CO2050 Toolbox
Holistic implementation of the EU 2050 climate targets with tailored added value
What appears to be a challenge for many municipalities and companies, we understand not only as a necessity, but as a unique opportunity. We combine many years of experience in architecture, urban planning, energy consulting, sustainability certification, software development and project management in order to be able to act individually, efficiently and purposefully at all times, from project start to systematic commissioning.
Our tools build on each other and together result in a comprehensive CO2050 project package that includes target definition, planning, construction and operation.
All service modules can also be used individually and are designed to create sustainable, long-term added value in each project phase. The EU 2050 climate protection targets only serve as guidelines to realize values such as quality of life, comfort and attractive communities, but also functionality, user-friendliness and adaptability within a reliable cost framework over the entire life cycle.
Evaluate + Integrate
Realize + Replicate
for sustainably successful projects
Current Projects
Portfolio strategy
evaluate
"As SoftGrid we formulate variable strategies, founded on comprehensive data sets that allow us to define clear, quantifiable and qualifiable project goals."
(Rolf Demmler)
CO2 neutrality in local context
Without knowing the context in which we operate, no sustainable solutions can emerge. Therefore, Portfolio Strategies address the first planning phases: preliminary evaluation and goal setting.
In this service module, existing buildings, existing energy supply and urban systems are analyzed in context on a data basis. The result is a reliable, iterative and realistic basis that dynamically integrates all relevant planning parameters.
It is only on this basis that holistic design can start to materialize in the first place: different variants can be set up quickly and their social, ecological and economic effects evaluated in a targeted manner. In this way, a complex comparison of variants in the specific context is systematically anchored in the planning process.
Building - City – Energy
We always consider all components of a project in the totality of their interactions; only in this way can the most decisive and valuable optimization potentials be identified in the best possible way. "Big decisions" can be evaluated quickly and effectively and a well-founded course of action can be set.
The areas of building, urbanity and energy are modelled and simulated interactively: Building envelope, energy supply, PV on the individual building, infrastructure for hydrogen or e-mobility in the district or Peer2Peer balancing systems interlock and are connected via all technical parameters.
Is it better to optimize the building envelope (passive) or the building services (active) in our project?
What could a "step-by-step" retro-fit look like?
How do new buildings add optimum value to the overall energy balance of the project?
How do we define our object of observation and its boundaries in the most meaningful way?
In this way, for each question, for each idea and for each alternative, we have the overall balance in view and can show in detail how potential decisions and measures affect specific aspects and areas.
Concrete call for action
Conventional planning methods are simply not able to map the necessary complexity. Portfolio analysis, however, can be used to actively, prudently and purposefully guide the design. The result is a solid basis for strategic decision-makers to translate their visions into a sound, concrete framework for action.
CO2050 APP
Integrate
CO2 Neutrality as a solid vision
The CO2050 platform creates the environment for efficient technical, strategic and political project communication and documentation for consensus building. It can build directly on the data set of the portfolio analysis and provide a reliable base for well-informed, well-structured decisions, from beginning to end of the project. This module integrates into all project phases, from goal setting to planning and implementation to documentation and operation.
The CO2050 platform is a digital project environment developed by SoftGrid that provides all project participants with proactive, intuitive access to complex planning tasks. We develop this further with each specific project so that the project participants always have an up-to-date planning, communication and project management platform, tailored to their needs.
Everything within brightest view
The CO2050 APP creates a fact- and data-based "level playing field" - a neutral working environment in which decision-makers and specialists can integrate efficiently. The intuitive access makes it possible for everyone involved in the project to evaluate their ideas and actions within the overall context. There is no need to "look beyond the end of one's nose"; it is an automatic part of every step of the work.
From the "big vision" and strategic decisions, to the determination of technical components and specifications - all project phases can be designed, evaluated and communicated collaboratively using intuitive variant comparisons.
How can self-absorbed specialism on the part of experts be recognized and avoided?
How can different teams communicate and design in a meaningful and simple way?
How can we incorporate soft factors and passion, beyond our own nose?
How can decision-makers communicate in a holistic yet purposefully focused way?
The successful transformation of potential synergies into concrete added value requires a complex and interdisciplinary approach. The CO2050 platform offers an elegant, intuitive and technically sound working environment that is easy to understand for every actor. What in conventional planning was distributed among different teams, business units or committees remains reliably all in brightest view.
General planning + PLUS
Realize
"At SoftGrid we see ourselves as consultants who owe success."
(Antonio Wehnl)
CO2 Neutrality as a genuine quality of life
At SoftGrid, we consistently pursue a General Planning + PLUS approach, in which the advantage of classic general planning (architecture, structural engineering, MEP building services) is integrated with relevant sustainability aspects as a "one-stop solution" right from the project start.
The service module of General Planning + PLUS aims at the concrete, built result. The focus is on a precisely fitting realization of individual visions and their substantial qualities.
Variability and quantifiability
General Planning + PLUS includes all HOAI service phases for buildings, ensembles and building groups and uses a BIM workflow in which project-specific synergies are optimally integrated, errors are reduced and time and costs are saved.
From our project experience, it is comparably easy to combine generic sustainability aspects (such as the EU 2050 climate protection goals) with individual goals (for example, health, tranquility, activity, community, comfort). This is all the more true the earlier the planning process is set up as an integrated design approach.
Therefore, the step of a holistic alignment of project targets always articulates the real project start for us. As the planning process progresses, all design parameters can be mapped in the BIM environment so that the consequences of changes or adapted objectives can be quickly and easily entered and evaluated at any time.
A major advantage of this planning method is that all planning is done parametrically. This means that in a matrix system of different aspects, nothing has to be decided until everything has been decided. Therefore, such planning never reaches a "dead end" and is always adaptable and scalable to unforeseen boundary conditions. This is the only way to actually create convincing, mature and high-quality projects in the long term that genuinely improve our everyday lives.
Integrated data model (Digital Twin)
Intelligent processes through entire life cycle
(Self-) Optimization in operation and replication
Integrated data model (Digital Twin)
Sustainability standards
In the course of General Planning + PLUS, we can simultaneously and efficiently ensure certification as a PHI Passive House, in accordance with DGNB standard or with KfW subsidies.
It is always important to us to apply the respective standards - if desired - to the full benefit of owner, users and the project as a whole. Sustainability standards allow for many things and work best when the certification strategy (where do we get our "points"?) is also aligned with the overarching project goals.
Quantifiability
As this process is highly effective in mapping a strategic vision as a quantifiable system, we use many of the sustainability certification tools in all our projects, even if formal certification is not desired.
What exactly does a better building envelope do for my comfort, energy consumption and operating costs?
Do I better plan high-quality windows or MEP components to achieve my comfort goals?
How can I combine active and passive systems in a cost-saving way?
This makes it possible, on the one hand, to clearly qualify and quantify the added value - for example, comfort, microclimate, energy consumption, etc. - and, on the other hand, to create a detailed cost breakdown that reliably shows capital requirements, amortization and return on investment under dynamic scenarios.
Transparent and reliable planning and implementation
Our General Planning + PLUS module offers a flexible and individually customizable "all-round carefree" package. Beyond classical general planning, not only technical processes are optimized and integrated, but parametrically, holistically and sustainably genuine quality of life is realized. And this in turn can be transparently presented, evaluated and further developed throughout the entire project's progress.
EPC + Energy Balancing
Replicate
"In our digitalized world, it is no longer comprehensible to see energy consumption as the result of building technology products. Energy efficiency is the product."
(Peter Ruwe)
CO2 neutrality as a reliable cost model
The module Energy Balancing and EPC - Energy Performance Contracting - is developed during planning and execution, but is primarily aimed at the operation of the building, ensemble or district over its entire life cycle.
Only with the proof that a project functions as planned in real-life operation, it creates a convincing and tangible template that can be replicated as a success story. And this includes not only the design strategies, technical details or quality benchmarks already developed, but above all the vision ahead:
How will the operating costs of my property develop against the background of increasingly stringent regulations?
What mechanisms are already in place in my existing building system (control, monitoring, etc.)?
How can I achieve long-term cost certainty in this context?
What do I have to pay attention to if I want to adapt my success story in new projects?
More than (just) a building
For us at SoftGrid, EPC - Energy Performance Contracting - is already a living reality. As part of the planning optimization with variant comparisons and digital twins, we have already precisely simulated and mapped the project so that we know and understand it in all its particularities.
That is why we do not shy away from offering an EPC in which we take full responsibility for the performance of the building services, their operating costs and energy balance.
Building owners have long-term planning and cost security. Because in EPC they pay for ensuring ongoing operation, regardless of the development of energy prices, CO2 certificates, market developments and political initiatives.
Since we work on all projects parametrically, there is another effect for investors and municipalities: we design procedures, planning principles, implementation details, building services concepts, etc. as scalable applications that enable a future project team to efficiently build on the existing knowledge and adapt it in a targeted manner for - different - subsequent projects. We do not regard projects as self-contained, but always as showcases whose replication can be implemented with significantly reduced time and costs.
an (ever) better neighborhood
With our partners, we are able to use highly efficient systems for energy generation, distribution and detailed balancing. In the P2P (peer-to-peer) network, for example, we optimize the use of our own energy in the neighborhood and automate the exchange with the external power grid. Peak loads and thus investment costs can be significantly reduced, as are operating costs.
The advantages of intelligently coordinated energy management and transparent balancing are particularly interesting for groups of buildings, ensembles and districts. Our systems are designed in such a way that they can be optimized in themselves and contain strategic interfaces for future expansions and improvements.
