The requirements on building envelope and on building technology are steadily increasing. The correct implementation in planning and construction is thereby demanding. While the quality of planning can already be well controlled via software tools and certification, there is a lack of reproducible and practical monitoring and analysis methods to control the quality of the implementation and determine the cause of a possible deviation.

The aim of this project is to provide the methodological basis for an on-site (in situ) assessment of the effective energy efficiency. The project is based on the results of Annex 58, which has already been concluded, but the step towards practical and application-friendly characterization methods based on physical and statistical methods is now to be undertaken. The possibilities and limitations for the identification of "black-box" and "grey-box" models (i.e., models with no or little implemented physical knowledge) were explored and a guide for their application in system identification was developed. The results of these methods are promising, but require relatively complex interventions and relatively long uninhabited periods. The first experiments were carried out in special uninhabited test buildings. However, such periods are practicably not available in real estate business, because hand-over is usually schedule immediately after construction is completed due to cost reasons.

The innovation of this project consists in the fact that the energetic behavior is to be predicted from the analysis of measured data from inhabited buildings. Energy efficiency parameters for the quality assurance are to be derived from this data. The monitoring data required for this purpose are to be based on low-cost sensors as well as on metering devices, which are available for billing or automation purposes anyway (on-board data). In addition, the measurement procedure should, as far as possible, not interfere with occupants of regular residential settings.

The aim of the Austrian participation is to analyze and deepen the fundamentals of this Annex 71 and its possible applications, especially with respect to in situ quality assurance measures for highly energy-efficient buildings. In this way, deviations from the expected behavior could be quickly recognized in situ in the context of a so-called "extended commissioning phase". If necessary, remedial measures could be then taken immediately.