Urban energy performance calculation based on EPBD standards (MUSEGRIDS tool)

The implementation of energy policies with a view to reduce CO2 emissions poses specific challenges, especially to public authorities, who should define specific objectives, and evaluate the adequacy and impact of energy actions proposed. Nevertheless, an appropriate analysis is highly time-consuming due to the lack of tools. In this process, the first step is to establish the baseline energy status of the area of study. Only with this knowledge, in particular of the residential sector (main CO2 emissions contributor in cities), is it possible to plan for a low carbon economy. In this context, the MUSEGRIDS tool will support energy planners by matching energy needs to energy supply of the building stock at local scale. In this paper, the first step of the approach is explained: the attainment of the energy demand. This is calculated at building level, but then aggregated at other scales. To do so, publicly available data sources, building typologies (such as those coming from TABULA or the Building Stock Observatory), and reference data coming from Open Street Maps and INSPIRE-based data are deployed. This allows to automatically calculate hourly energy demand and consumption values based on the ISO 52000 standards family. By basing the proposed tool on Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) calculation standards specified in the Energy Performance Directive of Buildings (EPBD 2018/844/EU), in particular ISO 52016; the MUSEGRIDS tool achieves two main goals: it aids in the implementation of energy directives and energy actions by offering an easy to use tool to identify areas in need and, secondly, it promotes the EPBD, by making use of one of its main instruments to measure energy performance. The energy performance of buildings is calculated at a building scale, but then aggregated at coarser levels of detail, in order to enable different actors to complement their decision-making process in the most appropriate way. This is performed by exploiting publicly available data (from building typologies, open street maps or based on the INSPIRE Directive). Thus, based on this accessible-to-all approach it is argued how it could be replicated in a European context, as well as in a global context, and how the input data can be more or less accurate depending on this scope. The developed tool provides three main outputs: (1) GIS file with geo-located information for each building of a municipality in terms of energy needs (cooling and heating demand), DHW, energy per type of fuel, CO2 emissions per year; (2) the same information aggregated for all the building but disaggregated by time (per hour); (3) raster files with the same information mapped in a 100x100m2 grid. The tool has been evaluated and validated in different ways, and tested in three locations: Osimo (IT), Oud-Heverlee (BE) and Aranda de Duero (ES). In this process, failures in the combination of data sources, mapping, calculation process have been detected and also the accuracy of the results tested based on the comparison with real data. All in all, even when the tool has the ambition to be applied worldwide, the main barrier is the lack of completeness in the source data: both in terms of geometric and buildings identification data (from OSM and INSPIRE-based) or building characterisation data (e.g in Tabula-episcope for some countries or regions). The systematic and harmonised characterisation of buildings and their typologies would highly benefit this process and contribute to more robust decision-making in the field of energy performance in buildings.