EBECS tool
There are many ways to make a house more energy efficient: insulate better, install a heat pump … The EBECS algorithms of VITO/EnergyVille provide specific advice based on the size of the house and the energy consumption of the residents. Bank-insurer KBC, Cozie’s installation contractors, the energy auditors of Zero emission solutions (ZES) and UNIT T are among those already using this service.
EBECS stands for EnergyVille Building Energy Calculation Service. It is a tool for giving home owners or tenants comprehensive renovation advice. It combines input from the household on simple questions related to their building and EnergyVille’s expertise on the Belgian building stock. This leads to an analysis of the current housing situation (the construction, the systems, the people, their behavior and their energy consumption) in order to identify the possibilities for improvement via energy retrofitting and RES installation.
Pieter Van den Steen, Project Manager at VITO/EnergyVille: “EBECS is not the first energy renovation tool on the market, but it is the most accurate. This is due to its basis in building physics and its built-in calibration module. The traditional calculations that take place for EPB or EPC certification only assess the home. They do not take into account actual energy consumption, family composition and resident behaviour. With the EBECS tool, people can enter specific data about their home and their usage habits. Based on this, the algorithms calculate the best options for saving energy, including the associated costs and anticipated decrease in the energy bill.
Advantages
The tool offers complete renovation packages and shows:
- to what extent the energy consumption is reduced
- what the home owner is going to save on the energy bill
- the total investment costs
- the payback time
Furthermore, the home owner can select and investigate the effect of different renovation measures on the energy bill of their house in order to choose the renovation package which best suits their needs.
Application
VITO developed the EBECS tool and is now allowing partners to market the service.
EBECS consists of a set of algorithms on which providers themselves can build an application,” says Pieter Van den Steen. “For example KBC offers the tool to its customers in the digital application Touch. In doing so, KBC simulates possible financing tailored to their customer’s needs.
Other customers the tool might be interesting for:
- Distribution system operators of electricity and gas who are looking forward to reinforce or improve their market positioning through new online tools for renovation scenarios.
- Banks and financial institutions that want to increase the amount of money lent to their clients who wish to renovate their homes. For the client the payback time on initial investment would be lower if they make use, for example, of existing subsidies.
- Solution providers such as energy conversion systems and/or insulation producers and installers who are looking for a trustworthy online tool to provide to their clients. The clients can make use of the tool to estimate the impact of the measures on the homes.
