Serene, a new and reliable method for measuring the thermal performance of a building

The result of research initiated several years ago, this method allows the real thermal performance of a renovated or new building to be measured in less than 24 hours, as reliably and easily as the airtightness measurement today. 'hui generalized. The result of a collaboration between 7 partner organizations, this project represents a major scientific challenge.

A lever to put an end to "energy strainers"

Because it targets the quality of the renovation work and the gains in energy efficiency, the SEREINE measure is both a benchmark and a management tool.

“It helps to promote companies that work well, to improve the quality of work by correcting any problems and therefore to restore confidence with the owners. This confidence is essential for mass energy renovation work. Without forgetting the management of public policies. When you invest several billion euros in a stimulus plan for energy renovation, it is essential to be able to measure the impact using a reliable indicator ”
Philippe Estingoy, Managing Director of the Construction Quality Agency

It is for this reason that SEREINE is the most strategic project of the 9 projects of the PROFEEL Innovation Program. With a budget of 5 million, over 3 years (2019-2021), it concerns the entire energy renovation sector, that is to say those who design and do the work (companies, craftsmen, studies and architects) but also those who order them, namely the project owners (social landlords, condominiums and individuals) and finally the measurement operators who evaluate them.

A new method to objectify the efficiency of an energy renovation

SEREINE is today the only operational method making it possible to reliably measure the real thermal performance of a building within acceptable timeframes. That is to say in less than 24 hours. Complementary to the energy performance diagnosis (DPE) which gives an estimate of consumption, it measures the real performance of the envelope precisely and independently of uses. This makes it a valuable tool to objectify the contribution of the work, with complete confidence.

A simple measure to implement

To set up SEREINE, all you need is a trained operator and a measurement kit, consisting of indoor and outdoor sensors, heaters and fans, as well as a computer. The building must be empty of its occupants. The operator closes all the openings, turns off the energy systems permanently, installs the equipment, then starts heating and measuring. A complex algorithm then generates digital models adapted to each type of building, and then calculates from the measurements taken the energy loss coefficient in Watt / Kelvin, accompanied by a confidence interval.

A measurement in less than 24 hours by the end of 2021

Operational in individual housing since June 2020, SEREINE now gives reliable results in 48 hours for houses renovated from the inside. The objective is to be able to do it in less than 24 hours, by the end of 2021. 20 operators have been trained for this purpose. They are the ones who have been carrying out the measurements in the field for several months. These results are the fruit of research started 10 years ago, continued within the PACTE program and integrated into the PROFEEL program since 2019. They have given rise to several thousand numerical simulations, a hundred measurements on experimental houses, as well as several dozen field measurements on new and renovated houses. The objective by the end of 2021 is to move from the prototype stage to current use in individual homes, with measurement equipment and an optimized cost to be able to be deployed on a large scale.

“With SEREINE, we now have an operational method that is reliable, simple to implement and deployable by trained operators. Our consortium, which brings together the main players in public research in France, is therefore meeting its mid-term objectives. And he does everything he can to reduce the duration of the measure as much as possible by the end of the program ”.
Stéphanie Derouineau, scientific and technical coordinator of SEREINE, Head of division at CSTB

In collective housing, replication work is in progress, taking into account all the parameters that may disturb the measurement: party walls, thermal conditions of neighboring apartments, etc. The goal is to arrive at the first measurement protocols, then an operational device in 2024.

A team of 40 researchers led by the AQC

20 researchers and measurement technicians have been working on the SEREINE project since 2019, spread across 7 public and private research organizations. Led by the Construction Quality Agency (AQC) and coordinated by CSTB, this team works in close collaboration with representatives of the entire renovation sector: companies and craftsmen, but also design offices, architects, project owners and measurement operators. Their objectives: to ensure that the method meets their needs and to compare it with the requirements of the field. The project has joined the expertise of a European partner, the Scientific and Technical Center for Construction (CSTC) of Belgium. Its role is to stimulate the teams thanks to external expertise and a neutral perspective.

“France is one of the most advanced countries on this subject. Also, at the start of Profeel, there were multiple avenues to explore in order to hope to arrive at a reliable measurement in less than 24 hours. Having worked on comparable projects in Belgium and in Europe, the BBRI helped the teams to see clearly in these choices. It is this type of technical support that we provide at each stage of the project, by organizing workshops or reviewing deliverables, etc. "
Jade Deltour, Project manager at the BBRI

The 7 SEREINE partner organizations

The Research Association of the School of Mines (ARMINES), the Center for Studies and Expertise on Risks, the Environment, Mobility and Planning (CEREMA), the Scientific and Technical Committee for Climate Industries (COSTIC), the Scientific and Technical Center for Building (CSTB), the National Institute of Solar Energy (INES), the National Institute for the Energy and Environmental Transition of Buildings (NOBATEK / INEF4) and the University of Savoie Mont-Blanc (USMB).