Existing tools enabling the implementation of EN 16883:2017 Standard to integrate conservation-compatible retrofit solutions in historic buildings

Abstract

• Review of computer-based decisional tools for conservation-compatible energy retrofit. • Collaborative information-search methodology. • Three levels of action (single building component, whole building, district level). • Analysis of tools’ structure, aim, limitations and link to EN16883 procedure. • Overview of potential future developments of the tools to enable the use of EN16883. The heterogeneity of historic buildings and environmental conditions, as well as the variety of possible technical solutions, introduce great challenges to the decision-making process for the definition and implementation of energy retrofit projects. The variety of stakeholders involved in the process, each bringing specific skills and goals, further add to this complexity. How can the decision be finalised when multiple and often conflicting objectives and different stakeholders are involved? In this context, the European Standard EN 16883:2017 provides guidelines to improve the energy performance of historic buildings while respecting their heritage significance. It presents a normative working procedure to select conservation-compatible retrofit solutions, which is based on a step-by-step investigation, analysis and documentation of the building. However, the recommendations provided in the Standard remain at a general level and it is the task for the stakeholders to tailor the intervention to the specific case. This paper investigates how the implementation of the EN 16883:2017 can be enabled by adopting a selection of existing computer-based tools to support the identification, assessment, and selection of retrofit solutions in historic buildings. To this end, a number of tools were analysed, highlighting their advantages, input data, outcomes and main limitations, in relation to their possible use in support of the implementation of the Standard procedure (or steps of it).