Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - iBROAD (Individual Building (Renovation) Roadmaps)

Teaser

Renovating a building can be complex and time consuming. For building owners, the lack of knowledge about what to do, and in which order to implement renovation measures, is one of the main obstacles to improving the energy performance of their building.The iBRoad project...

Summary

Renovating a building can be complex and time consuming. For building owners, the lack of knowledge about what to do, and in which order to implement renovation measures, is one of the main obstacles to improving the energy performance of their building.

The iBRoad project works on lifting these barriers by developing an Individual Building Renovation Roadmap for single-family houses. This tool looks at the building as a whole, providing a customised renovation plan (iBRoad-Plan) over a long-term horizon (5-20 years).

The roadmap makes it possible to improve a building gradually, rather than in one go, taking into account the occupants\' needs and specific situation (e.g., age, financial situation, composition and expected evolution of the household, etc.). By planning ahead and future-proofing technical requirements, the roadmap also helps avoid \'lock-in\' from present choices which limit the renovation potential in the future.

The iBRoad-Plan is combined with a repository of information –a building logbook (iBRoad-Log)– on aspects like the energy consumption and production, executed maintenance and building plans.

The logbook can be an extremely useful tool, for home owners and occupants themselves, as well as for hiring contractors who will require technical information about the building, in order to suggest and implement improvements.

The building renovation roadmap and logbook together represent a Building Renovation Passport (BRP). BRPs are now mentioned in the amended Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), in support of long-term, step-by-step renovation.

With a target focus on residential buildings, the iBRoad project analyses and builds upon relevant initiatives to identify the elements, develop an integrated concept and produce modular tools, suitable for differing national conditions.

The tools –software to produce the roadmap and host the logbook– are adapted for testing in selected countries: Bulgaria, Poland, and Portugal, plus Germany for the logbook. The testing entails setting the parameters for national requirements, training professional auditors on the iBRoad methodology and tools, arranging for their implementing the methodology and producing the roadmaps and logbooks for suitable buildings; useful insights are then to be extracted from the tests.

Based on the insights from the testing, and the broader exploration of the feasibility and replicability of the iBRoad concept in other countries and the EU, and for other building typologies, the project will propose specific approaches and policies to implement the Building Renovation Passport on a wider scale.

Development and implementation of the iBRoad concept relies, in parallel, on the direct engagement with stakeholders in the countries involved in the testing, as well as others of wider interest; specific activities are being implemented in this respect. Similarly, the iBRoad outcomes are to be extensively shared, in order to spark interest on the concept, and provide the tools to those interested in applying them further – primarily energy authorities and agencies across Europe.

Work performed

iBRoad reviewed the national situation relevant to the implementation of Energy Performance Certificates, and analysed in particular examples of Building Renovation Passport related initiatives from Belgium, France, Germany, and Denmark. The results of this work are summarised in:
• Eight Country Factsheets
• The Concept of the Individual Building Renovation Roadmap – An in-depth case study of four frontrunner projects

National conditions, specifically in the three \'pilot\' countries for implementation –Bulgaria, Poland and Portugal– were also examined from the side of homeowners, through a professional public opinion research action. In parallel, a series of meetings took place with relevant stakeholders in eight countries, to collect their preliminary opinions on the iBRoad concept. The results of this work are collected in:
• Understanding potential user needs – A survey analysis of the markets for Individual Building Renovation Roadmaps in Bulgaria, Poland and Portugal
• iBRoad Stakeholders Meetings – Meetings, key notes and findings of the 1st round of physical events

Following the above, the specific data elements to be included in a typical building logbook –also relevant for a renovation roadmap– were identified, organised and prioritised. They then became the background for envisaging the logbook and roadmap in respect to their basic functions. The results can be found in:
• The logbook data quest – Setting up indicators and other requirements for a renovation passport
• The iBRoad concept in practice – Report on suggested elements, content and layout of the iBRoad tools

The architecture of the iBRoad tools was then developed into a concrete model, including the related techno-economic methodologies and numerical parameters, evolving to specific functional modules implemented on computer code. The work, including full code, is collected in:
• The iBRoad tools structure – How to integrate techno-economic assessment, individual building renovation roadmap and logbook components in iBRoad
• Quantifying home renovation – Report and database for techno-economic default assessment of renovation measures
• Simple energy demand calculation tool – Open source programme code of techno-economic default assessment of renovation measures (includes Python code)
• Database structure & programming core of the roadmap and logbook (includes Ruby on Rails code)

Further, the generic data structure and methodology, with fixed and country specific parameters, was adapted to the national requirements of the countries where testing will take place. The outcomes were further elaborated into clear guidance to potential auditors, as part of the training material for the pilot testing. The results are presented in:
• Country-specific adoption of elements within the national version of iBRoad – Bulgaria, Poland, Portugal, Belgium/Flanders, Germany
• Handbook for Energy Auditors – Guidance and Advice on how to create an iBRoad Individual Building Renovation Roadmap and how to use the iBRoad Building Logbook

Final results

Following core activities of the iBRoad project include the auditors\' training and pilot testing of the methodology and tools; the wide dissemination of results through industry events and publications, as well as the second round of national stakeholder engagement meetings; and the wrap-up and further elaboration of the iBRoad concept into specific policy proposals and guidelines in support of implementing the Building Renovation Passport across the EU.

By the end of the project and beyond, iBRoad ambitiously aims to contribute to:
• Enabling the adoption of future policies in support of energy performance and decarbonisation of the building stock.
• Increasing the number of individual deep renovations.
• Supporting consumers / end-users through tools for tailor-made, specific, and individualised advice.
• Contributing to a transparent evaluation of savings and costs of renovation and thus supporting a reliable energy performance rating.
• Monitoring the performance of buildings over time, creating a positive impact on the compliance rate of the implemented measures.

Website & more info

More info: https://www.ibroad-project.eu.