Measurement and Verification of Zero Energy Settlements: Lessons Learned from Four Pilot Cases in Europe

Abstract

Measurement and verification (M&V) has become necessary for ensuring intended design performance. Currently, M&V procedures and calculation methods exist for the assessment of Energy Conservation Measures (ECM) for existing buildings, with a focus on reliable baseline model creation and savings estimation, as well as for reducing the computation time, uncertainties, and M&V costs. There is limited application of rigorous M&V procedures in the design, delivery and operation of low/zero energy dwellings and settlements. In the present paper, M&V for four pilot net-zero energy settlements has been designed and implemented. The M&V has been planned, incorporating guidance from existing protocols, linked to the project development phases, and populated with lessons learned through implementation. The resulting framework demonstrates that M&V is not strictly linked to the operational phase of a project but is rather an integral part of the project management and development. Under this scope, M&V is an integrated, iterative process that is accompanied by quality control in every step. Quality control is a significant component of the M&V, and the proposed quality control procedures can support the preparation and implementation of automated M&V. The proposed framework can be useful to project managers for integrating M&V into the project management and development process and explicitly aligning it with the rest of the design and construction procedures.

Commitment Indicators for Tracking Sustainable Design Decisions in Construction Projects

“…Mazzeo and Oliveti [51] highlighted that, to ensure maximum benefit of the designed equipment and technologies, designers need to run a building assessment through an energy simulation to model building energy with various design variables to predict building energy performance. In support of this, Mavrigiannaki et al [52] specified that this assessment helps identify which energy-saving measurements allow the project to achieve net-zero energy, specify which project areas have high energy consumption, and develop strategies to reduce them during the design stage.…”

Combining Sufficiency, Efficiency and Flexibility to Achieve Positive Energy Districts Targets

“…Since 1996, when EVO published the so called "International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol" (IPMVP) [47], different guidelines and procedures have been developed to verify that a building performs according to design expectations, suggest energy saving measures to be adopted to further improve the building performance or to facilitate operation and maintenance. Specific work has been developed to define M&V plans for ZEBs [48] and more recently addressing zero energy settlements [49]. One of the increasingly discussed solutions to mitigate the performance gap is to enhance the awareness of the consumer and encourage a more efficient and sustainable energy-saving behavior at the building [50] and district level.…”

The zero building: an exemplary nearly zero energy office building (NZEB) and its potential to become a positive energy building (PEB)

“…Mavrigiannaki et al, 2021). Measurement and verification of the performance against expected targets was implemented as an integral part of the project management and development process, which, apart from allowing for the evaluation of the adopted energy efficiency measures, benefits multiple aspects related to the design and operation of buildings (Angeliki Mavrigiannaki et al, 2020). Other European Horizon 2020 projects are working on demonstrating that near zero energy buildings can be transformed into positive energy buildings (EXCESS) and on creating positive energy districts (ATELIER).…”