ERBmarket: a Platform for Diagnostic and Energy Renovation of Buildings

Abstract

Buildings are responsible for 40% of total European Union (EU) energy consumption [EU 2010]. In accordance with the Directive 2012/27/EU on energy efficiency, EU Member States should adopt long-term strategies for refurbishment of residential and commercial buildings to improve thermal performance and to reduce, at the same time, CO2 emissions. Under this framework, it arises the need to create a web platform for energy renovation of buildings – ERBmarket. This paper seeks to describe the main targets and features of the platform. The main goal of ERBmarket is to stimulate the market for energy renovation of buildings, joining owners and users of buildings (demand side) and specialized companies in this field (supply side) in one website. Furthermore, this platform should integrate a diagnosis tool developed using an expert system: from the building description, ERBmarket should be able to identify the major gaps in terms of energy performance, and the best solutions for each case. The intervention costs, the energy and economic savings, the reduction in CO2 emissions and the investment payback period will always be presented. The implementation of a web platform for energy renovation of buildings following the general lines proposed in this paper requires substantial investment and will take a long time to be fully operational due to its complexity, thus a phased implementation for ERBmarket platform should be adopted. Moreover, the intervention of several experts in the fields of energy efficiency and rehabilitation of buildings, during the development process, will be essential. However, it is expected that ERBmarket, activating a market which is still fairly stagnant, will make an important contribution not only to save energy, and reducing at the same time the greenhouse gas emissions, but also to improve the thermal comfort in buildings. The implementation of a platform for energy renovation of buildings on a regional level is proposed in the strategic European project called MARIE – Mediterranean Building Rethinking for Energy Efficiency Improvement. This project, which was financed by the transnational MED Programme of European territorial cooperation, had the collaboration of 23 partners from 9 different Mediterranean countries. During the project, the 23 partners worked together to prepare the strategy which should be adopted after 2014 to improve the energy efficiency of Mediterranean buildings.