In the second and final phase of the project implementation (March 2018- September 2019), all activities focused on establishing durable return of knowledge mechanisms capable of taking the data from the last generation of buildings and converting them into knowledge for energy managers, ESCOs, designers and policy makers.
The pivotal elements of the return-of-knowledge mechanism are the ExcEED platform and the associated tools. The final version of the platform has been developed together with an online dashboard capable of collecting data from buildings and analyse it through dedicated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
To define which meta-data need to be uploaded from the users into the platform, the project partners identified the most useful KPIs (27) to evaluate the last generation of buildings, from energy efficiency to indoor environmental quality.
ExcEED partners have also developed a geo-cluster tool able to easily select, cluster and display geo-clustered information highlighting common spatial patterns and regions per groups of KPIs. These data can effectively support policy makers and legislative bodies to compare technical/legislative frameworks in similar contexts and to identify ad-hoc solutions for regions with similar conditions.
Looking at the perceived indoor environmental quality, a Post Occupancy Evaluation survey was created and embedded in the platform, in order to store together measured data and user’s perception of the indoor environment. This tool can improve our understanding of the users’ perception on the indoor environment, and encourage the design of healthy, comfortable, and energy efficient buildings.
The effectiveness of the platform and the tools has been tested by Casa Hoval, ExcEED demo case and nZEB office building in the northern of Italy. New sensors and energy meters were installed, in addition to the original energy monitoring system, and data needed for the KPIs calculation were transferred from the demo case into the platform.
To guarantee a lasting effect of return of knowledge from existing building to future building, partners have elaborated short and mid-term business plans to guarantee the self-sustainability of the platform.
Regarding communication and dissemination, the activities aimed to exploit and valorise the project´s tools and results among the identified target groups, at the same time raising awareness on the project itself.
Through social media, dedicated newsletters, advertising brochure, infographics, short stories, policy factsheets, promotion at international events, ExcEED activities and results have been promoted to reach a wider public audience. Besides, the main outcomes are the ExcEED handbook, explaining the potential of the ExcEED tools from a business and a policy perspective, and the ExcEED Guidelines, providing information about the project findings and technical solutions.They are available online at :
http://www.exceedproject.eu/news/(si apre in una nuova finestra)Partners also made some assumptions on the potential anomalies based on KPI threshold values and possible data inconsistencies. The approach followed was to assess expected value range for KPIs, considering the building intended use and climate zone. The assessment resulted in some attention points for the ExcEED platform designer to focus on for optimizing the user experience.
