Benchmarking HVAC System Energy Use

The recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) paves the way for automatic monitoring and feedback approaches to reducing energy use in buildings in the EU, and has placed an emphasis on encouraging this approach in future legislation for EU Member States. A previous European project, HARMONAC www.harmonac.info, showed that continuous monitoring and feedback appears necessary to enable the recast EPBD to achieve its full impact in reducing energy use in Building Technical Systems. This paper assesses how the recast opens up the possibility of bespoke information on managing energy use in these systems. In particular, the paper considers the production of 3 different types of energy benchmarks applying to HVAC system components when serving specific end use activities in the tertiary building sector. These benchmarks will be produced and assessed during the IEE iSERVcmb project, www.iservcmb.info, which will monitor the sub-hourly energy consumption of up to 1600 HVAC systems installed in buildings around the EU-27 Member States. The conclusions are that the iSERVcmb approach can practically address current energy management concerns but is also important for achieving near Zero Energy Buildings in practice.