Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MODER (Mobilization of innovative design tools for refurbishing of buildings at district level)

Teaser

The building sector as one of the three key sectors for improvements. Buildings also have good estimated economic mitigation potential . Efficient measures to reduce GHG emissions from buildings include reducing energy consumption of existing buildings, switching to low-carbon...

Summary

The building sector as one of the three key sectors for improvements. Buildings also have good estimated economic mitigation potential . Efficient measures to reduce GHG emissions from buildings include reducing energy consumption of existing buildings, switching to low-carbon fuels and reducing embodied energy in buildings.

Refurbishment planning, project preparation and concept design phases include important decisions that affect the energy savings. However, the energy simulation tools used by designers and HVAC engineers are typically applied only in the phases of technical design or sometimes during developed design. In later phases of design important options of renewable energy systems may have been lost.

The main objective of MODER is to increase business of engineering companies, energy managers and consultants in supporting municipalities and building owners in European and global markets for the refurbishment of buildings at district level. To reach this objective requires exceeding barriers concerning the reduction of energy demand of buildings, new tools that enable the assessment and design of refurbishment and new business and process models for efficiently execute the refurbishment of buildings at district level.

To reach the total target of MODER, several technical improvements are required. Therefore, the overall technical objectives of MODER are to develop, demonstrate and mobilize tools, services, process models and business models, Figure 1.

Work performed

The project investigated barriers for improving the energy performance of buildings at district level. A significant problem is the involvement of many owners with differing interests. The lack of actors who would initiate the project and combine the interests of stakeholders in imperative. Current legislation causes significant hindrances for refurbishment at the district level in many countries.
Preliminary strategies for district level refurbishment were developed including the roles of the necessary stakeholders. MODER found Alliance model, Public/Private Private Partnership (PPP), Distributed Design & Build, and Primary Project models the most suitable for district refurbishment.
The project assessed the profitability potentials and risks from the view point of different actors in district level refurbishment. In big district level projects, savings can be achieved in preparation, design and tendering costs and this may help to get better profit and improve the profitability of the investment from the view point of owners.
New solutions for technology packages target technical systems for the rational use of energy and utilization of renewable energy sources at district level. Simulation tools are needed for developing optimum solutions for a district level project.
The computer tool D-ECA enables the urban decision makers and planners to assess the energy performance of a district in the first planning stages without detailed information. The tool uses archetype buildings combined to a city quarter, and that can be quickly adapted to the real situation.
Apros® is a multifunctional software for the modelling of the dynamic simulation of processes, power plants and district energy systems. The current development work will (1) make use of and (2) learn from the experiences of an industrial high resolution simulations and (3) apply this knowledge on the urban energy simulation in the context of refurbishment of the districts.
Key Performance Indicators guided the development by presenting the aspects that should be able to be shown during the design process with the help of the visualization tool, Figure 2. Apros District visualization interface is ready for the Apros® visualization: “Visualization of APROS ready for testing”. The tool is on line https://moder3dtest.eu/.
The project developed information about the time-dependent load profiles of buildings that have undergone energy-efficient refurbishment. Energy supply systems are changing and beneficial distributed energy supply based on solar energy, wind power, geo-thermal and bioenergy are available. Yet, the power load on the demand side may vary strongly because of different types of consumer, human behaviour, cultural factors, time of day and year and climate. The consideration of this information becomes important already in the connection with nZEB that make use of on-site, near-by or local renewable energy.
MODER collected information on altogether roughly 100 buildings with heating and electricity power profiles (before and after renovation with different refurbishment packages in different locations).
The method for energy system design describes an energy design and simulation procedure to combine the selection of an optimal combination of energy production systems and improvement of the energy efficiency of buildings at district level. Figure 3 shows the capabilities of different simulation tools for energy design and energy design system design method.
MODER collected the key data requirements of energy simulation tools and energy system design methods. Visualisation of the design sets also requirements for more easy understanding of the output and, thus, also requirements for modelling and visualization were collected.
The energy system components were arranged in a technical superstructure (Figure 4). The superstructure describes the energy system with the maximum set of technologies. All components are connected to each other in physical

Final results

A detailed research of promising technology options and technology combinations clearly indicate the diversity of solutions for energy generation based on renewable energy sources and storage solutions technically available today. A great deployment of renewable energies in urban areas is not related to missing technical solutions or geographical incapability but mainly a matter of legal and economic frameworks and a matter of proper system technologies and crosslinking an optimal use within urban districts require well-developed energy grids.
City Information Models (CIM) to serve as a data source for energy simulation but also as an information sharing platform. CIM combines the 3D models with building and infrastructure level information open for residents, various businesses and service providers for common development goals.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.moderproject.eu.