Deep Scan Tech

Deep Scan Tech launches a new R&D project to reduce carbon footprint in the built environment

Deep Scan Tech has launched a new R&D project [1] to develop a new kind of customised technology and service concept to bring our 3D scanning technology available for the entire building stock and to the widest possible range of developers and building owners. The project is primarily aimed at supporting low-carbon, sustainable and healthy built environment in Finland but there is major potential in applying the technology in the global market as no comparable solution is available from other providers.

Construction accounts for around 13 % of all CO2 emissions worldwide and is the most polluting of all industries in terms of climate impact [2]. This represents a huge potential for improvement if construction can be optimised and the life cycle of buildings extended. The construction sector has done a lot of research, developed guidelines and methods to improve energy efficiency, reduce the amount of neglected repairs and prevent and repair humidity and mould damage in buildings. However, the renovation deficit in the building stock has not decreased in recent years. The 2021 ROTI report on the Finnish state of built assets estimates that neglected repairs in Finland amount to €30–50 billion in monetary terms [3].

“Access to better information could help avoid the huge costs, inconveniences, environmental impacts and health damage caused by unhealthy and risky structures.”

New methods are clearly needed to simplify and speed up the repair process, for example by pinpointing the exact location and extent of the problem to be repaired and providing answers to the common question: is it even possible to successfully renovate a particular building or is demolition and building a new one the only viable option? Quick and clear results from 3D scans can help provide answers to such questions.

Climate change is exacerbating problems in the building stock by increasing moisture and mould problems. This is caused by increased rainfall, winter conditions becoming wetter, rising relative humidity in the environment and higher winds pushing rain towards walls. Moisture problems in buildings lead to structural deterioration, which in turn leads to health problems for occupants. 3D scanning is a particularly well-suited technology for the detection and prevention of moisture damage and its risk factors. One of the most difficult areas in terms of moisture and mould problems is determining the actual condition of foundations and soils under and around buildings. Few methods are currently available to detect such issues, whether it is an existing building or a plot of land on which a new building is planned.

The consequences of decisions made in the construction sector on the basis of incomplete information – be it for material and resource efficiency, environmental impact or carbon footprint – are considerable. They can lead to unnecessarily demolishing buildings that could be repaired, repairing buildings that are in fact hopeless, and newly built structures that inevitably produce moisture problems or other unnecessary risks. Access to better information could help avoid the huge costs, inconveniences, environmental impacts and health damage caused by unhealthy and risky structures. Our scanning technology provides a new kind of three-dimensional view of latent problems and risks in and around buildings that are currently either impossible or very difficult to detect reliably and cost-effectively without damaging the structures.

This project is part of the Low Carbon Built Environment Programme of the Finnish Ministry of the Environment and it has received funding from European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).

[1] Vähähiilisen rakennetun ympäristön ohjelma
[2] WHY THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT?
[3] Rakennetun omaisuuden tila 2021

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