Helsinki Compiles Building Energy Data into Semantic 3D City Model

Helsinki, Finland, April 16, 2018 --

The solar energy potential of Helsinki Olympic Stadium revealed by the solar irradiation analysis of Helsinki Energy and Climate Atlas

As Helsinki climate experts present an action plan to render the city carbon neutral by 2035, the city compiles all energy-related data on its building stock into a 3D map application labeled Helsinki Energy and Climate Atlas. Executed on the CityGML data model, the semantic 3D city model of Helsinki is part of the city’s toolkit for climate action and climate change adaptation.

With data on each of the city’s buildings, Helsinki Energy and Climate Atlas can be used for advanced citywide energy analyses and simulations, as well as assessments of specific buildings.

“The 3D atlas can be used by city planners and decision-makers to assess the potential and the available resources for energy efficiency improvements. Property owners and managers can use the atlas to assess the property’s energy consumption,” says Environmental Planner Petteri Huuska of the City of Helsinki Environmental Services, in charge of the atlas development.

“The atlas helps us to inform the public and enterprises about the changing climate as well as to encourage them to act, for example, by harnessing solar energy. The atlas helps enterprises to recognize clean technology business opportunities,” adds Helsinki climate expert Jari Viinanen. 

Helsinki Energy and Climate Atlas contains both real and calculated data on buildings. The data includes completed energy-efficiency upgrades, energy performance classifications, and the energy sources used for heating – whether the building utilizes district heating (90% of the city’s heated building stock) or other. The atlas presents an analysis of solar irradiation per building. The atlas also shows the estimated energy consumption of buildings as calculated by the Technical Research Centre of Finland VTT.

Plans for new datasets to be added to the atlas involve the renewable energy potential of buildings and data that can be used in climate change adaptation. For example, the atlas could be used to simulate flooding caused by heavy rainfall and to design flood control methods.

All data of the atlas is available as open data, in accordance with the Helsinki principle of releasing public data for free use.

Helsinki Energy and Climate Atlas is one of Helsinki’s contributions to the EU-financed mySMARTLife project. The project’s three lighthouse cities including Helsinki develop smart solutions to cut urban energy use by 10–20% and to increase the use of renewable energy.

“Every city involved in the project develops its own mySMARTLife program to achieve the targets. The ultimate goal of mySMARTLife is to mitigate climate change,” says Mikko Martikka, mySMARTLife Helsinki Lighthouse Lead, pointing out that cities produce 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“Helsinki Energy and Climate Atlas not only helps Helsinki to achieve the city’s climate goals but supports Helsinki’s strong IoT perspective in the mySMARTLife project, as building energy data is released as open data and visualized on the semantic 3D city model,” Martikka continues.

In September 2017, Helsinki reset the city’s target year for carbon neutrality to 2035, speeding up the achievement of the goal by 15 years from the earlier goal in 2050. An interim goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60% from 1990 to 2030. In March 2018, the city’s climate experts presented the Carbon Neutral Helsinki 2035 action plan, a detailed account how to reach the climate goals. Keys to the plan are cuts in energy consumption, increases in on-site renewable energy generation, and sustainable modes of transportation.

Helsinki Energy and Climate Atlas: https://kartta.hel.fi/3d/atlas
Carbon Neutral Helsinki 2035: https://www.hel.fi/uutiset/en/kaupunkiymparisto/carbon-neutral-helsinki
Helsinki climate action: http://www.stadinilmasto.fi/en/
mySMARTLife: https://mysmartlife.eu/mysmartlife/

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• Helsinki Olympic Stadium 3D

Johanna Lemola
City of Helsinki
E-Mail: [email protected]