Minimal monitoring

Concept for a minimal monitoring of different buildings undergoing step-by-step energy-efficient refurbishment

When carrying out energy-relevant refurbishment measures, a frequent issue that arises is how big the intended savings in the form of a reduction in consumption actually are in reality. The term "minimal monitoring" should be understood to mean "an efficiency review of a building regarding its energy consumption using minimal effort".

Through minimal monitoring in step-by-step refurbishments it is possible to validate the amount of energy saved through the completed partial modernisations in the same way as after a complete overall refurbishment, provided that the testing period after a retrofit step covers a meaningful time period and the measures produce a measurable relevant effect. The period of time required for validating the change in heating energy consumption is at least one complete heating period – with otherwise the same boundary conditions for usage. For example, if insulation of the top floor ceiling is carried out, then it is possible to examine how this affects the heating consumption during the following winter. If the windows are replaced in the next year, then again the following winter must be analysed in order to measure the success of that retrofit step.

Example of the temporal course of a step-by-step retrofit with consumption measurements according to the respective partial step for examining the change in consumption (HP = heating period). Graphics © PHI

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