ICT for Sustainable Growth Unit, Information Society and Media Directorate-General, European Commission, July 2009
According to the European Union Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPBD 2002/91/EC), more than 40% of the energy consumption in Europe is due to heating, cooling and lighting operations within buildings. Moreover, buildings are the largest source of CO2 emissions in the EU15 (including their electric power consumption), and their total energy consumption has been rising since 1990. As such, construction stakeholders need to deal with new challenges including addressing construction from the viewpoint of sustainable development – energy effi ciency and decrease of GHG emissions, improved innovation in the built environment for better comfort and safety.
European citizens have become increasingly sensitive to environmental issues. Supported by legislation and incentives (often at the local level), citizens and businesses alike have taken the initiative to better insulate homes and buildings, to better monitor and control their energy performance, and to avail of and install renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines. It is clear that if “green buildings” are to become commonplace, that this can only be facilitated by ICT.
Today, most of those who are charged with implementing energy efficient solutions are fl ying blind. Buildings - which account for 40% of energy end-use in the EU - provide a prime example. Building components (cement, steel, insulation, glass windows, coatings) and systems (lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning appliances) are developed by independent companies whose products are tested for individual performance independently of each other. While this must be encouraged and is necessary, it is insufficient. A whole building approach to the design and operation of buildings, where these components are integrated in a way that they reduce energy consumption through cooperation, is rarely used. This often leads to signifi cant systemlevel inefficiencies. The ICT sector can deliver simulation, modelling, analysis, monitoring and visualisation tools that are vitally needed to facilitate a whole building approach to both the design and operation of buildings.
The local hub of the energy control system is the Energy Management Device (EMD), which is an independent functional entity that conveys control logic for both active and stand-by appliances and energy management functions integrated through a multimode of communication interfaces with the home network. The EMD is controlled by the gateway, using a bus interface that grants access to multiple EMDs from a single access-point, either locally or remotely via an operator network. The EMD must have a unified architecture, which will feature generic interfaces towards the household appliances, the power network and the home network.
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