New tools and methodologies to reduce the gap between predicted and actual energy performances at the level of buildings and blocks of buildings

Specific challenge:The monitoring of real energy use in energy-efficient buildings frequently shows major differences with respect to the predicted performance. This is even worse if a set of interacting buildings is considered. It is therefore important to capture the real complexities of the energy performance of the actual buildings and districts. In addition, effective methodologies for the correct understanding of user behaviour need to be addressed.

Scope: At building level, the research focus is on developing methodologies and tools to monitor and assess actual building energy performance, considering relevant factors such as user behaviour, complex energy systems performance and weather forecast, and to be able to predict accurately building energy loads and consumption along the whole lifecycle. The new methods and tools could include energy performance diagnostics for predictive maintenance (related to different construction typologies and their thermal behaviour), to provide