BuildDOP

BuildDOP will realize the next generation of the ProCasaClima software, transforming it from an official certification tool of building energy performance into a full design instrument for constructing new buildings and refurbishing the existing building stock in South Tyrol, Italy. As such, it represents one of the main means of communication with building stakeholders, developers, designers, energy advisors, service companies, manufacturers, and final users. It has become a knowledge hub to exchange information about building energy performance, indoor environmental quality, and sustainability, in order to pursue the environmental goals set by South Tyrol. These goals include the creation of a regulatory framework whose aim is to reduce energy needs, increase equipment efficiency, make extensive use of local natural renewable energy sources, and promote conscious user behavior, towards an environmentally friendly construction sector. The ambition is to strengthen its leadership as Italy’s Green Region and compete with the most sustainable regions in Europe. Roadmaps such as the Klimaplan Energie-Südtirol-2050 published by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano commit to ambitious and transparent energy consumption and CO₂ emissions reduction figures, such as less than 2,200 watts and annual 1.5 t CO₂ emissions per person, to accomplish this mission.

BuildDOP focuses on the following main objectives.

• To identify and analyze relevant KPIs to be considered in defining a reliable energy and economic model for new buildings or building renovation actions.
• To develop the next generation of ProCasaClima, the official software for the CasaClima certification. The novel suite will feature a core component in Microsoft® Excel, steady-state calculations, a dynamic simulation engine, and a series of optional modules for designing, retrofitting, and evaluating buildings. The core component will contain the user interface, collect all data coming from the simulation engine and optional modules, and perform the simplest calculations. We will validate the dynamic simulation engine against common recognized tools, such as Trnsys, EnergyPlus, Modelica/Dymola, according to the procedures recommended by the UNI EN 15265 standard, and/or measured data. Furthermore, we will develop an LCA tool and validate it against common recognized tools for LCA calculation, basing ourselves on EPD evaluation and building material, product, and component databases.
• To bring the energy assessment to a level compliant with the national legislative framework, which requires multi-zone simulation and hygrothermal component evaluation.
• To provide end users with a full state-of-the-art palette of design possibilities for the construction of new buildings and renovation of existing buildings.
• To develop protocols and reporting templates for quality assessment of real buildings during operation, including energy performance, indoor comfort, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness.
• To ensure reliable and accurate calculations of energy performance, indoor comfort, thermal and electric loads (to size systems), environmental impact, and costs related to building design, retrofit, and actual operation.
• To present results of a building quality assessment to the user in an informative and visually appealing way, in order to facilitate decisions regarding design or retrofit alternatives.

The main outputs of BuildDOP will be:

·       The next generation of the software ProCasaClima, distributed in the three languages English, Italian, and German, and provided with comprehensive manuals and example files

·       Protocols for building auditing and monitoring

·       Reports and manuals explaining the overall methodology, KPIs, calculation methods, etc., illustrated by examples

·       A benchmarking database of building typologies and retrofit packages, which are representative of the building stock of South Tyrol

·       A technologies database along with a quality handbook

Main activities

BuildDOP will develop protocols and a new software for comprehensive building quality assessment and reconceptualized state-of-the-art building design and retrofitting. AGENZIACC and EURAC will engage in a series of activities to prepare and support stakeholders (energy consultant, auditors, public authorities, manufacturers) and end users (designers, certifiers) in the best use of the protocols and the software, share and build knowledge on how ProCasaClima can help improve the built environment, and raise awareness of best practices in building and building cluster design and management. The activities are reported in detail in the section "Working plan and time schedule" that follows. An important aspect is the development and visualization of key intermediate results, which other commercial energy performance software do not disclose, and comprehensive engineering and user manuals. These main activities will ensure a wide uptake and persistence of the project’s outcomes, which in turn will generate considerable benefits for the construction sector and quality of the built environment in South Tyrol.

Expected results

All BuildDOP activities and outcomes aim at accelerating the transformation towards a sustainable, decarbonized built environment characterized by a cost-effective management of the building stock. Reaching this goal will require long-term changes in the energy demand, highly energy-efficient equipment, maximum sustainable use of local renewable energy sources, load matching, and environmentally conscious user behavior. The CasaClima certification is mandatory when constructing new residential buildings, deeply retrofitting existing residential buildings, and in some other cases. Even when it is not mandatory, certifying a building is becoming a popular practice to increase its asset value. We thus expect the already widespread use of the CasaClima certification protocol in South Tyrol to widen even more. Combined with building quality assessment protocols guiding in the auditing, M&V, and commissioning of buildings and building clusters, the use of these protocols and the completely revisited next generation of ProCasaClima will ultimately lead to a transformed building stock in South Tyrol. With this goal, BuildDOP is completely in line with the Smart Specialization Strategies (S3) stipulated between the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol and the Smart Specialization Platform, which aims among other objectives at focusing resources on projects addressed to specialisation area.