EPLACE: a platform for improving energy efficiency in public buildings Clear data on energy consumption patterns is a central element in efforts to improve efficiency, helping identify areas where improvements can be made. Alicia Jiménez of the EPLACE project tells us about their work in testing and validating innovative ICT solutions, work which she believes could have a significant impact on energy efficiency in public buildings Public buildings are an important focus of efforts to improve energy efficiency, with researchers looking for ways to both reduce consumption and change behaviour. These issues are central to the EPLACE project, an initiative which brings together researchers from across Europe. “The aim of the project is to provide a platform to public entities and building managers about energy efficiency. We aim to help building managers reduce energy consumption through ICT changes using the EPLACE platform, and also through the behaviour of the users of these buildings,” says Alicia Jiménez, the project’s coordinator. The project is running pilot studies in several different types of building, giving researchers a broad perspective on energy consumption. “We are working with council administrative offices, a library, a cultural centre, and others,” continues Jiménez, from Wellness Telecom, a Spanish company which specializes in telecommunication networks and IT engineering. “The age of these
buildings varies, as we are doing the pilots in different countries.” The project is using data about energy consumption in these buildings in previous years to inform their approach. Researchers performed an ‘energy audit’ on the buildings, which Jiménez believes is a strong foundation for the project’s wider objectives. “The actions required to save energy in all the pilot buildings are different, because the circumstances themselves are different. But we can demonstrate that it is possible to improve energy efficiency in all kinds of buildings,” she stresses. This is particularly important in public buildings, where people might feel less responsible for minimising energy consumption that they do when they are paying for it themselves. “40 percent of global energy consumption is consumed by, or in, buildings. And workers and visitors don’t pay the bills in public buildings,” says Jiménez. “People who don’t pay the bills tend to pay less attention to energy consumption, as they think somebody else will pay.”
Advisory tools Solutions and tools that provide building users with more data on energy consumption are an important element in efforts to address these kinds of perceptions. The project is working to combine and integrate existing tools, developing innovative ICT solutions for energy metering, controlling energy sources and heightening user awareness. “One of the tools we are working with is the Interactive Energy Savings Account (iESA), which allows building managers to manually enter gas, water and electricity invoices,” outlines Jiménez. Users can receive alerts and reports about energy usage, helping them identify ways in which it could be reduced; Jiménez and her colleagues are also working to integrate several advisory tools. “We have two monitoring tools. One is the WeSave – which is a tool used to monitor and control electricity use in buildings. It is a hardware component that is installed in the electricity panel of the building,” she explains.
Tallaght Library
38
EU Research