IEA EBC Annex 81 – Data-Driven Smart Buildings

The latest developments in digitalization have the potential also in the building sector to reduce costs and improve energy efficiency through the optimized operation of heating, cooling and ventilation systems. Examples of this are the Internet of Things (IoT) with access to more cost-effective measurement data from buildings or artificial intelligence and data analysis for a comprehensive evaluation of energy efficiency and predictive control. In this context, sharing economy platforms offer new business models for users and providers of energy efficiency software services. Unfortunately, the potential of digitization for energy efficiency in buildings has not yet been fully exploited.

In IEA EBC Annex 81, experts from the building and IT sectors from four continents work on a common vision. The aim is to implement software applications such as model predictive control (MPC) or fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) using available inexpensive data from buildings.

In the framework of Annex 81 following research questions should be answered:

• How can software applications for energy efficiency be supported by digitization technologies and business models?
• What “data governance” standards and software functions are required for people involved to endorse an open data approach for these software applications?
• How do data-based approaches help to remove technical and economic barriers to building optimization technologies?
• How can data-based approaches be used to assess building operations and support guidelines, programs and business models to improve the energy efficiency of buildings?
• How can cloud-based data management and control strategies support optimization and system integration at each of the building, district and network levels?