Energy saving made easy: EPLACE project could help public buildings cut energy use by 15%

Buildings are responsible for around 40 per cent of the EU’s total energy consumption, and a similar proportion of its carbon emissions. As part of its measures to reduce these detrimental outputs and conserve resources, it strongly encourages intelligent metering, alongside systems that can improve energy performance. However, in a landscape of fiscal austerity, the concept of investing to save can often prove a hard sell to policymakers and public alike.

To challenge such perceptions, the EPLACE project, launched in 2013, aims to test and validate ICT solutions designed to implement energy savings in public buildings. “Each civic building is very different. But a common obstacle to achieving savings within them is the claim that there is no money available to make changes,” explains Alicia Jiménez González, EPLACE’s R&D&I project manager.

To counter these arguments, EPLACE has launched a comprehensive online knowledge hub. Targeting building energy managers and occupants, the platform intends to improve awareness of energy consumption and offers various tools to facilitate metering and intelligent control of resources. If adopted, EPLACE’s designers believe they could ultimately achieve a reduction of 15 per cent in a building’s total consumption.

Seven buildings will act as pilots for EPLACE’s blueprint. “Our intent was first to deliver a complete analysis of each building’s status,” says Jiménez González. “The next step is to perform an energy audit and install monitoring tools onsite. Ultimately, we hope that this will provide decision makers with sufficient justification to confidently sign up to an energy service company, which could considerably enhance the infrastructure of their premises.”

Accommodating the needs of various end users, EPLACE offers both free and premium services to meet its energy saving objectives. The Interactive Energy Savings Account monitors and analyses data that can be entered manually. Its functionality can be broadened through utilising the platform’s specialised tools, which scrutinise different facets of infrastructural performance. Amongst these considerations are the viability of enhanced air conditioning, the suitability of the premises for solar panels, and an assessment of refrigerator and heating pump performance. In tandem with these tools, a variety of information is provided about energy schemes and funding, which are complemented by an online forum, WeTalk, that allows best practices to be shared and opinions to be publicised.

Premium users of EPLACE can subscribe to two solutions devised by Wellness Telecom: WeSave and WeLight, which will both be trialled by the project. “These systems allow data about electricity usage to be collected directly, rather than manually,” explains Jiménez González. “Also, they allow users to isolate and analyse specific functions or circuits in their premises, such as lighting or computers.” WeSave, supported by IP communications-based architecture, permits users to monitor and manage consumption from a single point and, based on its analysis, to implement saving solutions. It also provides a bespoke service to users of buildings, offering a ‘consciousness raising’ component by sending them information about usage via email. WeLight is optimised for public street lighting and, via open architecture, provides a telemanagement platform that enables authorities to intelligently manage these assets.