[Manator]

I like the fact that you have all been looking up the facts relating to this.

 

[ProDave]

MVHR is the "solution" to expelling your farts and providing you with fresh air to breath.  Go on, google it.

Yes I did read your link to BIM

I thought, ow gawd, they want to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings.  Rather than take the obvious and simple approach and demand they are simply built well with a lot of insulation, oh no, they go and bury the problem under a lot of bureaucracy, modelling and general meddling about, that probably won't make anyone build better buildings, but just force them to justify the ones they do build.

 

[steptoe]

Dave, in England houses aren't built to 20th century standards, its prob just after the fire of London standards, that's why they don't build timber frame.

As for BIM, to who,s digital format?

Will it only be on windoze,?ported to MAC,?

 

[binky]

can cost quite a bit to run also, even a small leccy fab running 24/7 adds up over time like a year.. I like well insulated houses, but hate anything where you can't just open a window in summer. Have you looked at passive heating/ ventilation like Trombe walls Dave? Possibly not that practical in Scotland, but an interesting idea. Similar principles were used in Sothern USA grand houses, vents at basement level, air out the top to encorage natural cool air flow in summer

 

[ProDave]

I've looked at passive stack ventilation, but the general consensus is none of them provide the required rate of air change needed for building regulations compliance.

And yes you can open the windows in an mvhr house.

 

[binky]

quite a few of the ones I've seen locally have no opening windows at all - yuk!

Does have one big advantage though, because the air handlers effectively circulate air around the house, then something like a wood burning stove in one room can heat the rest of the building, bit like the old central night storage heater and hot air systems. Just need to make sure you have a fresh air vent for the stove in your 'sealed up' house.

 

[Sharpend]

I'm not a fan of this sealed system. Have fitted a few and it always concerns me that someone can switch them off when the bearings start making a noise, then a serious mold problem!

Also if a house is air tight can you imagine the explosion if a gas leak occurs? Take out the street not just a couple of houses?

 

[ProDave]

The house won't be sealed. It won't be stuffy.

ALL windows will open. That's a building regulations requirement e.g bedroom windows must open wide enough to act as a means of escape.

The only difference between passive house windows and ordinary windows (apart from them being made much better with thermal breaks in the frames for instance) is the windows do not have trickle ventilators.

So when the window is shut, it's pretty well sealed and the mvhr does the ventilation, extracting most of the heat from the waste air.  Whereas ventilation by trickle ventilator lets all that heat out of the house.

There's nothing to stop you in summer from switching the mvhr off and opening the windows.

And in actual fact, in a sealed house, opening one window doesn't create much draught as the rest of the house is so well sealed. you need to open 2 windows to start getting draughts.