New Dublin City Council project recommends best way to future-proof social housing
Published on 7th February 2023
Dublin City Council has today launched the results of a new digital twin project, examining different ways to future-proof its social housing stock.
A digital twin is a virtual representation using real-time data, which can be used to simulate relationships between factors such as people, buildings and the environment. These virtual models have become a staple in modern engineering to drive innovation and improve performance.
Recognising the need to meet our emissions reduction targets, our retrofitting targets for social housing and our housing delivery targets, Dublin City Council received funding from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform’s Public Sector Innovation Fund to develop a digital twin model of our social housing flats built in 1962 located on Lower Dominick Street.
Launching the project Lord Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy said, “We know that the lowest carbon house is one that is already built, but we also know it might not be the most energy efficient. The digital twin models generated in this project show that we need to retrofit to reduce our emissions.”
Speaking at the launch Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement, eGovernment and Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth said, “This project demonstrates the importance of working collaboratively. Exchanging knowledge and experiences will allow us to innovate and help us meet our national targets for housing and climate.”
Integrated Environmental Solutions Ltd. were engaged to develop the digital twin and assess the full carbon impact of four retrofit strategies over three time periods aligned with our national targets for 2030, 2050 and beyond.
The Dublin City Council Climate Resilient Housing Report modelled optimum retrofit strategies for the housing blocks by using weather data, site surveys, the original building drawings and energy and carbon modelling tools.
There is potential for this study to be scaled across different Dublin City Council sites to estimate the carbon impact of renovation scenarios and new developments. The 3D model provided together with this report can be used as a way to visualize the impact of different projects across Dublin, or potentially at other locations too.
The Dublin City Council Climate Resilient Housing Report can be viewed here: https://bit.ly/DCCClimateResilientHousingReport
ENDS
