EE-WISE

Energy Efficiency Knowledge Transfer Framework for Building Retrofitting in the Mediterranean Area

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Energy Efficiency (EE) in construction sector is nowadays the best chance to boost green economy in Europe, generating new business opportunities that will foster high quality employment creation helping to recover a strategic sector ruined by crisis. There is a fundamental barrier that is preventing this from happening: SMEs presence in the construction sector is remarkable with a fundamental impact on sector’s performance. Continuous progress in technologies and solutions to improve energy efficiency in buildings do not reach companies in order to implement them. For this, the current main problem must be solved: Knowledge Transfer isn’t flowing effectively among agents in the value chain of the EE market (particularly SMEs), thus knowledge sharing is needed to overcome technological and economic barriers. ee-WiSE aims to develop an EE Knowledge Transfer Framework (KTF) in building retrofitting with especial attention to SMEs, applied to a specific geographic area, the Mediterranean. ee-WiSE will be focused on the Mediterranean because its particular weather conditions require EE to be analyzed by considering specific and not generic solutions. In addition, the Mediterranean economies had based much of its economic growth in a very traditional building sector which tremendously affected by the real estate bubble burst. Similarly, the project focuses on retrofitting rather than new building for the greatest potential of EE measures in existing buildings, the high incidence in CO2 emissions of the buildings stock and the large number of SMEs participating in this activity in construction sector. Throughout its WP of conceptualization and definitions, information and best practices gathering and analyzing, design of the KTF and its tools, and finally its validation, EE-wise will provide an useful methodology to imagine, design and validate EE enhancement measures in the Mediterranean environment to develope EE market and related business.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Energy efficiency (EE) in the construction sector is considered one of the best ways to boost Europe's green economy through new business opportunities. An EU-funded initiative was established to improve the transfer of EE knowledge for building retrofitting in the area of the Mediterranean.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Progress in improving EE in buildings is blocked when companies do not have access to the necessary information and technology to implement change. For this challenge to be addressed, knowledge must flow freely among agents in the value chain of the EE market. This is especially true in the case of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The aim of the http://www.ee-wise.eu/ (EE-WISE) (Energy efficiency knowledge transfer framework for building retrofitting in the Mediterranean area) project was to develop a Knowledge Transfer Framework (KTF) that facilitates knowledge sharing towards Energy-Efficient buildings.. The study paid particular attention to SMEs and was applied specifically to the Mediterranean area. This was because the area's unique weather conditions require EE to be implemented using solutions specific to the region.

Project partners focused on retrofitting rather than new buildings because of the high incidence of carbon dioxide emissions from the existing building stock. Moreover, a large number of SMEs participate in this part of the construction sector.

Analysis of the agents' behaviours and their knowledge transfer needs resulted in development of the EE-WiSE KTF. The tool was designed as an interactive platform that enables users to exchange knowledge and experience. The EE content was organised by different topics, including skills and awareness, knowledge management, research and development approach, and financial, institutional and administrative information.

The KTF was tested in validation workshops in seven Mediterranean countries. The result was a profile of value chain agents, which revealed breaks in the communication process and identified the main strategies for plugging these gaps.

EE-WISE also highlighted the need to build knowledge, encourage new business models in the EE market, and promote certification and cooperation between different agents. The online KTF tool will therefore play a vital role in the drive for an effective EE building retrofitting sector.

The success of the EE-WISE project will help in the effective exchange of knowledge and best practice among SMEs in the Mediterranean area through the KTF. It will encourage new business models and cooperation and lead to energy-efficient solutions for one homogenous climatic area.