U-CERT project (September 2019 - August 2022)
U-CERT is a Horizon 2020 project (September 2019 – August 2022) with the main aim to introduce a next generation of user-centred Energy Performance Assessment and Certification Scheme to value buildings in a holistic and cost-effective manner.
- Facilitate convergence of quality and reliability, using the EPB standards developed under the M/480 mandate, enabling a technology neutral approach that is transparently presenting the national and regional choices on a comparable basis
- Encourage the development and application of holistic user-centred innovative solutions, including the smart readiness of buildings
- Encourage and support end-users in decision making (e.g. on deep renovation), nudge for better purchasing and instil trust by making visible added (building) value, using EPC’s
U-CERT has a focus on strengthening actual implementation of the EPBD by providing and applying insights from a user perspective and creating a level playing field for sharing implementation experience to all involved stakeholders, facilitated and empowered by the EPB Center.
Our company, Comfort Consulting Ltd. is the Hungarian participant in the project.
The U-CERT project website: https://u-certproject.eu/
TripleA-reno project (May 2018 - April 2021)
TripleA-reno is a EU funded H2020 project, running from May 2018 until April 2021. The main objective of the project is to encourage deep renovation of residential buildings by making the renovations attractive and affordable for occupants. To this end, a user-centered platform will be developed to assist in the decision-making, implementation and use phases.
Attractive: Attractive means one of the objectives of the project is to raise consumer awareness when it comes to behaviour in homes. A set of ICT-based solutions provide attractive personalised information on energy use, indoor environment, health, and lifestyle. This is for example a gamification platform, virtual reality, energy and 3D modeling. Attractiveness is reflected in some of the elements of the gamification feature.
Acceptable: Acceptability refers to the TripleA-reno user-centric approach. The project aims at getting the “renovation motor running, with the end-user in the driver’s seat”. TripleA-reno will involve a various set of users in the co-designing processes, and keep a constant communication flow between consumers and developers to assure design of people-centered products.
Affordable: Affordable means that by using the TripleA-reno decision support tools (i.e. dynamic and user-centric business models) users can tailor their renovation and make informed and economically-wise decisions. In TripleA-reno affordability reflects the idea of the business model, cost savings for the user and the holistic idea of “user in the center”.
Our company, Comfort Consulting Ltd. is the Hungarian partner participating in the project.
The TripleA-reno project website: https://triplea-reno.eu/
The article about TripleA-reno project and the Combined Labelling Excel table can be downloaded from our website at „Publications” site (http://comfortconsulting.hu/en/publications) within „Projects” category.
EuroEnergest project (October 2011 - March 2015)
The EuroEnergest project was started in October 2011 and finished in March 2015, and it was supported by the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme. The technical research centres, universities and private companies involved in the project have the aim to develop an intelligent energy management system (iEMS), and reduce min. 10% of the energy consumption of the automotive industry, mainly in the HVAC systems.
Long-term goal of the project is that the developed system can be used in other production plants in addition to the car manufacturing factories, making it possible the energy-efficient operation and energy-saving. Nowadays used EMS systems primarily “passive” monitoring systems, that produce periodic reports on energy efficiency, sent alarm signal for the user at the peak of the energy consumption, but EMS does not take autonomous actions for improvement of energy efficiency, and does not apply a dynamic simulation for the energy generation and energy consumption systems. The aim of the developed intelligent energy management system is providing connection between industrial production, and energy production,- and consumption, applying dynamic simulation, giving forecast for the expected energy consumption, optimizing the needed energy consumption and production, and maximizing local and low-carbon energy sources (e.g. photovoltaics, CHP).
A key part of this project is the enthusiastic involvement of one of Europe’s most important automobile manufacturers, SEAT, the member of VW group. This involvement gives EuroEnergest the opportunity to verify the developed system in a real world situation, in the car manufactory of SEAT. The factory is in Spain, in Martorell close to Barcelona.
Our company, Comfort Consulting Ltd. was the Hungarian participant in the project.
The articles about EuroEnergest project can be downloaded from our website at „Publications” site (http://comfortconsulting.hu/en/publications) within „Energy audit” category.
SEARCH II project (2010 - 2013)
The SEARCH initiative (School Environment and Respiratory Health of Children) is a research project implemented within the international frameworks of the EU Action Plan on Environment and Health; and the World Health Organization’s Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe. The SEARCH initiative is supported financially and technically by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea (IMELS).
The first phase of the SEARCH initiative (2006–2009) led to the creation of a comprehensive database of the measurements of outdoor and indoor concentrations of several air pollutants in about 400 classrooms; and health assessments of more than 7,000 children in selected countries. Based on the SEARCH I conclusions and recommendations, the initiative was reaffirmed at the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health, held in Parma, Italy, in 2010. Stakeholders and experts requested the follow-up project, SEARCH II, to continue the valuable research activities. Four new countries were added, and the environment and health assessments were expanded to include indoor comfort and energy use in selected schools in the 10 countries.
The project comprises two main components: environmental monitoring, health assessment and energy consumption assessment; and environment and health capacity building in schools.
The results of the SEARCH II project (2010–2013) were based on assessments of children’s comfort and exposure to indoor air pollution in schools. A working paper was produced focusing on the role of policies to mitigate indoor pollution. The SEARCH II project’s conclusions and recommendations support the development of environmental and health policies in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond. The SEARCH initiative was also presented at the 2015 mid-term review of the Parma Declaration of WHO Europe (in Haifa, Israel) as a contribution to the implementation of the Parma Declaration.
Our company, Comfort Consulting Ltd. made the energy study of the Hungarian school buildings participated in the SEARCH II project, and the evaluation of site visits of schools in foreign countries. We performed energy inspection of 96 schools in 10 countries.
The final report of the Search II project can be downloaded from our website at „Publications” site (http://comfortconsulting.hu/en/publications) within „Projects” category.
