HIT2GAP

The ‘energy performance gap’ between the design and operation of a building is well documented and common errors across the four phases of construction (design, construction, commissioning and operation) could lead to a performance gap that ranges between 150-250% of the original design specification.

Systematically addressing these errors and thus reducing the gap between design and performance was the main objective of the HIT2GAP project focusing on the exploitation phase.

HIT2GAP aimed at linking enabling technologies and approaches used in the commissioning and operation phases of construction to improve the comparative predictions of the models and simulations that drive design and the actual performance of new and retrofitted buildings.

The approach taken in HIT2GAP was to build an open, plug and play, application-based platform. This approach was seen as an effective strategy to cover user requirements in buildings that by their nature (typology, climate, usage) are widely diverse. Furthermore, it allowed the platform to evolve and remain up-to-date with new emerging technologies in order to better assess energy use within a building.

Thus, by design, the HIT2GAP platform was modular and interoperable and included:

• a connectivity module allowing agile data collection from the field level

• a management middleware ensuring a coherent information platform by providing semantic interoperability (Ontologies) to unify and normalize the data between all the platform components

• several advanced data processing modules based on data mining techniques and energy management approach to interpret data and identify issues or non-optimised functioning, and to deliver recommendations and decision support

• information display modules targeting different typologies of end-users and needs and presenting key results in a user-friendly manner, tailored for these various audiences

To evaluate and maximize the impact of the new solution, HIT2GAP was tested in 4 pilot sites and challenged several business models and target different customer segments such as direct customers (BMS manufacturers, middleware developers and energy related tools providers) and indirect customers (buildings owners, facility managers, ESCos…).