Energy and audit assessmnet tool for education centres to make energy related improvements plans
About this good practice
In February 2019, a new law was launched by the regional government of Extremadura aiming at the improvement of the Energy Efficiency, environmental and thermal conditions in the region’s educational centers. This initiative was put forward due to the high and inefficient energy consumption and the constructive quality deficit of buildings (due to the undemanding regulatory framework).
The law's objective was to standardize the region’s educational buildings energy parameters. This was to be achieved by adopting 3 innovative tools.
• Technical guidelines for the improvement of energy efficiency and the integration of renewable energy for self-consumption within the related buildings.
• Energy Efficiency Audit scheme.
• Energy improvement plans for educational buildings.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been delays and readjustments to adapt the former tools to the new requirements established by the Spanish government for the air quality standards inside educational buildings.
As a result of the covid-19 situation, which created uncertainty with regards to the improvements that had to be made (changes to the prior air-quality standards), the regional government assigned AGENEX with the task of creating an online tool allowing to standardize and facilitate the audit procedure by creating a standardized upload tool of audit data.
The objective of this law is to develop standardized improvement plans, improve energy and boost energy self-consumption.
Expert opinion
A significant and concerted effort is needed across Europe to improve energy efficiency in line with European policy frameworks and goals. A first step in improving energy performance is to understand current performance and identify where improvements can be made most cost-effectively. Public buildings are an easy starting point for renovation once a region has decided to pursue energy performance, as they can be tackled in bulk and without the difficulty of engaging private building owners. This practice is a good demonstration of such an approach, including a data collection platform and standardised improvement plans. The adaptation to COVID – bringing more activities online – can also have a long-term benefit in how the practice performs.
Resources needed
This project was funded by a specific transfer from the regional government.
The total cost of the informatic tool was 6.000 €, and two full-time staff were needed for three months.
Evidence of success
In August 2021, the regional government launched a bidding process for educational buildings energy audits. The bidding process gathered the interest of many relevant auditing companies and experts and was considered a success in terms of participation.
Currently, the regional government is evaluating the bids, having as long-term goal the development of a total of 685 new "improvement plans", covering the whole of Extremadura’s educational building stock.
Potential for learning or transfer
Extremadura had until recently a fairly outdated legal framework for constructive quality standards in educational buildings. In short; most of the constructions have been built without a proper legal framework covering issues such as energy efficiency or renewable energy.
As a result, these constructions cannot achieve the minimum values currently required, thus reducing the possibility of installing a renewable energy model for self-consumption.
Thanks to the introduction of Law 4/2019 and the latter adaptation to the demands of COVID 19, all of Extremadura's educational buildings will have a long-term improvement plan.
Further information
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