A methodological framework for the economic assessment of ict-tools for occupants’ engagement

The concept of smartness in building dates to the 1970s, but, in face of the breakthrough technological developments, a new notion of smart building is currently recognized. We talk about ambient intelligence, referring to a building which is responsive to the needs of the occupants and of the energy system. An ambient-intelligent building is human-centric; new services and interfaces are provided to the buildings occupants to learn and set their preferences, with a positive impact on their comfort level and satisfaction with the indoor environmental quality. ICT and IoT are part of the enabling technologies to exploit the potentials of smart buildings, by unlocking the capability of buildings to interact with the system they belong to. To bolster the diffusion of new technologies, methodologies to get quantitative results proving their effectiveness should be provided. In this paper the application of a well-established economic evaluation tool, the so-called Cost-Benefit Analysis, to the case of the deployment of new ICT-tools for occupants’ engagement is presented. The methodology is adopted within the H2020 Mobistyle project, where two levels of the evaluation are identified: the whole project level and the single demo case one. The purpose of the methodology is to assess the effectiveness of the adoption of the ICT-tools in producing economic value in terms of benefits for the occupants and the society. Some preliminary results of its application to the Italian case study are also presented, showing a positive socio-economic balance since the beginning of the deployment

Energy, SBS symptoms, and productivity in Swiss open-space offices: Economic evaluation of standard, actual, and optimum scenarios

The fundamental aspiration of new-generation high-performing buildings is to reduce energy use while securing indoor environmental quality conducive to human health and productivity. However, existing frameworks for identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of buildings are sporadic and limited to a few parameters. Based on two Swiss open-space buildings, this paper demonstrates an economic comparison combining three KPIs: health (represented by sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms), occupants' productivity (based on the thermal environment and ventilation), and operational energy for heating (based on building simulations using measured inputs). Monetization translated various criteria into the same unit currency and compared them on equal terms. Three scenarios for human- and energy-related performance analysis were actual (considering measured data), standard (using parameters from the national standard), and optimal (maximized productivity). The actual environment in case studies measured in the Fall and Winter seasons was relatively warm, with poor ventilation in one of the two buildings as no mechanical ventilation was on. Therefore, there was some loss of productivity (0.11-0.4%) and SBS symptoms (e.g., dry eyes, fatigue) present in both buildings resulting in up to 2 times the difference between the energy and human costs. The minimum energy costs for the standard scenario indicated that standard settings prioritize energy objectives. Oppositely, energy costs were the highest (47.6-69.6%) in the optimal scenario minimizing the human-related costs but not the weekly SBS symptoms. The analysis presented highlights the conflicting goals when one parameter is prioritized over another one, thus demonstrating the importance of a multi-criteria approach

Electrify Italy

This study explores a possible pathway to implement a new energy paradigm in Italy based on electrification. The objectives are: • To build a forward-looking vision of possible scenarios at 2022, 2030 and 2050 by integrating a multi-focus perspective on the penetration of renewables and the electrification potential of the residential, industrial and transport sectors. • To estimate the potential benefits of further electrification through the calculation of Key Performance Indicators in four different areas: energy, economy, environment and society. The study shows how the electricity triangle, a paradigm based on clean generation by renewable sources, electrification of final uses, and electricity exchange through efficient smart grids, closes the loop of clean energy and efficient consumption. This leads to improvements in energy, environment, economy and social performances, and boosts the share of renewables in final consumption

An energy-financial decision-making tool for planning building retrofit based on basic input data

The “Clean Energy for all European” package have recently updated the European target related to energy efficiency and emissions reduction, which are becoming more and more ambitious. In this framework, the building sector is expected to contribute in a relevant way, representing, with mobility, one of the main energy-and-carbon-intensive urban sectors. The strategic role of cities with respect to the energy-environmental issues besides to the relevant role their institutions should have in improving new policies are well recognized. Act locally engaging territorial authorities and smaller realities, as well as providing to them proper assessment and decision-making tools, is a necessary step towards an energy-environmental performance rise of our economy and, in particular, of the building sector. Focusing on the latter, this paper reports the activity conducted in the framework of the Energy Center Initiative with Compagnia di San Paolo and LINKS Foundation, with the aim to develop a simplified decision-making tool for retrofit interventions prioritization and definition. The tool wants to be an instrument to support the decision-makers in outlining a local energy policy addressed to the built heritage they manage. It serves this purpose by giving a representation of the current performance of the building stock that the user intends to analyse. These performances are measured by calculating some key performance indicators related to consumptions, emissions and energy costs, based on basic input data provided by the users. The graphical representation of the results offered by the tool (quadrant-chart) allows the decision-maker to identify the buildings on which a priority action should be taken, and, thanks to an auto-diagnosis process, their criticalities. Potential retrofit options can be selected and assessed through the calculation of a financial indicator (payback period)

A methodological framework for socio-economic impacts assessment of ict solutions to improve ieq, health and well-being

Mobistyle is a Horizon2020 European project that views the application at different demo cases level of some personalized ICT solutions (Mobile App, Game and Dashboard) to drive persistent behavioural changes in buildings occupants, leveraging on the three issues of energy, indoor environmental quality, health and well-being. Within the project two needs have been identified: i) assessing the effectiveness of the deployment of Mobistyle solutions from both a private (owner/occupant) and a macro-economic (whole society) point of view when multiple benefits are considered; ii) making the potential benefits tangible and understandable for people in order to push a behavioral change. For both purposes, the Cost-Benefit Analysis application turns to be useful. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to present how a well-known economic evaluation tool, namely the Cost-Benefit Analysis, have been applied to the Mobistyle project. A focus is given to the definition, quantification and monetization of the impacts that the project can have in terms of well-being and health. The picture of the methodological framework, as well as some preliminary results on one of the demo cases, are presented and discussed within this paper

A methodological framework to motivate and assess behavioral change: Insights into an interdisciplinary user awareness campaign

Raising awareness among building occupants on how their behavior, comfort crite-ria settings, and lifestyles affect building energy use has become a central topic of inno-vative energy efficiency strategies. Indeed, reaching European energy efficiency goals does not only require the optimization of building design and features, but also necessi-tates the real energy consumers to be more aware of their energy-related interactions with the building. However, motivating occupants to change their behavior can become a challenging task. It is essential to provide novel, stimulating, and easily understandable information that help triggering a more energy-friendly behavior on a daily basis. Another challenge is to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of human-centered interventions. In this con-text, this paper presents an interdisciplinary methodological framework developed within an European project (H2020-MOtivating end-users Behavioral change by combined ICT based modular Information on energy use, indoor environment, health and lifestyle), de-signed to raise user awareness, reduce energy consumptions and improve health and IEQ conditions by providing combined feedback on energy, indoor environmental quality, and health. This paper identifies methodological steps designed to evaluate the outcomes, pro-cess and impacts of an interdisciplinary user-centered engagement campaign, including the application of Cost-Benefit Analysis in assessing co-benefits related to behavioral changes

Practical differences in operating buildings across countries and climate zones: Perspectives of building managers/operators

Occupant-centric building design and operation has attracted recent research efforts in many countries, as building occupants are being more recognized as the main drivers in planning and operating safe, comfortable, energy-efficient indoor environments. In this matter, the role of building managers and operators is crucial to capture the needs of occupants and to adapt the response of the building accordingly. IEA EBC Annex 79 participants conducted 72 interviews with operators and facility managers across 7 countries (Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Poland, Singapore, and USA) covering a wide range of ASHRAE 169 climate zones (from 0 to 5 in the climate classification). This paper presents a qualitative cross-case analysis of operators’ perspectives and experiences to identify regional differences. Therefore, the analyses are based on the hypotheses that climate or other country-related aspects would be the main drivers of building operation procedures differences. Results show climatic differences have little influence on building management, while occupants’ complaints are very influenced by them. Moreover, operators are lacking clear tools, like guidelines and standards, on how to optimize building management in a climatic-adaptive and occupant-centric manner. Therefore, the development of operation protocols for building sustainable operation respecting climatic context and occupants’ control is recommended