• Energy Research

Abstract Energy performance certificates (EPC) were introduced in European Union to support reaching energy efficiency targets by informing actors in the building sector about energy efficiency in buildings. While EPC have become a core source of information about building energy, the domains of its applications have not been studied systematically. This partly explains the limitation of conventional EPC data quality studies that fail to expose the essential problems and secure effective use of the data. This study reviews existing applications of EPC data and proposes a new method for assessing the quality of EPCs using data analytics. Thirteen application domains were identified from systematic mapping of 79 papers, revealing increases in the number and complexity of studies and advances in applied data analysis techniques. The proposed data quality assurance method based on six validation levels was tested using four samples of EPC dataset for the case of Sweden. The analysis showed that EPC data can be improved through adding or revising the EPC features and assuring interoperability of EPC datasets. In conclusion, EPC data have wider applications than initially intended by the EPC policy instrument, placing stronger requirements on the quality and content of the data.

Abstract Energy performance certificates (EPC) were introduced in European Union to support reaching energy efficiency targets by informing actors in the building sector about energy efficiency in buildings. While EPC have become a core source of information about building energy, the domains of its applications have not been studied systematically. This partly explains the limitation of conventional EPC data quality studies that fail to expose the essential problems and secure effective use of the data. This study reviews existing applications of EPC data and proposes a new method for assessing the quality of EPCs using data analytics. Thirteen application domains were identified from systematic mapping of 79 papers, revealing increases in the number and complexity of studies and advances in applied data analysis techniques. The proposed data quality assurance method based on six validation levels was tested using four samples of EPC dataset for the case of Sweden. The analysis showed that EPC data can be improved through adding or revising the EPC features and assuring interoperability of EPC datasets. In conclusion, EPC data have wider applications than initially intended by the EPC policy instrument, placing stronger requirements on the quality and content of the data.

Urban development trajectories are changing towards compact, energy-efficient cities and renewable energy sources, and this will strongly affect ecosystem services (ES) that cities are dependent on ...

Urban development trajectories are changing towards compact, energy-efficient cities and renewable energy sources, and this will strongly affect ecosystem services (ES) that cities are dependent on ...

Abstract The transition to more sustainable heating systems requires socio-technical approaches to strategic planning. Scenario development plays a key role in strategic planning, as the process supports the development of future visions and actions required for their realisation. However, new approaches to scenario development are required to address the limitations of conventional scenario development methods, such as the cognitive barriers of ‘groupthink’, reluctance to consider ‘outside-the-box’ options, handling of complexity, and ad hoc scenario selection and general non-transparency of scenario development processes. This paper describes the development and implementation of a novel method for scenario development and selection in the context of participatory strategic planning for sustainable heating in cities. The method is based on the morphological approach and a number of scenario criteria including transparency , reliability , coverage , completeness , relevance / density , creativity , interpretability , consistency , differentiation and plausibility . It integrates creativity workshops and interdisciplinary stakeholder participation to enhance the ownership and legitimacy of the scenarios. The approach entails the generation of a complete space of scenarios for heating systems and reduction of this space using cross-consistency analysis and project-specific requirements. Iterative development and implementation of the method is illustrated using two participatory backcasting projects focused on strategic planning for providing a comfortable indoor climate for Bila Tserkva, Ukraine, and Nis, Serbia by the year 2030. The results demonstrate that the method helps overcome the limitations of conventional approaches to scenario development and supports rigorous and transparent selection of a scenario set for participatory analysis. The method fostered the elicitation of consensus-based scenarios for more sustainable heating systems in both cities with regard to the quality of indoor comfort, environmental impact, resource efficiency and energy security.

Abstract The transition to more sustainable heating systems requires socio-technical approaches to strategic planning. Scenario development plays a key role in strategic planning, as the process supports the development of future visions and actions required for their realisation. However, new approaches to scenario development are required to address the limitations of conventional scenario development methods, such as the cognitive barriers of ‘groupthink’, reluctance to consider ‘outside-the-box’ options, handling of complexity, and ad hoc scenario selection and general non-transparency of scenario development processes. This paper describes the development and implementation of a novel method for scenario development and selection in the context of participatory strategic planning for sustainable heating in cities. The method is based on the morphological approach and a number of scenario criteria including transparency , reliability , coverage , completeness , relevance / density , creativity , interpretability , consistency , differentiation and plausibility . It integrates creativity workshops and interdisciplinary stakeholder participation to enhance the ownership and legitimacy of the scenarios. The approach entails the generation of a complete space of scenarios for heating systems and reduction of this space using cross-consistency analysis and project-specific requirements. Iterative development and implementation of the method is illustrated using two participatory backcasting projects focused on strategic planning for providing a comfortable indoor climate for Bila Tserkva, Ukraine, and Nis, Serbia by the year 2030. The results demonstrate that the method helps overcome the limitations of conventional approaches to scenario development and supports rigorous and transparent selection of a scenario set for participatory analysis. The method fostered the elicitation of consensus-based scenarios for more sustainable heating systems in both cities with regard to the quality of indoor comfort, environmental impact, resource efficiency and energy security.

This chapter presents an overview of positive motivators for students, lecturers, and educational managers to prioritize Sustainable Development in education. Very often, we implicitly assume that students and colleagues should all be motivated by the great challenges that the world faces. And if they appear not to react sufficiently to these challenges, we sometimes tend to give these challenges an apocalyptic character. But is this the right motivator for students and colleagues to work on Sustainable Development? We all know that if you only use a stick and no carrot… So why don’t we use more carrots? The bureaucracy that comes with tools for checking/auditing/evaluating the (SD content of) programs/curricula is not particularly a strong motivator for university lecturers. And building courses that add another subject to the erudition of the graduate might not be the right motivators for students that want to make a difference. We are often still in the process of convincing university managers to add SD to the curriculum, convincing colleagues to address SD, and convincing students to pick SD electives and address SD in their projects. How to motivate them to do this when this gives them no direct personal reward and even might increase their workload? The paper will explore options to develop motivating educating by reviewing case studies on educational renewal in four universities. It concludes that there are various options for more motivating education. However, to fully utilize these options, more priority should be given to education. Peer Reviewed

This chapter presents an overview of positive motivators for students, lecturers, and educational managers to prioritize Sustainable Development in education. Very often, we implicitly assume that students and colleagues should all be motivated by the great challenges that the world faces. And if they appear not to react sufficiently to these challenges, we sometimes tend to give these challenges an apocalyptic character. But is this the right motivator for students and colleagues to work on Sustainable Development? We all know that if you only use a stick and no carrot… So why don’t we use more carrots? The bureaucracy that comes with tools for checking/auditing/evaluating the (SD content of) programs/curricula is not particularly a strong motivator for university lecturers. And building courses that add another subject to the erudition of the graduate might not be the right motivators for students that want to make a difference. We are often still in the process of convincing university managers to add SD to the curriculum, convincing colleagues to address SD, and convincing students to pick SD electives and address SD in their projects. How to motivate them to do this when this gives them no direct personal reward and even might increase their workload? The paper will explore options to develop motivating educating by reviewing case studies on educational renewal in four universities. It concludes that there are various options for more motivating education. However, to fully utilize these options, more priority should be given to education. Peer Reviewed