ModSCO a Web Application Based on a Grey-Box Model to Support the Estimation of the Energy Savings in Building Retrofits

Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) can help the European Union (EU) in accelerating the cost-effective renovation of existing building stock. However, there are many risks and barriers that can inhibit the application of EPC. These barriers include uncertainty about building data, lack of quality assurance regarding the post-renovation energy performance, and process complexity. In order to cross these barriers, this paper presents ModSCO. ModSCO is a web application based on a Reduced Order grey-box Model (ROM) able to systematically quantify the energy savings achieved through Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) utilising the schema of the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP). The benefits of utilising ModSCO in terms of accuracy and time savings are demonstrated with a comparison with a whole building energy model developed with IES-VE.

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Novel Methodology toward Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) Renovation: Cost-Effective Balance Approach as a Pre-Step to Cost-Optimal Life Cycle Cost Assessment

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11094141 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (9) ◽

pp. 4141

Author(s):

Yovko Ivanov Antonov ◽

Per Kvols Heiselberg ◽

Michal Zbigniew Pomianowski

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle Cost ◽

Energy Savings ◽

Cost Effective ◽

The European Union ◽

Zero Energy ◽

Building Stock ◽

Existing Building ◽

Zero Energy Building ◽

Selection Of

Reaching environmental targets set by the European Union (EU) requires a constant renovation of the existing building stock to nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) in a cost-optimal manner. Studies show that the renovation rate of the existing building stock is more than two times less than what is necessary to reach the targets. Furthermore, the majority of performed renovations across the EU reach just a small amount of energy savings, whereas NZEB renovations are rarely achieved. This paper proposes a methodology for the evaluation of renovation measures, aiming to provide decision support related to the selection of what to renovate and to what extent. The proposed method is rooted in the well-established cost-optimal methodology, yet it suggests a pre-step to package evaluation. This is done by means of a simplified cost-effective parameter (CEP), linking cost, lifetime, and energy savings. The methodology is demonstrated using a case study building in Denmark. The results show that the CEP provides good grounds for the compilation of single actions to packages. Further developments could focus on the sensitivity of the model inputs and integration of additional evaluation parameters to cost, such as environmental, architectural, comfort, risk, etc.

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CO2-based grey-box model to estimate airflow rate and room occupancy

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/201911104036 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 111 ◽

pp. 04036

Author(s):

Sebastian Wolf ◽

Maria Justo Alonso ◽

Davide Calì ◽

John Krogstie ◽

Hans Martin Mathisen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Differential Equations ◽

Measurement Errors ◽

Energy Savings ◽

Box Model ◽

Airflow Rate ◽

Building Stock ◽

Deterministic Models ◽

Existing Building ◽

Controlled Ventilation ◽

Demand Controlled Ventilation

In the existing building stock, heating, cooling and ventilation often run on fixed schedules assuming maximal occupancy. However, fitting the control of the HVAC system to the building’s real demand offers large potential for energy savings over the status quo. Building occupants’ presence as well as mechanically supplied and infiltrated airflow rates provide information that enables to define tailored strategies for demand-controlled ventilation. Hence, real-time estimations of these quantities are a valuable input to demand-controlled built environments. In this work, the use of stochastic differential equations (SDE) to estimate the room occupancy, infiltration air-rate and ventilation air-rate is investigated. In particular, a grey-box model based on a carbon dioxide (CO2) mass balance equation is presented. The model combines knowledge about the physical system with statistical, data-driven parameter estimation. Furthermore, the proposed model contains uncertainty parameters. This is in contrast to purely deterministic models based on ordinary differential equations, where uncertainty is usually disregarded. The suggested model has been tested in a naturally ventilated and in a mechanically ventilated environment; the performance in these two cases has been compared. We show that the ability to address measurement errors and non-homogeneous conditions in the room air implies that the suggested SDE-based grey-box approach is suitable in the context of demand-controlled ventilation.

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Albanian Building Stock Typology and Energy Building Code in Progress Towards National Calculation Methodology of Performance on Heating and Cooling.

European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies ◽

10.26417/ejms.v5i1.p13-35 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 13 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gjergji Simaku

Keyword(s):

Energy Savings ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Code ◽

Building Stock ◽

Minimum Requirement ◽

Building Type ◽

Heating And Cooling ◽

Calculation Methodology

The expertise on building stock typology used openly available data from the Albanian statistical office. As the CENSUS was not especially designed for gathering data for the energetic evaluation of the building stock, some data were not available on the required level of detail. Estimations were necessary to extrapolate data to the existing stock. Technically, the study selected and described twenty representative categories of residential buildings typology for Albania. Were identified the level and the structure of final energy consumption at present and in the future by building age category, building type, climate zone, and energy end-use. Using an original template excel data sheet, were conducted the calculations of their thermal energy performance in three climate zones, designed standardized retrofit packages, calculated possible energy savings, and investment required by building type. The engineering principle of the Regulation in force, regarding to the legislative act of Energy Building Code in Albania, is beyond any doubt correct and carefully studied. The act is a rule book or the Regulation (energy building code - here The Code) which contains information that is sufficient to perform calculations of the different insulating layers for new construction after the year 2003. Also, the Regulation’s algorithms are still relevant in terms of calculation to provide Energy for heating demands in Albania. After 12 years, the Code remains the same and could provide either an optimal potential energy savings to the existing buildings, or an optimal cost-effective of building’s insulation without imposing a burden of high financial housing builders to multifamily prospective buyers. Based today Europe’s developments on Energy Performance of Buildings, the study is found relevant to provide a methodology for calculation of the energy performance in buildings (kWh/ m2a) based on volumetric coefficient heat losses (Gvt) for heating only, the existing indicator of the existing Code. The following study deals with the possibility of transposing the methodology used to the Code into an energy Performance based on minimum requirement for a new Regulation and/or EP Calculation Methodology based on efficient use of energy for heating and cooling purposes.

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Method for Scalable and Automatised Thermal Building Performance Documentation and Screening

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13153866 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (15) ◽

pp. 3866 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christoffer Rasmussen ◽

Peder Bacher ◽

Davide Calì ◽

Henrik Aalborg Nielsen ◽

Henrik Madsen

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Solar Irradiation ◽

Building Performance ◽

Performance Parameters ◽

The European Union ◽

Outdoor Temperature ◽

Building Stock ◽

Existing Building ◽

Energy Signature

In Europe, more and more data on building energy use will be collected in the future as a result of the energy performance of buildings directive (EPBD), issued by the European Union. Moreover, both at European level and globally it became evident that the real energy performance of new buildings and the existing building stock needs to be documented better. Such documentation can, for example, be done with data-driven methods based on mathematical and statistical approaches. Even though the methods to extract energy performance characteristics of buildings are numerous, they are of varying reliability and often associated with a significant amount of human labour, making them hard to apply on a large scale. A classical approach to identify certain thermal performance parameters is the energy signature method. In this study, an automatised, nonlinear and smooth approach to the well-known energy signature is proposed, to quantify key thermal building performance parameters. The research specifically aims at describing the linear and nonlinear heat usage dependency on outdoor temperature, wind and solar irradiation. To make the model scalable, we realised it so that it only needs the daily average heat use of buildings, the outdoor temperature, the wind speed and the global solar irradiation. The results of applying the proposed method on heat consumption data from 16 different and randomly selected Danish occupied houses are analysed.

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Improving the Energy Efficiency of an Existing Building by Dynamic Numerical Simulation

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app112412150 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (24) ◽

pp. 12150

Author(s):

Lelia Letitia Popescu ◽

Razvan Stefan Popescu ◽

Tiberiu Catalina

Keyword(s):

Residential Buildings ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Building Energy ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Primary Energy ◽

Building Stock ◽

Existing Building ◽

Different Types ◽

Dynamic Numerical Simulation ◽

The Relationship

Nowadays, the enhancement of the existing building stock energy performance is a priority. To promote building energy renovation, the European Committee asks Member States to define retrofit strategies, finding cost-effective solutions. This research aims to investigate the relationship between the initial characteristics of an existing residential buildings and different types of retrofit solutions in terms of final/primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions. A multi-objective optimization has been carried out using experimental data in DesignBuilder dynamic simulation tool.

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Energy Performance Assessment of Innovative Building Solutions Coming from Construction and Demolition Waste Materials

Materials ◽

10.3390/ma14051226 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 1226

Author(s):

Beatriz Fraga-De Cal ◽

Antonio Garrido-Marijuan ◽

Olaia Eguiarte ◽

Beñat Arregi ◽

Ander Romero-Amorrortu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal Insulation ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Energy Savings ◽

Flow Analysis ◽

Weather Conditions ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Construction And Demolition Waste ◽

The European Union ◽

Demolition Waste ◽

The Impact

Prefabricated solutions incorporating thermal insulation are increasingly adopted as an energy conservation measure for building renovation. The InnoWEE European project developed three technologies from Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) materials through a manufacturing process that supports the circular economy strategy of the European Union. Two of them consisted of geopolymer panels incorporated into an External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) and a ventilated façade. This study evaluates their thermal performance by means of monitoring data from three pilot case studies in Greece, Italy, and Romania, and calibrated building simulation models enabling the reliable prediction of energy savings in different climates and use scenarios. Results showed a reduction in energy demand for all demo buildings, with annual energy savings up to 25% after placing the novel insulation solutions. However, savings are highly dependent on weather conditions since the panels affect cooling and heating loads differently. Finally, a parametric assessment is performed to assess the impact of insulation thickness through an energy performance prediction and a cash flow analysis.

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Optimal Renovation Strategies through Life-Cycle Analysis in a Pilot Building Located in a Mild Mediterranean Climate

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11041423 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 1423

Author(s):

José Manuel Salmerón Lissen ◽

Cristina Isabel Jareño Escudero ◽

Francisco José Sánchez de la Flor ◽

Miriam Navarro Escudero ◽

Theoni Karlessi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Cycle ◽

Life Cycle Cost ◽

Mediterranean Climate ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Economic Life ◽

Hot Water ◽

Optimal Solutions ◽

Building Stock ◽

Existing Building ◽

The Cost

The 2030 climate and energy framework includes EU-wide targets and policy objectives for the period 2021–2030 of (1) at least 55% cuts in greenhouse gas emissions (from 1990 levels); (2) at least 32% share for renewable energy; and (3) at least 32.5% improvement in energy efficiency. In this context, the methodology of the cost-optimal level from the life-cycle cost approach has been applied to calculate the cost of renovating the existing building stock in Europe. The aim of this research is to analyze a pilot building using the cost-optimal methodology to determine the renovation measures that lead to the lowest life-cycle cost during the estimated economic life of the building. The case under study is an apartment building located in a mild Mediterranean climate (Castellon, SP). A package of 12 optimal solutions has been obtained to show the importance of the choice of the elements and systems for renovating building envelopes and how energy and economic aspects influence this choice. Simulations have shown that these packages of optimal solutions (different configurations for the building envelope, thermal bridges, airtightness and ventilation, and domestic hot water production systems) can provide savings in the primary energy consumption of up to 60%.

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RINNO: Towards an Open Renovation Platform for Integrated Design and Delivery of Deep Renovation Projects

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13116018 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 6018

Author(s):

Theo Lynn ◽

Pierangelo Rosati ◽

Antonia Egli ◽

Stelios Krinidis ◽

Komninos Angelakoglou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Value Chain ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

Integrated Design ◽

Energy Performance ◽

Building Stock ◽

Existing Building ◽

Horizon 2020 ◽

Regulatory Standards ◽

Automation Systems ◽

Wide Range

The building stock accounts for a significant portion of worldwide energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. While the majority of the existing building stock has poor energy performance, deep renovation efforts are stymied by a wide range of human, technological, organisational and external environment factors across the value chain. A key challenge is integrating appropriate human resources, materials, fabrication, information and automation systems and knowledge management in a proper manner to achieve the required outcomes and meet the relevant regulatory standards, while satisfying a wide range of stakeholders with differing, often conflicting, motivations. RINNO is a Horizon 2020 project that aims to deliver a set of processes that, when working together, provide a system, repository, marketplace and enabling workflow process for managing deep renovation projects from inception to implementation. This paper presents a roadmap for an open renovation platform for managing and delivering deep renovation projects for residential buildings based on seven design principles. We illustrate a preliminary stepwise framework for applying the platform across the full-lifecycle of a deep renovation project. Based on this work, RINNO will develop a new open renovation software platform that will be implemented and evaluated at four pilot sites with varying construction, regulatory, market and climate contexts.

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Deep renovation up to zero energy through Add-ons: the ABRACADABRA Project

IABSE Congress, New York, New York 2019: The Evolving Metropolis ◽

10.2749/newyork.2019.0252 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Annarita Ferrante ◽

Fabrizio Ungaro ◽

Giovanni Semprini ◽

Lorna Dragonetti ◽

Elettra Agliardi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cost Effective ◽

Urban Environments ◽

Zero Energy ◽

Urban Context ◽

Building Stock ◽

Existing Building ◽

The Real Estate ◽

International Projects ◽

Eu Project ◽

The Eu

and international projectsvarious EU H2020 projectsThough housing is one of the most energy consumer sectors, it is currently extremely underestimated, because of a clear investment gap due to economic, social and legislative barriers. The EU project ABRACADABRA (Assistant Building to Retrofit, Adopt, Cure And Develop the Actual Buildings up to zeRo energy, Activating a market for deep renovation) is based on the idea that the real estate value increase given by the appropriate densification strategy in urban environments could be an opportunity to activate a market for deep energy renovation. To prove the effectiveness of the strategy more than 70 case studies throughout the EU cities have been assessed by means of a cost-effective analysis. Basing on the parametric variation of the different values involved (cost of construction, energy, etc.) the benefit of this strategy has been proved in the majority of the different building types and contexts.More interestingly, the ABRA strategy has been simulated and tested outside Europe in order to verify its scalability and the possibility of considering other non-energy related benefits in the renovation of the existing building stock. A specific study on the NYC urban context has been conducted to effectively adapt the strategy and combine the global drivers of energy consumption reduction and CO2 emission reduction with the local need of combating flood emergency and related flood-proofing measures.The results reached by this work demonstrate how the energy retrofit trough add-ons reduces significantly the payback times of the investments, preserve soil consumption, while providing a extraordinary opportunity to enhance urban resiliency by challenging the local emergencies.

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Energy Efficiency in French Social Housing Renovations via Design-Build-Maintain

Open House International ◽

10.1108/ohi-02-2014-b0007 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 39 (2) ◽

pp. 48-56

Author(s):

Tadeo Baldiri Salcedo Rahola ◽

Ad Straub ◽

Angela Ruiz Lázaro ◽

Yves Galiègue

Keyword(s):

Social Housing ◽

Energy Savings ◽

High Energy ◽

Substantial Improvement ◽

Building Stock ◽

Delivery Methods ◽

Existing Building ◽

Design Build ◽

Bonuses And Penalties ◽

Design Bid Build

The renovation of existing building stock is seen as one the most practical ways to achieve the high energy savings targets for the built environment defined by European authorities. In France, the Grenelle environmental legislation addresses the need to renovate the building stock and specifically stresses the key role of social housing organisations. In recent years, French procurement rules have been modified in order to allow social housing organisations to make use of integrated contracts such as Design-Build-Maintain. These contracts have a greater potential to deliver energy savings in renovation projects than do traditional project delivery methods, like Design-bid-Build. This is because they facilitate collaboration between the various actors and boost their commitment to the achievement of project goals. In order to evaluate the estimated potential of such contracts to achieve energy savings, two renovation projects (carried out by two French social housing organisations) were analysed from their inception until the end of construction work. The analysis is based on written tender documents, technical evaluation reports, observations of the negotiation phase (in one of the cases) and interviews with the main actors involved. Findings show that Design-Build-Maintain contracts do indeed offer substantial energy savings. Both projects achieved higher energy targets than those initially required. Furthermore, the energy results are guaranteed by the contractor, through a system of bonuses and penalties. Other results demonstrate that, compared to previous Design-bid-Build renovation projects, these projects were completed in less time (from project inception to completion of the work) and at virtually the same cost. There has also been a substantial improvement in cooperation between the actors involved.

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