Energy Performance Indicators for Neighbourhoods Applied on CONCERTO Projects

Abstract

Current practice of energy efficient neighbourhoods shows that building energy performance ratings are commonly used to characterise the energy performance of the neighbourhood itself. The main inconvenient of this practice is that this indicator usually does not consider the energy efficiency of the neighbourhood energy infrastructure and does not allow for comparisons between neighbourhoods with different characteristics (urban form etc.). In the context of the new neighbourhood developments in CONCERTO, a set of more suitable indicators was developed. The paper presents the calculation methodology for these indicators and their application to chosen CONCERTO neighbourhoods. Given the relative small number of neighbourhoods considered, it is not yet possible to propose benchmarks for energy efficient communities in different European countries. The next step in this direction would be to apply this assessment framework to a statistically relevant number of neighbourhoods in Europe.