Berlin Residential Heating Case: TEBIN's BIM and LINEAR Workflow

Two new multifamily buildings in Berlin added more than 4,200 m² of conditioned floor area to an existing residential complex. The design included underfloor heating and approximately 24,000 metres of embedded piping. Because the available energy infrastructure was already established, TEBIN had to integrate the new systems with the existing residential complex rather than design an isolated heating solution.

TEBIN led the mechanical design and engineering through a connected Building Information Modeling and calculation workflow. The team developed the system concept, modelled existing and new heating infrastructure, performed the required thermal, hydraulic, panel-heating, radiator, and ventilation calculations, coordinated the design, and produced verifiable technical outputs. LINEAR software, developed by LINEAR GmbH, provided the calculation environment that connected engineering data with the BIM model.

Designing an extension to an existing energy system

The project constraints were defined by the existing complex. Reconstructing the main boiler plant was not part of the solution, so the new buildings had to work with the available energy sources and distribution infrastructure. TEBIN needed to establish whether the combined system could provide the required thermal capacity while maintaining a coordinated and reviewable design.

The resulting energy concept combined roof-mounted solar collectors, the existing gas boiler facility, and ground-to-air heat pump systems. Each source had a different role and operating profile. The design therefore required more than selecting individual pieces of equipment: the team had to understand how existing and new components would interact across the complete system.

TEBIN modelled the existing heating system together with the systems serving the new buildings. This gave the engineers a common basis for reviewing loads, connections, distribution, equipment, and hydraulic behaviour. It also made the constraints of the existing infrastructure visible while the new design was still being developed.

TEBIN's calculation-led design scope

The engineering scope began with heat-load calculations to EN 12831 for apartments, common areas, and other conditioned spaces. These results established the thermal demand used for subsequent system sizing and design decisions.

Panel-heating design followed DIN EN ISO 11855. The underfloor heating layout needed to respond to room loads, available floor areas, circuit lengths, supply conditions, and comfort requirements. Spaces requiring intermittent or supplementary heating were supported by radiator sizing based on the calculated demand.

Ventilation design was developed in accordance with DIN 1946-6 and DIN 18017-3, including requirements for wet rooms and kitchens. Heating and water supply and sewerage systems were supported by hydraulic calculations using specified manufacturer components where required.

This sequence kept the model connected to engineering logic. Equipment, pipe dimensions, circuits, flow rates, and terminal units were based on calculated requirements rather than placed as approximate geometry and corrected later.

How LINEAR supported the BIM workflow

TEBIN used LINEAR as the calculation module within the wider design process. The software connected thermal and hydraulic calculations with model geometry and system data, allowing engineers to work with coordinated inputs instead of transferring information manually between disconnected calculations and drawings.

For this project, LINEAR supported heat-load calculation, panel-heating design, radiator sizing, ventilation design, and hydraulic analysis. Manufacturer-specific component data could be incorporated into the calculations, helping the model represent the intended technical solution more accurately.

The important distinction is that software did not make the design decisions. TEBIN engineers defined the system concept, selected the applicable standards and inputs, reviewed the results, coordinated the interfaces, and remained responsible for the design. LINEAR made that reasoning more connected, repeatable, and transparent within the BIM workflow.

TEBIN has used the platform across residential, pharmaceutical, and data-centre projects. The scale and system type may change, but the underlying value remains consistent: calculation data can be connected with the model and checked as part of the engineering process rather than recreated manually at each documentation stage.

Making technical verification more transparent

German residential projects require calculations and documentation that can be reviewed against the relevant design basis and standards. A calculation result is more useful when the reviewer can understand its source data, assumptions, selected components, and normative references.

The engineer reviewing TEBIN's work confirmed that the transparent LINEAR outputs reduced the effort required for validation. Instead of reconstructing formulas independently, the reviewer could focus on confirming the project inputs, calculation basis, and applicable standards. This did not remove engineering review; it made the review process more direct and traceable.

That transparency also supported communication between TEBIN, the reviewer, and the client. Questions could be connected to specific inputs or system decisions rather than discussed through disconnected spreadsheets and model screenshots.

Coordinating 24,000 metres of piping

Approximately 24,000 metres of embedded piping is not only a quantity. It represents thousands of coordinated design decisions across two buildings: circuit zoning, room demand, manifold locations, pipe spacing, route lengths, hydraulic resistance, floor build-ups, architectural layouts, and connections to the wider heating system.

The BIM environment allowed the project team to visualise and quantify these systems while maintaining coordination with the building design. Calculation and model data supported quantity takeoff, design checks, and documentation from the same developing information base.

Hydraulic balancing was considered across the system so that apartments could receive the required flow and underfloor heating could maintain the intended surface-temperature conditions. Using manufacturer-specific components improved the relationship between calculated performance, selected products, and procurement information.

The engineering outcome

The value of the workflow was not that TEBIN used a particular software package. The value was that TEBIN connected project constraints, engineering calculations, BIM coordination, technical review, and documentation in one controlled process.

The team developed a heating and ventilation design for more than 4,200 m² of new conditioned space, coordinated approximately 24,000 metres of piping, and integrated the new buildings with an existing multi-source energy system. LINEAR played an important role by providing the calculation environment and transparent outputs required to develop and verify the solution.

For TEBIN, this Berlin project demonstrates what calculation-led design and engineering looks like in practice: engineers define the concept, data remains connected to the model, assumptions can be reviewed, and software supports the decision-making process without replacing professional responsibility.