Tools

Based on year-long research, including methodologies on literature review, the assessment of 98 cases, interviews with experienced professionals and exchanges with experts, RGI and IEECP have developed the Engage4Energy Guidelines for citizens, developers and policymakers on meaningful engagement in energy infrastructure projects. The interactive tool aims at providing guidance for the user, tailored to their specific context.

The customised recommendations follow a general structure based on four key principles: early engagement, transparency, inclusiveness and trust.

They also offer specific actions to implement meaningful engagement through three levels: information sharing, consultation and empowerment. Lastly, the user has access to an inspiring example that showcases how engagement can be led in a meaningful way.

We hope to continuously update the tool. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with Diana Süsser at [email protected], should you have any suggestions for improvement.

“Split incentives” refer to any situation where the benefits of a transaction do not accrue to the actor who pays for the transaction. In the context of energy efficiency in buildings, split incentives are linked with cost recovery issues related to energy efficiency upgrade investments due to the failure of distributing effectively financial obligations and rewards of these investments between concerned actors [1]. Especially, when it comes to the PRS, existing literature identifies “split incentives” among landlords and tenants, as one of the main barriers when implementing energy efficiency policies to tackle energy poverty [2]. Moreover, in most European Union (EU) countries, there is significant lack of studies or estimations on the extent of the “split incentives” issue, which leads to the design of renovation policies with a subsidy rate that is not often adequate or optimised as it cannot capture the impact of “split incentives”. In this context, contributions that aim to address this gap are planned. The presentations will focus on methodologies and tools that seek to better understand the issue and enhance the uptake of energy efficiency investments in the PRS. The ENPOR Split Incentive Quantification Tool – allocates the costs and benefits of energy efficiency interventions for landlords and tenants. The tool contributes to a deeper understanding about how to tackle energy efficiency in the private rented sector. A tool that mainly aims to identify the share of the triggered benefits from the implementation of energy efficiency interventions between landlords and tenants in order to quantify the appropriate allocation of costs or subsidy rates for both sides, towards specific energy efficiency scenarios in several geographical/national contexts.

Tool - Guidance

SocialWatt Analyser is a decision support tool that has been designed to help utilities, energy providers and energy service companies identify energy poor households among their clients. Its primary purpose is to facilitate users to more effectively identify and target households in energy poverty. More specifically, SocialWatt Analyser enables utilities to identify energy poor households using customer data collected and held internally, especially energy consumption and cost data at household level, as well as readily available data (such as climate data and income data), computed data (e.g. energy needs) and other customer data (e.g., arrears on utility bills).

SocialWatt Analyser is a user-friendly tool that allows customisations, in terms of different input methods, data types and structures, and consequently facilitates utilities (even those with limited expertise) to identify energy poor households.

Detailed instructions for downloading and installing SocialWatt Analyser can be downloaded here.

More information on the modelling methodology, data requirements and resources, the development process, the interconnections between the tools, the testing and validation process and the tools configuration can be found here.

A manual for running the tool is also available here, which includes step by step instructions for its use, as well as information on inputs required and outputs produced.

Finally, you can watch a demo of the tool here

Developed in the framework of the SocialWatt project.

SocialWatt Check is a tool designed to assist utilities, energy providers, energy service companies, and other interested parties to effectively monitor and evaluate schemes being implemented. In particular, SocialWatt Check aims to monitor the effectiveness of schemes and evaluate their impact, in terms of energy savings, CO2 emission reductions, increases in renewable energy production. With this tool the user can track progress and identify in a timely manner deviations related to the implementation of the schemes, in order to either exploit opportunities or identify risks/threats and put in place corrective actions to meet targets. This tool can also be used to estimate the long-term impact of schemes based on their current performance.

Detailed instructions for downloading and installing SocialWatt Check can be downloaded here.

More information on the modelling methodology, data requirements and resources, the development process, the interconnections between the tools, the testing and validation process and the tools configuration can be found here.

A manual for running the tool is also available here, which includes step by step instructions for its use, as well as information on inputs required and outputs produced.

Finally, you can watch a demo of the tool here

Developed in the framework of the SocialWatt project.

SocialWatt Plan is a decision support tool designed to enable utilities, energy providers, energy service companies, and other interested parties to evaluate the performance of different schemes and actions to tackle energy poverty. In particular, SocialWatt Plan provides the user with a set of optimal portfolios, comprising different combinations of energy poverty schemes and actions, along with information on optimal budget and number of energy poor households allocation for each scheme. The energy poverty schemes considered (e.g., ‘Greening Home’, ‘Renovate your home’, ‘Smarter Home’, etc.), comprise behavioural measures, low, medium and high-cost energy efficiency actions, as well as the installation of renewable energy sources.

SocialWatt Plan is a user-friendly tool that incorporates an optimisation process that is structured in a Multi-objective Programming framework, developed to consider a set of targets and constraints, and to minimise investment costs from the uses’ perspective and maximise energy savings.

Detailed instructions for downloading and installing SocialWatt Plan can be downloaded here.

More information on the modelling methodology, data requirements and resources, the development process, the interconnections between the tools, the testing and validation process and the tools configuration can be found here.

A manual for running the tool is also available here, which includes step by step instructions for its use, as well as information on inputs required and outputs produced.

Finally, you can watch a demo of the tool here

Developed in the framework of the SocialWatt project.

Triple-A has a very practical result-oriented approach, seeking to address this challenge, answering the following questions:

✔ How to assess the financing instruments and risks at an early stage?
✔ How to agree on the Triple-A investments, based on selected key performance indicators?
✔ How to assign the identified investment ideas with possible financing schemes?

In particular, the Triple-A scheme is introduced, for identifying “Triple-A” energy efficiency investments, aiming to reduce the respective time and effort required at the crucial phase of the investments conceptualization, as well as to increase transparency and efficiency of respective decision making. By introducing this new scheme, we seek to make energy efficiency investments more transparent, predictable and attractive for investors / financiers and project developers. In this respect, the main challenge lies in identifying which investments can be considered as Triple-A investments, fostering sustainable growth, while also having an extremely strong capacity to meet their commitments, already from the first stages of investments generation and pre-selection/ pre-evaluation.

Developed in the framework of the Triple-A project.

Many tools provide support to plan good climate adaptation but neglect the risk of maladaptation (see the definitions box). For this reason, the REGILIENCE self-assessment tool explicitly focuses on spotting potential risk factors for maladaptation as early as possible. Its objective is to help users (staff of the competent regional authority/ies for climate adaptation or of other departments and organisations e.g. consultants for the administrations, CSOs dealing with climate adaptation) to avoid or reduce maladaptation risks in the planning phase of adaptation actions.  

With this tool, users are guided through a checklist of 17 questions, each one focusing on one risk factor for maladaptation. By simply responding to the question by selecting yes/no/partially for each of the risk factors, the maladaptive potential of the planned adaptation action is checked.  

Developed by Fresh Thoughts Consulting GmbH in the framework of the REGILIENCE project.

The Triple-A Interactive Web-based Database is a visual representation of the most important aspects in energy efficiency financing, including the risks that could endanger the successful implementation of an energy efficiency project, the strategies that could mitigate these risks, the preferences of investors on energy efficiency investments, the financial performance of energy efficiency projects, the models and instruments that are usually used to finance energy efficiency projects and the performance of case study countries in terms of Sustainable Development Goals.

The Triple-A methodology is focused on and reports information about the 8 case study countries, for which respective data have been collected, namely Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Spain and the Netherlands.

You can also watch the “Triple-A Tools User Manual” video presenting how to navigate the Standardised Triple-A Tools.

Developed in the framework of the Triple-A project.

Welcome to the SENSEI knowledge platform

This platform provides practical information for those interested in knowing more about the details of Pay for Performance schemes, and the SENSEI model in particular.

The content of the platform is organized so as to present what P4P means for four key stakeholder groups: Building owners, energy providers, ESCOs and policy makers. By clicking each of the four categories you can explore what P4P means for each category.

The contents are tailored to at once provide information for members of this stakeholder category to understand what P4P is for them, as it sketches the incentives for that particular group for getting involved in a P4P scheme, the requirements, responsibilities and tasks that are entailed.

But the content is also relevant for others wanting to get a fuller grasp of what P4P means in practice and what it entails for key stakeholder groups.

Developed in the Framework of the SENSEI project

streamSAVE partners will develop a user-friendly online platform to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences among stakeholders.

The platform provides all stakeholders with access to a community of experts and resources to better implement energy savings calculation methodologies.

The streamSAVE platform will become a central point for experts searching for information and their peers on Priority Actions. 

Developed in the framework of the streamSAVE project

Earlier studies realised by BECoop, a project funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, showed that the knowledge and acceptance of biofuel varies from region to region in Europe, making it an untapped source of renewable energy compared to other sources such as solar or wind. To ensure bioenergy’s market expansion –with high potential for replacing fossil fuelled heat-, tools are needed to support market players: BECoop released its self-assessment tool.

Designed for non-specialised, non-experienced users seeking to assess the current state of a cooperative/community bioenergy project, the tool supports various users (provider, facility operators, RESCoops, local/regional authorities, and more) by providing an evaluation methodology, a set of indicators, metrics, definitions and technical as well as business recommendations, after they answer few questions on the resources available, the activity that best represent their initiative, and more. A spider web rating visualises the final results.

To allow the several market actors involved become (bio)energy producers, the BECoop self-assessment tool supports communities in getting prepared to tap the full bioenergy market potential, making them aware of the potential held by their projects. Users can assess the current status and future potential of community bioenergy, revealing and better understanding the gaps, maturity levels for the adoption of bioenergy heating, their level of community engagement, as well as the complexity of the existing framework for procurement and policy design. Users can select the type of biomass resources available – agricultural, forestry, agro-industrial, biomass from urban parks and garden management, and finally wet biomass-, the activity they want to implement and answer few questions. Their answers will help define the level of user engagement, the technical, business and financial solution maturity, as well as the social and environmental impact. Recommended actions appear when the user has answered all questions, guiding them to supporting resources and a score will be assigned depending on the option chosen, building in a graphical output (a spider-net) the project outcomes.

Users can access all BECoop tools with a single login, such as the e-market environment, supporting stakeholders when developing a community bioenergy project and defining the required services and activities for supporting their own cases and the future Knowledge Exchange Platform, a one-stop-shop lifting collaboration barriers across regions and sectors to share information and knowledge, available soon.

Developed within the framework of the BECoop project.

Developed by CIRCE – Centro Tecnológico, this online repository gathers in a single place existing open-source tools useful for the energy communities and bioenergy sectors.

The library allows project owners to identify them more easily, navigate through them and understand which ones best fit their needs. It supports developers and operators of community bioenergy and heating projects with 4 categories of tools, and a direct link to all BECoop tools.

Spot something missing? Contact us!

Introduction to the tool

Developed within the framework of the BECoop project.

The tool aims to develop community bioenergy projects (connecting multiple biomass providers, organise billing, etc.) and defining the required services and activities for supporting their own cases.

Activating a community energy market for bioenergy: a new e-market environment connects biomass heating supply chain stakeholders

While bioenergy holds, in practice, the highest potential for replacing fossil fuelled heat and remains a leading technology in the EU renewable energy heating sector, there is a significantly untapped market uptake potential for it. Several barriers prevent citizens from becoming (bio)energy producers and bioenergy projects to be more appealing, including a lack of preparedness for communities to tap the full bioenergy market potential, and a lack of bioenergy stakeholders’ awareness of the potential of communities. To fill these gaps, BECoop, a project funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, launches a new tool supporting stakeholders involved in the creation or update of community (bio)energy projects.

The e-market environment supports various supply chain stakeholders when developing a community bioenergy project on defining the services and activities needed to support their cases. It demonstrates the various stakeholder interactions and activities/services that must take place to set up an effective and sustainable local supply chain and a community bioenergy project, streamlining the process. The user-friendly, easy to use and intuitive tool, unique in this sector, allows entrepreneurs to identify and contact stakeholders taking part in the supply chain of biomass heating solutions, to carry out their projects, learn from the experience of others and from similar initiatives. It connects supply chain stakeholders to support the creation or operation of new and existing energy communities, including the project pilot energy communities. Now available, it gathers over 60 already sharing their offers/demands, while a second version will be ready by April 2023 and all stakeholders are invited to contribute to grow the environment.

This tool works complementarily with the support services offered by BECoop, encouraging the development and operation of community bioenergy and heating projects. For a people-powered energy system, the Horizon 2020-funded project BECoop (2020-2023) aims at putting communities in charge of their local renewable (bio)energy generation. Bioenergy, a renewable energy source deriving from organic materials, can be used to produce, among else, electricity, heat, and fuels. BECoop is unlocking and activating the underlying market potential of community bioenergy, by providing the necessary conditions, technical as well as business support tools. The project aims to make community bioenergy projects more appealing to potential interested actors and to foster new links and partnerships among the international bioenergy community.

What can users find in the BECoop e-market environment? The tool is not only restricted to members of an energy community/cooperative or RESCoop: it engages all European stakeholders involved in the bioenergy, biomass supply chain and energy communities. Biomass owners/suppliers/management companies, equipment manufacturers, ESCOs and installers, cooperatives/energy communities/RESCoops, investors, research centres, public institutions and many more can explore offers and needs uploaded by others or submit theirs. The offers and demands can be filtered by category (products, services, advice, etc.), country and stakeholder type.

Developed within the framework of the BECoop project.

The Knowledge Exchange Platform is a one-stop-shop lifting collaboration barriers across regions and sectors to share information and knowledge. The platform will have both digital and physical presence and:  

• Creates an easy-to-access repository of knowledge, tools and services in the field of community bioenergy heating.  
• Acts as an observatory/atlas of bioenergy community cases (and community energy cases with high potential to include bioenergy), technologies and service providers.  
• Offers a digital space for fostering cross-regional networking, dialogue and knowledge exchange among community bioenergy actors. 

Developed within the framework of the BECoop project.

Interested in rising your skills on industrial refrigeration energy efficiency by e-learning? ICCEE aimed at turning energy efficiency opportunities of food and beverage companies into actual investments and finding out opportunities to improve the overall cold chain steps. With this aim, a full capacity building program dedicated to improving the energy performance through direct training and e-learning has been designed and created by a team of experts coming from both the private and public sector. ICCEE invites you to participate in our e-learning training course on energy efficiency in food and beverage cold supply chains designed for experts and non-experts in this field. The course is accessible by anyone, free of charge and prepared for self-studying, with an estimate duration of 6 to 20 hours depending on the current background. The topics include:

• Energy efficiency in the food and beverage sector
• Energy performance indicators
• Energy Management System based on ISO50001 and Measurement and Verification (IPMVP)
• Energy saving opportunities and best practices
• Financial analysis and funding opportunities
• LCA and LCC
• Non-Energy Benefits (NEBs) and behavioural aspects
• ICCEE tool introduction (optional, in some countries available)

The e-learning courses are available in English, French, German, Dutch, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, Latvian and Greek.

Are you interested? You might start immediately with the registration process, by clicking on the following link and selecting the language, and creating your new account:  http://escansa.org/?lang=en

Developed within the framework of the ICCEE project

The Industry Informative Network (IIN) is a platform for stakeholder exchange, fostering the link between various market stakeholders and bridging the gap between demand and supply.

The IIN increases the energy culture of industrial companies, warehouse, cold storage and logistic operators, and creates the opportunity to improve their core business by revising their operations, increasing the awareness towards energy efficiency and sustainable supply-chain initiatives at every organizational level.

Developed within the framework of the ICCEE project

A next generation energy efficiency meter named eensight was created by SENSEI. The eensight tool is based on machine learning and will contribute to the much-needed advancement of the automated measurement and verification (M&V) methods for portfolios of buildings’ energy efficiency and provide essential insights for investors, legislators, building owners and energy companies to realise their goals. eensight is essentially an automated meter for energy savings. A key ingredient for the digitalisation of the energy efficiency-related activities.  

Developed by the H2020 SENSEI project.

ENPOR monitors the dimensions of energy poverty in the PRS through the Energy Poverty Dashboard: an online tool mapping energy poverty in Europe. This energy justice information and action hub serves as a platform for stakeholders and policymakers to assess the success and failure of policies. It provides a platform for knowledge exchange within and between different national contexts as well as facilitates the dialogue between the REACT groups in national contexts.

An information and action hub, decision-support and public engagement tool all at once, it provides customised new data in a user-friendly format while also offering affected stakeholders information on relevant initiatives, collaborations and forms of support.

Developed by the ENPOR project.

In the ENSMOV knowledge transfer platform, best practices, guidelines, case studies, training materials and country reports from the EU and beyond are available for public authorities and other key stakeholders to support the implementation of energy efficiency policies. An online forum and a LinkedIn group offer the possibility to share ideas and have direct support by asking questions to country experts for the countries listed.

Developed by the ENSMOV project, the platform will be updated in 2023 through the ENSMOV+ project.

These present the main barriers and related possible solutions to implementing the E1st principle for each policy approach, as well as the legislative and non-legislative changes required to implement them.

The nine policy approaches have been selected previously and analysed considering the policy framework they are embedded in, and the involved stakeholder groups. The barriers to their implementation were discussed in an online expert workshop.

You can download the implementation maps for each policy approach below and they can also be found all together in the ‘Implementation map on barriers and success factors for E1st in buildings’ report, which provides further explanations of the methodology used.

Developed in the framework of the enefirst project.

The role of this PUBLEnEf toolbox collection is to enable policymakers on regional and local levels identify solutions to their needs on energy efficiency policy.
This digital platform enhances the exchange of information and provides a large variety of supporting tools and resources for energy efficiency policy planning, development, implementation and evaluation.
Policymakers can post here their Energy Efficiency needs on specific aspects of policy making and specific solutions come up through using tools and best practices collected here.
This active collection of good practices, methodologies and resources for wide range of topics on local energy action can be updated by policy makers themselves on a regular basis and always new solutions can come up.

Online tool for putting evaluation of energy savings into practice

Evaluation of energy saving policies makes it possible to get information about the effectiveness of existing policies and can help to improve the effectiveness of both current and future policies. This online guidance and support  toolbox  provides practical support for stakeholders with setting up a fitting evaluation process .

The toolbox is meant to help both evaluators and the users of evaluation results in specifying the evaluation approach and results, through:

• Providing a smart online toolbox for selecting the most fitting evaluation practice and integrate it in the policy cycle.
• Clarification of how evaluation methodologies can be best applied by means of guidelines

The tools are centered around the combination of policy measures, sectors and methods for calculating energy savings. In addition, several general evaluation guidelines, focused on evaluation of energy savings are available for the users.

This website provides practical tools and guides to facilitate the uptake of good evaluation practices according to various needs.
The tools are meant to help step by step both evaluators and users of evaluation results in specifying the evaluation methods and effects, through:
– Providing a smart online toolbox with tools for integrating evaluation practice in the policy cycle.
– Clarification of how tools can be best applied by means of guidelines