IEA Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme (EBC TCP)

Roughly one third of primary energy is consumed in non-industrial buildings such as dwellings, offices, hospitals, and schools where it is utilised for the heating and cooling, lighting and operation of appliances. In terms of the total energy end-use, this consumption is comparable to that used in the entire transport sector.

The building sector hence represents a major contribution to fossil fuel use and related carbon dioxide emissions. Following uncertainties in energy supply and concern over the risk of global warming, many countries have now introduced target values for reduced energy use in buildings.

Overall, these are aimed at reducing energy consumption by between 5% and 30%. To achieve such a target, international cooperation, in which research activities and knowledge can be shared, is seen as an essential activity.

The IEA (International Energy Agency) thus founded a programme on energy conservation in buildings and community systems, which has been renamed as energy in buildings and communities in 2013.

Energy in Buildings and Community (EBC) Programme carries out research and development activities toward near-zero energy and carbon emissions in the built environment. These joint research projects are directed at energy saving technologies and activities that support technology application in practice. Results are also used in the formulation of international and national energy conservation policies and standards.

The programme's goal is to promote research with an international focus on energy efficient buildings. Activities are directed towards energy saving technologies and supporting technology application in practice. Results are also used in the formulation of international and national energy conservation policies and standards. The programme's activities are bundled in so-called "annexes".

The programme deals with the following priority research topics:

• Energy efficiency and sustainable technologies for buildings' energy supply
• Ventilation and indoor air quality in buildings
• Impact of energy use on the indoor environment and health
• Development and comparison of simulation programmes on buildings
• Energy management systems for buildings and communities
• Energy supply management at the communal and regional levels

Perennial strategy plans set out the topics and goals for joint research projects. Those build upon the member states' national energy and environment programmes.

Austria partakes in the programme since 2006.

Annexes with Austrian participation

Ongoing

• Annex 73: Towards Net Zero Energy Public Communities
• Annex 79: Occupant-Centric Building Design and Operation
• Annex 81: Data-Driven Smart Buildings
• Annex 82: Energy flexible buildings towards resilient low carbon energy systems
• Annex 83: Positive Energy Districts
• IEA EBC Working Group on Cities and Communities (WGCC)
• Annex 84: Demand Management of Buildings in Thermal Networks
• Annex 86: Energy Efficient Indoor Air Quality Management in Residential Buildings
• Annex 89: Ways to Implement Net-zero Whole Life Carbon Buildings
• Annex 91: Open BIM for Energy Efficient Buildings

Completed

• Annex 41: Whole Building Heat, Air and Moisture Response (MOIST-EN)
• Annex 44: Integrating Environmentally Responsive Elements in Buildings
• Annex 45: Energy-Efficient Future Electric Lighting for Buildings
• Annex 49: Low Exergy Systems for High Performance Buildings and Communities
• Annex 50: Prefabricated Systems for Low Energy Renovation of Residential Buildings
• Annex 51: Energy Efficient Communities
• Annex 52: Towards Net Zero Energy Solar Buildings
• Annex 53: Total Energy Use in Buildings: Analysis & Evaluation Methods
• Annex 55: Reliability of Energy Efficient Building Retrofitting - Probability Assessment of Performance & Cost (RAP-RETRO)
• Annex 56: Cost-Effective Energy & CO2 Emissions Optimization in Building Renovation
• Annex 57: Evaluation of Embodied Energy and CO2 Equivalent Emissions for Building Construction
• Annex 58: Reliable Building Energy Performance Characterisation Based on Full Scale Dynamic Measurements
• Annex 60: New Generation Computational Tools for Building & Community Energy Systems
• Annex 61: Business and Technical Concepts for Deep Energy Retrofit of Public Buildings
• Annex 62: Ventilative Cooling
• Annex 63: Implementation of Energy Strategies in Communities
• Annex 64: Optimised Performance of Energy Supply Systems with Exergy Principles
• Annex 66: Definition and Simulation of Occupant Behavior in Buildings
• Annex 67: Energy Flexible Buildings
• Annex 68: Design and Operational Strategies for High Indoor Air Quality in Low Energy Buildings
• Annex 70: Building Energy Epidemiology: Analysis of Real Building Energy Use at Scale
• Annex 71: Building Energy Performance Assessment Based on In-situ Measurements
• Annex 72: Assessing Life Cycle Related Environmental Impacts Caused by Buildings
• Annex 75: Cost-effective Building Renovation at District Level Combining Energy Efficiency & Renewables
• IEA SHC Task 59/EBC Annex 76: Deep Renovation of Historic Buildings - Towards lowest possible energy demand and CO2 emission (nZEB)
• IEA SHC Task 61/EBC Annex 77: Integrated Solutions for Daylight and Electric Lighting
• Annex 80: Resilient Cooling for Residential and Small Non-Residential Buildings

Publications are available on the website of IEA EBC.

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, China, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Greece, Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Netherland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United States

Representative

DI (FH) Isabella Warisch
Austrian Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology
Radetzkystraße 2
A-1030 Wien
Tel.: +43 (1) 71162 652918
E-Mail: isabella.warisch@bmk.gv.at

Vice-Representative

DI Helmut Strasser
Salzburg Institute for Regional Planning and Housing (SIR)
Schillerstrasse 25
A-5020 Salzburg
Tel.: +43 (662) 623 455 - 26
E-Mail: helmut.strasser@salzburg.gv.at