ChangeLAB Changing Lifestyles, Attitudes and Behaviour

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ChangeLAB Changing Lifestyles, Attitudes and
Behaviour

• Pilot project in Liguria
• September 2007

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Sustainable energy systems in private buildings
Planned and carried out by the Regional Energy
Agency with the support of the Regional Centre
for Sustainable Consumption

• Two main aims
• technological
• Increase the efficiency of heating systems
• behavioural
• Offer people the technical, managerial and legal
  know-how to decide
• promote energy saving

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The background

• Main energy consumers civil (38,4), transport
  (32,3), industry (26,8 )
• The Regional Energy Plan aims at 10 savings by
  2010
• Civil sector is composed of residential, tertiary
  and public administration residential
  consumption makes up 70 of this sector
• Overall, residential energy consumption
  represents 27 of total regional energy
  consumption
• Most of our buildings were built before 1981 and
  they consume 30 more than the limits set by
  EPBD.
• Most heating systems are centralised and
  obsolete. The substitution of heating systems
  alone can guranteee savings up to 13
• The rest can be obtained by refurbishment of
  buildings (roofs, insulation, etc.) but this is
  far more expensive
• A Change in peoples behaviour guarantees another
  high percentage of savings.

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Target

• Building managers!!
• Reasons for choosing
• There are many obsolete centralised heating
  systems
• Building managers are an important intermediary
  to reach citizens and flat owners
• They are grouped into associations
• They normally collect energy consumption data
  (fuel, electricity, etc.)

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Target

• Building-managers role is very important because
  when carrying out interventions of energy
  efficiency they need in fact to consider
• Analysis of possible interventions to propose to
  householders
• Proposals of possible interventions put forward
  during meetings of householders
• Professional technician asked to carry out a
  feasibility study of a project including job
  estimates
• Realisation of the project
• Verification of the actual savings in terms of
  energy and bills.

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Pilot Action Activities

• Contact with an involvement of 2 building
  managers association (ANACI and GESTICOND)
• Joint definition of activities to be done
• Initial questionnaire to all building managers to
  enquire about the energy systems of the buildings
  they manage and their interest in participating
• Training sessions on energy efficiency for
  building managers DVD video
• Technical Support to 2 building managers who are
  changing their boilers
• Guidelines on the process to follow when changing
  heaters
• Final questionnaire to all building managers
• Other activities
• Direct contact with citizens
• Elaboration of a document on financial
  opportunities for energy efficiency

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1. Questionnaire

• Initial survey to introduce ChangeLAB and the
  pilot action and to investigate on
• Building managers attitude interest towards
  any energy related pilot activities
• Building managers range of buildings
  (quantities, size and location) and their
  technical characteristics (age of heaters and
  kind of fuel)

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2. Training sessions

• Structure
• 3 workshops in 3 different places for building
  managers
• Traditional 8 hour training sessions with
  discussion time

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2. Training sessions

• Contents
• ChangeLAB description of the project
• Legal framework financial incentives
• Contracts for buildings eg.Energy Performance
  Contract (EPC)
• Energy certification of buildings guidelines
  and examples
• Boilers technologies, sizes, cost, etc.
• Heat Pumps how they work and when they are
  financially viable
• Solar Energy photovoltaic and solar thermal
  plants
• Heat Counters characteristics, advantages and
  disadvantages
• Testimony experiences and question time

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3. Technical Support

• We asked the building managers who attended
  the training session to provide us with concrete
  energy saving cases among which to chose for our
  technical support. We selected 2 cases showing
  two different types of situations
• CASE A we gave our technical support to the
  administrator of a building during the evaluation
  phase of the possible interventions that were to
  be proposed to the householders during their
  house meetings.
• CASE B we provided our assistance to a building
  in which a series of energy efficiency
  interventions had already been approved and were
  being implemented.

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3. Technical support CASE A

• We carried out a survey on site to analyse the
  technical and structural characteristics of the
  building and to suggest a range of possible
  interventions.
• The technical feasibility analysis gave these
  results
• Substitution of the current boiler running on oil
  with a gas condensing boiler
• Introduction of a system of heat counters
• Installation of a solar thermal plant for the
  production of hot water (currently produced by
  autonomous systems)
• Installation of a photovoltaic system.

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3. Technical support CASE A

• The financial feasibility analysis gave these
  results
• Financially viable
• Boiler substitution
• Introduction of a heat counters system.
• Less financially viable
• Installing a solar thermal plant (even if it is
  possible to install the plant on the roof, it
  would be too expensive to adapt the water
  distribution plant from an autonomous system to a
  centralised one)
• Installing a photovoltaic system (the investment
  return is about 15-20 years due to the fact that
  the energy that is produced can only be used for
  communal areas such as stairs, external lighting,
  the heating system and lifts).

25 Saving
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3. Technical support CASE B

• We analysed the executive project previously
  carried out by a competent technician concerning
  the
• Substitution of the current oil fuelled boiler
  with a condensing gas boiler
• Ensuring that the plant respects the current fire
  prevention regulations
• Installation of a system of heat counters.
• Surveys on site to check that the project is
  being carried out correctly
• Check of the estimated energy saving (considered
  to be 25).

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3. Technical support CASE B

• RESULTS OF THE ACTIVITIES
• The project we analysed was complete and
  fulfilled the current fire prevention
  regulations
• The energy saving interventions had not yet been
  finalised when we visited the site, but they were
  proceeding according to the executive project
• The energy saving we estimated as being 25 was
  considered as being actually realisable.

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4. Guidelines

• TARGET The guidelines are mainly directed to
  building managers and to any other professional
  dealing with building administration and
  maintenance
• AIM The guidelines are intended to be a simple
  tool which is easy to use and helps the building
  managers in dealing with technicians that carry
  out feasibility studies and plan interventions of
  energy efficiency.

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4. Guidelines

• CONTENTS. Suggestions for the
• Substitution of boilers that run on oil with
  those that are highly efficient or gas
  condensing
• Application of all the current regulations for
  conversions of heating systems from liquid fuel
  to gas
• Introduction of heat counters systems
• Use of renewable sources.

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5. Final questionnaire

• Currently draft.
• It aims to verify the building managers
• Effort to push householders investing in energy
  efficiency interventions
• Intention to keep working in this field
• Desire to be kept informed on these topics

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Other activities

• Direct contact with CITIZENS through
• - Preparation of a leaflet on financial
  opportunities related to energy
• Presentation during local communities meetings
• Info desk in shopping centres
• Info desk at energy fairs

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Outputs and Outcomes

• BUILDING MANAGERS
• Good participation (352352110 in the three
  workshops)
• High interest in the topic successive requests
  for updates and in-depth info
• Proactive attitude
• BUILDING MANAGERS ASSOCIATIONS
• Requests for carrying on the activities
• Development of a stable cooperation through a new
  counselling body on energy efficiency in
  buildings (AERE)
• CITIZENS
• More interested in the financial side than on the
  technical aspects. The technical aspects are very
  difficult to understand

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Lessons learnt

• Identify key roles which can forward the
  message (each building manager is linked to
  20-200 buildings each association is composed of
  hundreds of managers)
• Adapt your needs to their habits and operational
  rules (eg. Make presentations at their own
  meetings, ask them the best way to organise the
  training sessions, etc.)
• The training sessions and the other tools must be
  very operational and technical (no academic
  concepts!)
• Sometimes direct contact with citizens is not the
  right approach even if it takes place in their
  own contexts (i.e. shopping centres),
• Special skills required to contact the public

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Transferability potential

• Both the approach (talk to groupings or
  associations) and the methodology (training and
  technical support) have a great transferability
  potential, in any place and sector.

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Thank you for your attention!
For info Roberta Casapietra ARE Liguria
SpA casapietra_at_areliguria.it