IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i2p644-d719618.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Long-Term Techno-Economic Performance Monitoring to Promote Built Environment Decarbonisation and Digital Transformation—A Case Study

Author

Listed:
  • Massimiliano Manfren

    (Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Southampton, Boldrewood Innovation Campus, Burgess Road, Southampton SO16 7QF, UK)

  • Lavinia Chiara Tagliabue

    (Department of Computer Science, University of Turin, Corso Svizzera 185, 10149 Torino, Italy)

  • Fulvio Re Cecconi

    (Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering (ABC), Politecnico di Milano, Via G. Ponzio 31, 20133 Milano, Italy)

  • Marco Ricci

    (Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering (ABC), Politecnico di Milano, Via G. Ponzio 31, 20133 Milano, Italy)

Abstract

Buildings’ long-term techno-economic performance monitoring is critical for benchmarking in order to reduce costs and environmental impact while providing adequate services. Reliable building stock performance data provide a fundamental knowledge foundation for evidence-based energy efficiency interventions and decarbonisation strategies. Simply put, an adequate understanding of building performance is required to reduce energy consumption, as well as associated costs and emissions. In this framework, Variable-base degree-days-based methods have been widely used for weather normalisation of energy statistics and energy monitoring for Measurement and Verification (M & V) purposes. The base temperature used to calculate degree-days is determined by building thermal characteristics, operation strategies, and occupant behaviour, and thus varies from building to building. In this paper, we develop a variable-base degrees days regression model, typically used for energy monitoring and M & V, using a “proxy” variable, the cost of energy services. The study’s goal is to assess the applicability of this type of model as a screening tool to analyse the impact of efficiency measures, as well as to understand the evolution of performance over time, and we test it on nine public schools in the Northern Italian city of Seregno. While not as accurate as M & V techniques, this regression-based approach can be a low-cost tool for tracking performance over time using cost data typically available in digital format and can work reasonably well with limited resolution, such as monthly data. The modelling methodology is simple, scalable and can be automated further, contributing to long-term techno-economic performance monitoring of building stock in the context of incremental built environment digitalization.

Suggested Citation

  • Massimiliano Manfren & Lavinia Chiara Tagliabue & Fulvio Re Cecconi & Marco Ricci, 2022. "Long-Term Techno-Economic Performance Monitoring to Promote Built Environment Decarbonisation and Digital Transformation—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-17, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:2:p:644-:d:719618
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/2/644/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/2/644/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pia Andres & Giorgia Cecchinato & Penny Mealy & Charlotte Taylor & Sam Unsworth & Anna Valero, 2020. "Jobs for a strong and sustainable recovery from Covid-19," CEP Covid-19 Analyses cepcovid-19-010, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Manfren, Massimiliano & Nastasi, Benedetto & Tronchin, Lamberto & Groppi, Daniele & Garcia, Davide Astiaso, 2021. "Techno-economic analysis and energy modelling as a key enablers for smart energy services and technologies in buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    3. Xing, Yangang & Hewitt, Neil & Griffiths, Philip, 2011. "Zero carbon buildings refurbishment--A Hierarchical pathway," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(6), pages 3229-3236, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lachlan Curmi & Kumudu Kaushalya Weththasinghe & Muhammad Atiq Ur Rehman Tariq, 2022. "Global Policy Review on Embodied Flows: Recommendations for Australian Construction Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-19, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Scott Kelly & Michael Pollitt & Doug Crawford-Brown, 2011. "Building performance evaluation and certification in the UK: a critical review of SAP?," Working Papers EPRG 1219, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    2. Kelly, Scott & Crawford-Brown, Doug & Pollitt, Michael G., 2012. "Building performance evaluation and certification in the UK: Is SAP fit for purpose?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(9), pages 6861-6878.
    3. Dall'O', Giuliano & Bruni, Elisa & Sarto, Luca, 2013. "An Italian pilot project for zero energy buildings: Towards a quality-driven approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 840-846.
    4. Seyedmohammadreza Heibati & Wahid Maref & Hamed H. Saber, 2019. "Assessing the Energy and Indoor Air Quality Performance for a Three-Story Building Using an Integrated Model, Part One: The Need for Integration," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-18, December.
    5. Muideen Adegoke & Alaka Hafiz & Saheed Ajayi & Razak Olu-Ajayi, 2022. "Application of Multilayer Extreme Learning Machine for Efficient Building Energy Prediction," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-21, December.
    6. Ruparathna, Rajeev & Hewage, Kasun & Sadiq, Rehan, 2016. "Improving the energy efficiency of the existing building stock: A critical review of commercial and institutional buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1032-1045.
    7. Ahmed, Wahhaj & Asif, Muhammad, 2021. "A critical review of energy retrofitting trends in residential buildings with particular focus on the GCC countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    8. Santillán Soto, Néstor & García Cueto, O. Rafael & Ojeda Benítez, Sara & Lambert Arista, Alejandro Adolfo, 2014. "Photovoltaic low power systems and their environmental impact:Yuma, Arizona, U.S.A. case study and projections for Mexicali, Mexico," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 172-177.
    9. Crescenzi, Riccardo & Giua, Mara & Sonzogno, Giulia Valeria, 2021. "Mind the Covid-19 crisis: An evidence-based implementation of Next Generation EU," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 278-297.
    10. Sofia Agostinelli & Fabrizio Cumo & Meysam Majidi Nezhad & Giuseppe Orsini & Giuseppe Piras, 2022. "Renewable Energy System Controlled by Open-Source Tools and Digital Twin Model: Zero Energy Port Area in Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-24, March.
    11. Sibilio, Sergio & Rosato, Antonio & Ciampi, Giovanni & Scorpio, Michelangelo & Akisawa, Atsushi, 2017. "Building-integrated trigeneration system: Energy, environmental and economic dynamic performance assessment for Italian residential applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P2), pages 920-933.
    12. Ke, Wei & Ji, Jie & Xu, Lijie & Yu, Bendong & Tian, Xinyi & Wang, Jun, 2021. "Numerical study and experimental validation of a multi-functional dual-air-channel solar wall system with PCM," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    13. Li, Jun & Ng, S. Thomas & Skitmore, Martin, 2017. "Review of low-carbon refurbishment solutions for residential buildings with particular reference to multi-story buildings in Hong Kong," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 393-407.
    14. Theodoridou, Ifigeneia & Karteris, Marinos & Mallinis, Georgios & Papadopoulos, Agis M. & Hegger, Manfred, 2012. "Assessment of retrofitting measures and solar systems' potential in urban areas using Geographical Information Systems: Application to a Mediterranean city," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(8), pages 6239-6261.
    15. Xu, Lijie & Ji, Jie & Cai, Jingyong & Ke, Wei & Tian, Xinyi & Yu, Bendong & Wang, Jun, 2021. "A hybrid PV thermal (water or air) wall system integrated with double air channel and phase change material: A continuous full-day seasonal experimental research," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 596-613.
    16. Arman Hashemi & Narguess Khatami, 2015. "The Effects of Air Permeability, Background Ventilation and Lifestyle on Energy Performance, Indoor Air Quality and Risk of Condensation in Domestic Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-13, April.
    17. Heiskanen, Eva & Matschoss, Kaisa, 2017. "Understanding the uneven diffusion of building-scale renewable energy systems: A review of household, local and country level factors in diverse European countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 580-591.
    18. Massimiliano Manfren & Karla M. Gonzalez-Carreon & Patrick A. B. James, 2024. "Interpretable Data-Driven Methods for Building Energy Modelling—A Review of Critical Connections and Gaps," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-22, February.
    19. Razmjoo, Armin & Mirjalili, Seyedali & Aliehyaei, Mehdi & Østergaard, Poul Alberg & Ahmadi, Abolfazl & Majidi Nezhad, Meysam, 2022. "Development of smart energy systems for communities: technologies, policies and applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C).
    20. Kyu-In Lee, 2020. "Improvement of Indoor Thermal Environments through Green Refurbishment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:2:p:644-:d:719618. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.