IGBChats Housing 4.0 Energy

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EU Communications Officer Colin Healy recently spoke with the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) for their IGBChats Housing 4.0 Energy issue. The Irish Green Building Council is a non-profit organisation that was launched in 2011 with organisations and businesses from the entire value chain of the built environment. All are united in one common goal to accelerate the transformation of the built environment, related industry and supply chain to one that is sustainable through leadership, research, education, and providing policy input to national and local government.

Colin, 3cea is a partner in the Housing 4.0 Energy project, could you tell us a bit more about it and its objectives?

Colin Healy, EU Communications Officer for 3cea
Colin Healy, EU Communications Officer for 3cea

Housing 4.0 Energy aims to develop a market for small, affordable near-zero energy homes (NZEHs) by adapting and applying new digital technologies. This project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is made up of five partner countries in Northwest Europe (NWE). These are Germany (Europäisches Institut für Innovation – Technologie e. V. & Thoma Holz GmbH), Netherlands (Gemeente Almere & TU Delft),  Ireland (3cea), United Kingdom (South West College & Open Systems Lab) and  Belgium (Kamp C).

The main goal of Interreg Northwest Europe Housing 4.0 Energy, is to offer people in NWE access to new affordable near-zero energy/low carbon homes (NZEHs) and zero-energy/low carbon homes (ZEHs), effectively aiming to reduce home building costs by 25% and carbon emissions by 60%.

H4.0E project will facilitate the uptake of low carbon and digital technologies, products, processes, and services in the NWE housing sector to reduce carbon emissions and improve the quality of life for homeowners in the region and beyond.

What defines a Housing 4.0E house and where can we find these?

A H4.0E house is a NZEB or ZEB house built with a Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) model. The construction of H4.0E houses seeks to reduce the embodied carbon and cost of house construction by using low carbon materials and the DfMA model. The pilots built in Ireland for the testbeds are not built with the DfMA model but that would be the expectation for further replication, using the online platform also being developed by the project.

These 48 units are spread across four regions and six H4.0E pilots which include

  • Gemeente Almere (Almere, Netherlands): WikiHouses in urban areas, demonstrating digitised (4.0) self-building
  • Province Flemish Brabant (Flemish Brabant, Belgium): NZEH/ZEH prefabricated timber frame container units including variable living layout designs in rural areas to be let to candidates on the waiting list of the local social letting agency
  • Thoma Wood 100 (Lahr), Germany): Prototype development of prefabricated Dowel Laminated Timber (DLT) elements for multiple NZEH/ZEH social housing apartment blocks
  • 3CEA (Carlow & Kilkenny, Ireland): NZEH/ZEH units for low-income groups in rural areas & monitoring user behaviour
H4.0E Mullinavat, Kilkenny 2022
H4.0E Mullinavat, Kilkenny 2022

All pilots feed data into the main output: the H4.0E Energy Building Technology that enables zero energy/emission housing building on a larger scale. Although 48 units were planned in the original application for H4.0E, this has since been revised to 30. Almere has 18, 3cea will have 8 upon completion, Kamp C has 3 and Thoma has one prototype house.

Specifically in the Irish context, there are 2 semi-detached, 2-bedroom, bungalow housing with 4 units in Carlow (15 – 18 St. Mary’s Court, Carlow Town, Co. Carlow). In Kilkenny, there is 1 semi-detached, 2-bedroom, bungalow housing with 2 units in Mullinavat (Buckstown, Inchacarron, Mullinavat, Co. Kilkenny) and 2, 1-bedroom, apartment-sized housing units in Graiguenamanagh (Old Fire Station, High Street, Graiguenamanagh). All these housing units will belong to the County Councils and be used as social housing. These are NZEB buildings with different pre-BER energy ratings (the objective BER rating of the finished build). These builds have about a 30 – 60% reduction in embodied carbon compared to a standard (standard concrete brick) build. Every unit will also be equipped with 2kPV and run with heat pumps.

There are several benefits associated with a H4.0E house that both feed into their lower carbon nature, and come as a result of. For example, through the use of 2kW PV panels on the roof, each house will have a lower energy consumption, leading to lower energy bills.

  • The Graiguenamanagh and Carlow units have achieved a pre-BER of A1 (<25 kWh/m2/annum)
  • Mullinavat has achieved a pre-BER of A3 (<50kWh/m2/y) but still holds an embodied Carbon reduction compared to standard builds.

These houses are also warmer thanks to an increased airtightness and a high insulation standard in the walls and windows. Finally, in the long run (with the help of the platform) these houses are expected to be cheaper to build with a potential saving of 25% compared to standard builds.

You’ve mentioned a digital platform being developed as part of the project. Can you discuss this and other project deliverables?

One of the key long-term goals of the Housing 4.0E project is to ensure the replicability of its practices and principles beyond the project’s end date. Open Systems Lab joined the H4.0E project as a contractor and has been tasked with generating an exploratory digital platform to allow for the development of NZEB and ZEB houses. The digital platform aims to explore how we can use the world wide web to make it easier for developers, municipalities, and communities to replicate manufactured housing solutions like the ones being piloted by the Housing 4.0E project. It allows future developers and even laypeople to design homes using the H4.0E principles, based on a menu of modules listed by regional manufacturers. It will allow users to instantaneously see the estimated impact of their design decisions on cost, carbon, and energy use. The aim is probably obvious: to give users the information they need to make informed design choices and factor in the long-term cost savings of up-front investment in good energy performance.

H4.0E St Mary’s Court, Carlow town, July 2022
H4.0E St Mary’s Court, Carlow town, July 2022

As part of the long-term goals and replication of the project, H4.0E looks to take on ambassadors that will act as spokespersons for the principles and practices of the project both in their professional and personal lives. These ambassadors can come from technical or non-technical backgrounds, for example, architects or a member of a housing board. Marion Jammet of the Irish Green Building Council is one such ambassador and joined the project through 3cea back in 2021.

To ensure to the longevity and propagation of the H4.0E project, we will also develop a Guidebook for future users and stakeholders. This Guidebook will act as a synopsis of the project as a whole while also directing the reader to specific information should they need deeper knowledge from the partners.

Finally, 3cea in cooperation with South West College (SWC) has to create and deliver training material and establish and facilitate Training sessions. These training sessions are important as they will educate future users/proprietors of the H4.0E practices and principles on how to effectively use them. The Construction Workshop was the first training session and was hosted in May 2021. This aimed to teach individuals in the construction industry how to use the H4.0E practices in construction and material selection. Most recently we built on this with our H4.0E Workshop Series, a full series of webinars covering in detail the H4.0E project and principles. One of these workshops was the Platform Workshop which taught individuals how to use the digital platform being developed by Open Systems Lab (OSL). Finally, the End-User Workshop will be aimed at the people moving into H4.0E houses and will teach them about how their house works and how to effectively use a H4.0E house.

3cea Team & Duncan Stewart (Architect and TV Producer) at H4.0E 1 final conference in Almere in May 2022

 

Thank you to the Irish Green Building Council for showing an interest in the project and producing the IGBChats Housing 4.0 Energy issue. If you would like to know more about H4.0E or would like to be involved in some capacity please contact our project officer at rkampe@3cea.ie or comms officer chealy@3cea.ie or you can check out our Housing 4.0E webpage here.

A Guide to Understanding and Addressing Energy Poverty

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The introduction of the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH) Handbooks, “A Guide to Understanding and Addressing Energy Poverty’’ starts the series of practical guidebooks for local governments and practitioners to tackle energy poverty with a comprehensive and locally adapted approach. 

This introduction gives you the common background to grasp the complexity of this multifaceted challenge for local practitioners, in order to explore more details and practical information in the 3 next thematic handbooks.

This introductory handbook provides an insightful presentation of the concept of energy poverty, with a close look on its main causes and vulnerability factors that can lead households or individuals into energy poverty. It also provides an introduction to the circular methodology of energy poverty, structured in three phases that is diagnosis, planning, implementation to plan targeted actions at the local level. Each handbook will focus on one of the three main phases and provide additional practical information and concrete tools to apply.

The experiences and data that design the handbooks make it possible to constitute these clear, practical and exemplified guides. These handbooks are meant to provide you with a framework and a checklist that you can use to tailor solutions and develop specific methodology to your local context.

Discover it.

Save the Date for the 2nd Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH) International Conference

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The 2nd Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH) international conference will take place on 28-29 June 2022 in Zagreb under the theme “Moving towards energy autonomy: How to guarantee social inclusion”. The conference is co-hosted by the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub initiative, the city of Zagreb and DOOR, the civil society organisation devoted to the promotion of sustainable energy development. Register here.

The geopolitical context and the energy market reality that it creates have made it even more challenging for not only energy-poor consumers but all EU citizens to cope with soaring energy prices. The pressing need for just energy transition is now more needed than ever. REPowerEU is the EU’s new plan aiming to diversify gas supplies, speed up the roll-out of renewable gas and replace gas in heating and power generation with the ultimate goal of phasing out the dependence on fossil fuels from Russia before 2030. The ambiguous plan comes as a response to soaring energy prices and as a complementary plan to the European Green Deal, the EU’s overarching growth plan to reach climate neutrality by 2050.

This shift towards a faster and more sustainable energy transition for all can become an opportunity for mitigating energy poverty. What are the lessons learnt from the current geopolitical crisis and how can the EU, national and local governments work together in turning this challenge into an opportunity for tackling energy poverty and ensuring just and sustainable energy for all?

During the conference of the leading EU initiative on local action against energy poverty, EPAH will bring together local governments, EU representatives, policymakers, energy agencies, civil society organisations and all stakeholders active in energy poverty. The agenda will include a mix of keynote speeches, debates, interactive workshops and field visits that will allow the participants to debate, learn from each other and share practices as to how the EU, national and local actors can work together to contribute to the rapid energy transition and reduce energy poverty for all including energy-poor and vulnerable consumers. 

The EPAH International Conference is open to all interested stakeholders to join in Zagreb upon registration. Some sessions will be broadcasted online.  Stay tuned on the EPAH website for more information and spread the word across your network. The agenda is also available on the EPAH Website.

Housing 4.0E Conference Comes to a Close

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The Housing 4.0E conference was hosted in late May 2021. This conference joined the Floriade Expo in Almere, Netherlands. This was a fitting setting for the event given the theme of the Floriade Expo being ‘Growing Green Cities’. It featured guest speakers from our partner organisations as well as industry experts and shared insights the pilots have yielded thus far. The conference was set up to inspire attendees and highlight the accomplishments of the project thus far. It featured keynote speakers, debates, and practical workshops.

The event was opened by Ank Bijleveld (NL), Mayor of Almere, and hosted by Natasja van den Berg (NL), an expert in citizen participation and sustainability. The keynote speakers included (click for presentations):

The two debates held across the two-day conference covered; “What are the major lessons learned with the pilots and what needs to be done with it?” and “How to Scale-up and Innovate in the Building Industry”. These debates were a mixture of H4.0E ambassadors, partners, and stakeholders.

The Floriade Expo is a world horticultural exhibition that takes place in the Netherlands once a decade. This iteration is taking place in Almere and runs from 14th April 2022 to 9th October 2022. The theme for the expo this year is ‘Growing Green Cities’ in collaboration with national and international participants at the Expo. Floriade’s theme Growing Green Cities presents the creative, green, sustainable solutions required to make this a reality. This theme is more important than ever as by 2050, some 68% of the global population will live in cities on a mere 2% of the earth’s surface area.

Some Highlights From The Conference

“Enter the arena” and “Keep your head in the clouds and your feet on the ground” were some of the calls to action that were made by Jan Rotmans at the H40E conference.

 

Presentation of The Guidebook by Ivar Diekerhof.

 

Joke Dufourmont shows the advantages and processes of building homes from sustainably grown timber.

 

“Being an Ambassador is about Connection” Marion Jammet, Chris Troniseck, and Nathan Van der Bossche take part in the Ambassadors Debate. The debate discussed the major lessons learned with the pilots and what needs to be done with it?”

 

Ralf Kampe leads one of the breakout rooms during the conference where he presented the Low Carbon Fabric First Approach.

 

Alastair Parvin from Open Systems Lab opens day 2 of the Conference. Alastair i presented the Platform in development as part of the H4.0E project which will allow individuals to design their own NZEB and ZEB houses.

 

Debate between H4.0E partners, ambassadors, and stakeholders on ‘How to Scale-up and Innovate in the Building Industry’.

 

“Scale, speed, quality, affordability, and low energy – How do we do it?” Ireland needs 30,000 houses in 5 years. 3cea senior engineer and Chair of Association Irish Energy Agencies, Alexandra Hamilton, discusses how do we get there while keeping emissions low and quality high.

 

Architect and Irish TV producer, Duncan Stewart closes the Housing 4.0E Conference recapping some of the lessons from the speakers and having a discussion with attendees.

 

The National Energy Summit 2022

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As part of the National Energy Summit 2022, 3CEA attended the Opengela Conference in Bilbao. The conference brought together industry experts and thought leaders from both the public and private sectors to find solutions to the issues facing us in securing our energy supply. It examined the programme of work that is being delivered to secure the longer-term enduring capacity that is needed to reach our 2030 targets and to meet the demands of our growing and decarbonising economy.

“The conference was a great event for 3CEA to attend. It focused on the One Stop Shops and how they work at ground level with the beneficiaries. The importance of how communication and trust is developed and built was a key part of the project. The project brought us to the city of Eibar in the Basque Country to see projects which have been completed and are in the process of development. Good solid networks were created with other participants in the group and it was agreed that we would continue to work on the project and disseminate information in the future”,

Colin Simpson, Housing and Commercial delivery manager for 3cea.

Sun Harvester Second SME Awarded STEPS Voucher 2 From Ireland

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The second SME Awarded STEPS Voucher 2 from the Irish cohort is Sun Harvester (Zhyphen). Based in Derry, Northern Ireland, Zhyphen was founded in 2017 by Ryan Burton, Chris Stack, and William McQuilter. The ambition was to be part of renewable energy innovation that tackles climate change both in the UK and the emerging economies of Sub-Sahara Africa. Zhyphen now prepare to install their battery solution into James Dairy Farm.

Sun Harvester’s product portfolio is innovative and is based on a turnkey approach providing energy storage systems with modular attributes. They recognise that the problem for many businesses is their energy costs. While these businesses seek energy independence, the challenge is to integrate renewable energy generation with storage and be within grid regulations especially in zones of grid restrictions due to over capacity on the local network. Zhyphen systems, with integrated energy management controls, provides solutions that enable larger solar generation linked to storage that is permissible in grid restricted zones.  The value is in generating solar power that is almost free for the business, storing this power to be used at the peak cost time for grid supply and to supplement this solar power by charging batteries overnight when prices are cheaper. The solution therefore reduces the cost of energy.

An installation of a Sun Harvester (Zhyphen) Battery

Sun Harvester signed up for STEPS “to have support in getting access to the Irish and potential European market”. Zhyphen’s issues lied around the need for having expertise in entering new markets that they weren’t experienced in. This is a common issue for SMEs in battery storage as the European market currently has a lot of competition from Asian companies exporting their solutions to Europe. STEPS seeks to solve this issue for Sun Harvester and all the SMEs that signed up for support. As a business support, 3cea have been able to give Sun Harvester access to our own network and give recommendations on how to advance.

The largest added value of STEPS is getting access to the quality of staff employed by 3cea, accessing their network of contacts and obtaining their recommendation.

Chris Stack, Co-Founder of Sun Harvester (Zhyphen)

Sun Harvester will test their battery solution in James Dairy, Kilkenny. James Dairy installed a robotic milking system in January 2018. This system comes with a 24-hr energy demand and so they installed a 7KWh solar PV system on the roof of the milking parlour. As a testbed, James Dairy will be able to see the benefits of having a battery installed on their farm and can weigh up whether it is cost-effective for them to have a battery beyond the STEPS project. They will do this by examining the reduction in energy consumption they have after the battery is installed. Sun Harvester expect to install their battery in late summer 2022 and will be able to monitor its performance for 6 months.

James Dairy Farm

Beyond STEPS, Sun Harvester want to use the Test Bed site as a catalyst to approach other farms who have similar problems to James Farm and hope to have the support of 3cea and STEPS in achieving this. They have set themselves the target of 40 – 50 dairy farms having Zhyphen technology bringing a solution to their business. Long-term, the goal is to push the James Farm solution into the GB market while look for opportunities to work with STEPS to help Sun Harvester/Zhyphen gain access to the EU market. When asked about their experience in STEPS thus far, Sun Harvester representative Chris Stack said it’s:

Genuine people offering real support and who are on your side!

You can learn more about the STEPS project by visiting our STEPS Webpage here. Also, read about our other SME awarded STEPS Voucher 2, Daretech or read about Cleantech who previously received the voucher and have since installed their battery solution in Wexford County Hall.

Irish Energy Storage SME Daretech, Awarded STEPS Voucher 2

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After a number of Irish SMEs entered the STEPS Voucher 1 scheme from the second call, two are now ready to progress to the Voucher 2 scheme. The first of these is the Energy Storage SME Daretech. Based in Cork, Daretech are now ready to start testing under ‘real-life’-conditions, as they prepare to install their battery solution into the Kilkenny based O’Shea Farms.

The STEPS Business Support Programme is an Interreg NWE funded project that brings together business support and knowledge partners from Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The STEPS project aims to improve the competitiveness of northwest European battery storage SMEs. The first voucher support partners these SMEs with knowledge partners (NUIG in Ireland) to help them develop their solutions and fill any knowledge gaps they may have. The second voucher will allow a smaller number of SMEs install and test their battery solutions in real-life conditions. This allows the SME to gather data on their battery’s performance. The overall goal of these vouchers is to improve the Technological Readiness Level (TRL) of their product.

The Energy Storage SME Daretech develops smart hybrid power solutions for marine applications. They’re based at The Entrepreneurship in Cork. The Entrepreneurship is a specialised marine technology start up space within Marei, which itself is a Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine Innovation. The Centre comprises over 200 researchers focusing on defined global challenges such as Climate Action and the Blue Economy. Through the integration of locally generated renewable energy and advanced storage technology significant efficiency increases and cost reduction is accomplished while simultaneously reducing emissions in the marine environment. Daretech designs, builds and operates these smart hybrid power systems for marine applications.

Hybrid power systems can be used as a sustainable alternative to a diesel generator in any application. The system is a scalable, modular hybrid energy system that Daretech are developing for applications that do not have access to shore power or face extensive grid charges due to peak power demands. It comprises a smart battery system with a diesel generator, and optional integration of renewable energy source (solar, and/or wind). All of these elements are based on proven technology, adapted to the specific requirements of the marine environment. The system can incorporate any form of renewable energy generation that might be available at a particular user’s site. An automated control system which allows seamless operation of the hybrid system with a redundant diesel generator for backup that introduces efficiency and storage technology to the marine environment.  The operating principles of our hybrid power systems are:

  • The electrical load is usually a fraction of generator capacity.
  • Excess generator capacity is used to charge the battery system.
  • Electricity for appliances is provided from the battery system.
  • The system is fully automated between generator and battery controls.

The implementation of this technology allows the operator to both reduce their base-load power related emissions while reducing fuel consumption and either avoiding or greatly extending periods between servicing for diesel generators. The system has been specifically designed to be operated in harsh environments and provides a robust and user-friendly solution for these markets.

Daretech Battery Solution

Daretech applied to the STEPS programme “in order to leverage the expertise that was available from the Project Partners”. They had been undertaking a lot of research and development in-house, and were keen to obtain a third-party independent verification of the analysis they were performing on their benefits of operational hybrid power systems at customer sites. In voucher 1, Daretech worked with energy modelling specialists from NUI Galway taking their operational data and performing independent analysis to determine the system benefits in terms of fuel saving, emission offset, and overall return on investment. The outcome of this stage validated the quantified benefits that Daretech have provided to their customers, and the method by which we determine them.

We aim to find new markets and applications for our hybrid power systems. Our long-term goal is to bring more hybrid systems into operation to reduce costs and emissions on customer sites.

Darren Hayes, Co-Founder of Daretech

Daretech will test their battery at O’Shea Farms. O’Shea Farms is a farm based in Pilltown, Kilkenny that provides fresh vegetable produce to supermarkets across the country. This results in year-round electricity demand for refrigerated cold storage and grading equipment at their site. They currently have 250 KWp (Kilo-Watt potential) solar PVs installed on the farm that provides about 200,000 KWh a year. They are looking to add 414 KWp to two more buildings. O’Shea Farms is hoping that an energy storage solution will allow them to store excess intake during the day, which can be stored as cold storage and used to power the refrigerators for the vegetables overnight. This will give them a better return on their investment than they would get returning the energy generated to the grid.

O’Shea Farms in Pilltown, Co.Kilkenny

Daretech are set to install their battery into O’Shea Farms in late summer 2022. They will then test the battery for 6 months, while receiving support from 3cea. When asked about their experiences in the STEPS project so far, Daretech co-founder Darren Hayes said:

“The STEPS programme is an excellent support for small businesses – it’s given great access to expertise and testbeds in order to grow our understanding of the technology and demonstrate how it can meet customer needs.”

Although we will not have any more calls for SMEs to join the STEPS Business Support Programme, you can still benefit from it. If you’re an energy storage SME, check out the STEPS State of the Art report and keep an eye out for the announcement of upcoming webinars discussing some of the findings from the project. To learn more about STEPS, check out our dedicated STEPS webpage here.

3cea Pilot State of the Art Energy Efficient Homes in Carlow & Kilkenny

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Construction has begun 8 new energy efficient homes in Carlow & Kilkenny that are part of a NWE Interreg Housing 4.0 Energy (H4.0E) an EU project to lower embodied emissions in house builds and in time reduce the cost of construction by utilising a Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) model and ensuring the houses are built to nZEB (near Zero Energy Building) standard by using prefabricated timber-frame closed panels or low-carbon GGBS cement composites and energy-saving efforts like installation of Photovoltaic cables and heat pumps. The 2 bedroom and single bedroom houses are located in St Mary’s court in Carlow town, in Mullinivat and Graiguenamanagh (at the old Fire Station)  in Co. Kilkenny.

Construction site for H4.0E houses in St Mary’s court, Carlow town.

Construction site for H4.0E houses in St Mary’s court, Carlow town.

“3cea were delighted to lead this initiative and to secure Irish funding of over 600K from a Europe-wide fund of 4.2 million made available by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interred NorthWest Europe scheme to make this pilot project happen,” said Communications Officer Colin Healy. “H4.0E-nZEBs or ZEB builds are a must for future construction to meet both Ireland’s housing needs and carbon mitigation goals. The Irish H4.0E pilots are not using full DfMA methods in the pilot project, but when they come fully on stream through the availability of the H4.0E Platform being developed by Open Systems Lab (OSL) as part of the H4.0E project we anticipate that building costs will be reduced by 25% using these methods. The H4.0E houses in the upscaling process will be far cheaper to run and substantial carbon emission reductions will be achieved both in embodied and operational carbon. Heating and domestic hot water are where most of the energy will be used and these are warmer better-insulated homes. All houses are fitted with heat pumps.

 

The houses, referred to as H4.0E houses are part of a plan to develop affordable zero-energy houses by applying new technology to building and running the houses. A carbon reduction of at least 50% to 80%, when compared to a standard concrete/brick build house,  will be achieved. All units will be completed towards the end of this year and will be used for social housing by Carlow and Kilkenny County Councils.

You can learn more about H4.0E and 3cea’s activities in the project through our H4.0E Webpage.

ENERGee Watch Course 4: Data display, dissemination, and validation by local authorities

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ENERGee Watch Course 4 will cover how to identify the key factors that determine how to disseminate data (regulations, targets, usage, etc.). It will also cover how to identify key recipients and stakeholders, teaching mentees how to identify their needs and expectations, collect the data, and get it into the required format. Some methods and tools to represent and illustrate data patterns and messages in data (graphs, Sankey diagrams, maps, etc.) will also be covered in this course. Finally, how to efficiently disseminate this data and the subsequent messages (technical reports, newsletters, online tools, etc.) will be covered too.

The Target for Course 4: Data Display, Dissemination, and Validation by Local Authorities

This course aims to identify how to best communicate a dataset or to portray certain messages in the data. Throughout the course, we will treat the key topics necessary to ensure effective and complete communication of data and information. Some current challenges that this course could rectify include; a lack of interaction with recipients of datasets, the misunderstanding of datasets, difficulty in portraying messages that are in the data, a requirement for datasets to be communicated in a particular way, a need to find more innovative/representative data visualisation methods, or simply an interest to develop links with existing innovative tools.

Course Objectives

The objectives set for mentee learning before the course were as follows.

To know your audience and their ultimate needs
• To assess the best data display method for the objective,
• audience and desired response
• To manipulate data to suit different representation styles
• To understand the different data dissemination and display options available

Topics

ENERGee Watch Course 4 sought to achieve these objectives over 6 sessions held over 6 days across just over a month from October to November.

• Session 1: What determines effective Communication of data?
• Session 2: Identifying the information needs of end-users
• Session 3: Manipulating and Presenting data
• Session 4: Implementing data display tools
• Session 5: TerriSTORY®, a deeper insight
• Session 6: Data dissemination

Mentors

Thomas Knight is a project manager in the Territorial Intelligence and Observatory team at Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Energie Environnement(AURA-EE) since the beginning of 2020. Thomas is responsible for the quality and accuracy of the energy-related and economic calculations for the regional energy and climate data observatory (ORCAE) and is an active participant in the development of an online data tracking tool for the territories of the region; TerriSTORY®.

 

 

If you are interested in taking part in the next cycle of ENERGee Watch courses, the applications for the second cycle should open in January. Please note that currently these courses are only open to Local Authorities and Municipalities. You can find out when the ENERGee Watch applications open by keeping an eye on our social media and signing up to our newsletter.

ENERGee Watch Course 2: Monitoring, Reporting, Verification

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Continuing our coverage of ENERGee Watch, Course 2, “Monitoring, revision and verification of data” will emphasise the enhancement of the capacity of local authorities to implement sustainable projects through:

  • Development of internal administrative structures for the successful implementation and monitoring of sustainable energy action plans (roles, support, prioritization, budgeting, and tools)
  • Process to verify energy data
  • Data quality improvement
  • Development of business plans, feasibility, and environmental analysis for sustainable energy Projects

This course is delivered by Cyprus Energy Agency

Target for course 2: Monitoring, Reporting, Verification

The training course is addressed to a) local authorities’ staff which are directly related to the SECAP implementation and to b) support structures (energy agencies) that provide technical support and expertise. The candidates will have the opportunity to empower their knowledge in critical issues for the successful implementation of the SECAPs.

ENERGee Watch Course 2 Course objectives

In this course, mentees can achieve the following learning:

Objective 1: To create vision and establish the proper internal administrative structures.

Objective 2: To know the key actions needed to ensure political and administrative support for the successful implementation of a SECAP.

Objective 3: To perform an energy data verification process.

Objective 4: To visualise sustainable energy project ideas on Sustainable Business Model Canvas.

Objective 5: To elaborate feasibility and environmental analysis for energy projects.

Objective 6: To plan and monitor the progress and the impact of SECAP actions.

 Topics:

To achieve these objectives 6 training sessions were held divided across 4 days from September to November.

  • Session1: Vision Setting
  • Session 2: Establishing an Energy & Climate Team
  • Session 3: Data Processing and Verification
  • Session 4: Energy Modelling and Scenarios
  • Session 5: Sustainable business model canvas and financial
  • feasibility analysis
  • Session 6: Implementation & successful monitoring
Mentors – Cyprus Energy Agency

  

Savvas Vlachos started his professional career in 2004. He is Environmental Engineer. He joined the Cyprus Energy Agency in 2009 as an Energy expert. Since September 2016, he is the Director of the Cyprus Energy Agency Since September 2016, he is the Director of the Cyprus Energy Agency. He is also the Local Manager of the  Programme Pioneers into Practice in Cyprus which is funded by the Climate – KIC and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

 

Charis Kordatos is a Forester/Environmental Scientist. He is involved in the Green Public Procurement (GPP) support structure of the Agency providing guidance and training to public/local authorities and he is participating in different GPP networks and forums.

 

 

Myrto Skouroupathi is a qualified Environmental Engineer and a member of the Scientific and Technical Chamber of Cyprus. She joined the Cyprus Energy Agency in 2017 as an Environmental Engineer and she is involved in European co-funded projects as a technical expert and educator.