Energy advice & assistance during design and construction

Policies or measures for providing energy efficiency advice aim to ensure the home-builders’ and investors’ access to building energy efficiency advisers and, through their advice, to help them:

• to identify and understand solid energy saving options that are tailored to their needs and to realize available funding possibilities so that they can assess the related costs and benefits and prioritise options.
• to implement the identified options and to arrange or conduct necessary energy assessment such as a blower-door test and thermography (VPB). 
• to find qualified architects, engineers, contractors, and certified surveyors for quality control including compliance with energy efficiency standards;
• to understand the impact of their behaviour on energy consumption and how to reduce consumption.

Worldwide implementation status
Policies or measures for providing energy efficiency advice are implemented all over the world, vary in government’s recognition of the need for advice, the resources devoted by the government, and the range of services. They can be implemented at national, regional, and local level.
Energy efficiency advice and assistance is provided with the following types of activities (SErENADE 2008):
Consultancy based: The most effective is an on-site, personalised advice and assistance or coaching of investors throughout the design and construction process to ensure energy efficiency is achieved and made easy. The “Energielotsen“ (Energy Guides) in the Hannover region in Germany is an energy advice and consultancy programme, where architects or engineers advise clients on energy efficiency measures for buildings during the whole construction or refurbishment process (see our good practice example). The German KfW programmes (see our good practice example under Financing and financial incentives) require and provide financial support to energy assistance for investors receiving preferential loans for new Ultra-Low-Energy Buildings. Also in Poland, Slovenia and Hungary , consultants carry out energy efficiency advice, which is linked to specific funding programmes.
At the other end of the spectrum, there is low-level initial advice.
Centralized telephone advice: for example, German Energy Agency (DENA) offers a free energy hotline, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology and the E.ON Ruhrgas AG.
At an intermediate level there are advice centres that potential investors can visit.
Network of energy advice centres: In France, the French government assigned ADEME, the French Environment and Energy Management Agency, with the task of creating an energy advisory infrastructure. The launched EIE network has been implemented in many communities throughout the country to provide free, independent, and customized advice and to raise public awareness for energy efficiency in buildings by outreaching activities.
Services for specific target groups: The “Energy Advice in Student Housing” project was targeted at the student populations in three Dutch cities to make students be more aware of their energy consumption behaviour.
Ad hoc, occasional events: These ad hoc energy advice events are provided by national, regional or local energy agencies.

Governance level
Policies or measures for providing energy efficiency advice can be implemented at national, regional, and local level.

Related sectors

• residential
• services
• industrial

Concepts

• Low-Energy Buildings
• Ultra-Low-Energy Buildings
• nearly-Zero-Energy / Plus-Energy Buildings

In principle all passive design and active technology options to improve energy efficiency in new buildings can be subject to energy advice, in addition to whole building optimisation concepts such as (Ultra-)Low-Energy Buildings.

Related target groups

• Property development company: If they don’t have energy efficiency experts, they can also be a target group for this service.
• Architect: They may also provide the energy advice and assistance during design and construction, and may need to participate in trainings and or obtain certification of their capabilities.
• Investor: They receive the advice and are expected to take energy efficiency action and investment.
• Investor-occupier: They receive the advice and are expected to take energy efficiency action and investment.
• Tenant: Tenants may receive advice in using buildings and equipment in an energy-efficient way.
• User: Users may receive advice in using buildings and equipment in an energy-efficient way.
• Energy agency: Energy agencies may also implement programmes for energy advice and assistance during building design and construction.
• Energy consultant: They have to provide the energy advice and assistance, and may need to participate in trainings and or obtain certification of their capabilities.
• Energy company: Energy companies may also implement energy advice and assistance programmes.
• Energy Service Company: They may also provide the energy advice and assistance.
• Engineering consultant: They may also provide the energy advice and assistance, and may need to participate in trainings and or obtain certification of their capabilities.

Actors on the supply side of building markets indirectly benefit from the policies or measures for providing energy efficiency advice and assistance. The underlying reason is that the energy efficiency advice stimulates the demand of home-builders and investors on energy-efficient products and services.

Direct beneficiaries

• Property development company

  If they don’t have energy efficiency experts, they can also benefit from this service.

• Investor

  Investors learn about concrete energy-saving options tailored to their needs and available funding possibilities so that they can assess costs and benefits of these options. In addition, they are supported to implement the identified options and to obtain necessary energy assessment. They are also informed about how to approach qualified architects, engineers, contractors, and certified surveyors for quality control. Finally, they learn about how to reduce consumption during the building operation phase.

• Investor-occupier

  Investor-occupiers learn about concrete energy-saving options tailored to their needs and available funding possibilities so that they can assess the costs and benefits of these options. They are also supported to implement the identified options and to obtain necessary energy assessment. In addition, they are informed about how to approach to qualified architects, engineers, contractors, and certified surveyors for quality control. Finally, they learn about how to reduce consumption during the building operation phase.

• Tenant

  Tenants may learn how to use buildings and equipment in an energy-efficient way and thereby to save energy costs. There may also be an indirect benefit: If the investor chooses to build with higher energy efficiency after receiving energy advice, future tenants will save energy costs.

Indirect beneficiaries

• System supplier

• Wholesale company

• Manufacturer

• Manufacturer of prefabricated houses

• Retail company

• Engineering consultant

  Engineering consultants indirectly benefit from this set of policies or measures, because it creates continuously growing demand of home-builders and investors for energy advice.

• User

  Users will likely benefit from improved thermal or visual comfort as compared to a conventional building, if the investors chooses to build with higher energy efficiency after receiving energy advice.

• Energy consultant

  Energy consultants indirectly benefit from this set of policies or measures, because it creates a growing demand of home-builders and investors for energy advice.

Relevant barriers

• Knowledge and information barriers: Policies or measures for providing energy efficiency advice and assistance address the lack of knowledge among home-builders and investors about building energy efficiency technologies, current policy framework (especially, Minimum Energy Performance Standards and financial incentive programmes, but also energy efficiency services), and how to approach experts. It reduces their costs of searching for information and uncertainties about cost and benefits of the energy-saving options to be taken.
• Economic and financial barriers: Policies or measures for providing energy efficiency advice and assistance also indirectly address the financial barriers, such as access to financing/lack of capital by providing information on available incentive programs and how to apply for funds.

Relevant incentives

• Saved energy costs: For home-builders, saved energy costs during the building use phase is the major incentive.
• Increased (re-sale) value of the property: For investors, increased (re-sale) value of the property and unique selling proposition (USP) are the two major incentives.

Policies or measures for energy efficiency advice need to be integrated into a policy package to ensure the effectiveness of other instruments. For example, regulations, such as minimum energy performance standards or mandatory energy performance certificates, but also financial incentive programmes should be accompanied by advice about how to achieve the required energy efficiency level and how to implement recommended measures. An example is the German KfW programmes (see the bigEE good practice example). In addition, a key part of the energy advice is about supportive financing and financial incentive policies or measures available to enable home-builders and investors to assess the costs and benefits of various options and to prioritise them.
On the other hand, policies or measures for energy efficiency advice also need support from other policies or measures. For example, continuous education and training for energy advisors is essential for them to keep up with the rapidly growing market and technology development as well as the often rather well-informed home-builders. Additionally, financial incentives such as direct grants to energy advice agencies or consultants is essential for ensuring the free or low-cost access of home-builders and investors to impartial advice. Furthermore, regulations can require specific actors, for example - energy suppliers, to achieve energy savings by providing advice to energy consumers or can require energy advisors to be certified.

The following pre-conditions are necessary to implement Energy advice & assistance during design and construction:

Agencies or other actors responsible for implementation
Local or regional energy agencies may play a key role in providing face-to-face or on-site energy efficiency advice to home-builders and investors.
The government department(s) that designs, oversees, monitors and evaluates the energy advice work should be clearly defined (SErENADE 2008). National energy agencies can also have the task of designing and implementing a grant programme for supporting energy advice and assistance.

Funding
Public funding from different administrative levels is essential to ensure free or low-cost access to initial energy efficiency advice by home-builders and investors.

Test procedures
No specific test procedures are needed for the advice. Instead, they are an instrument to ensure compliance with the calculation and test procedures for building energy performance required by other policies such as Minimum Energy Performance Standards, Energy Performance Certificates, and financial incentive programmes.

Other pre-conditions
Trained agency staff or independent consultants are a crucial pre-condition for the high quality advice and assistance needed to be credible and effective.

Policy design and implementation steps vary among different types of energy efficiency advice programmes. Most of them are straightforward. It starts with an analysis of the needs of home-builders and investors for information in order to stimulate investment in energy-efficient building retrofits and use. The policy arena needs to be screened: which MEPS, building energy performance certificates or equipment labels, and financial incentive or financing programmes exist that will have mutual benefits with the advice or assistance programme? Based on this, the choice of energy advice and assistance elements for the programme and the links to these other policies (e.g., in terms of calculation methods and tools, energy efficiency requirements, or content to be addressed and results or certificates to be produced by the energy advice) can be made. The implementing agency and the funding need to be determined and secured through legislation and budget.

The establishment of a network of energy advice centres, however, is relatively complex. It is initiated and co-ordinated by a central agency or organisation. Energy advice centres/organisations are then established at local level. They can be located in host organisations, such as non-profit environmental and renewable energy organisations, non-profit housing organisations, local authorities, or non-profit consumer organisations. Certified private consultants can also provide the service. A certification scheme will then need to be implemented. However, in addition to the staff of energy advice centres or the independent consultants providing the service, they need to receive special training for it.

These local energy advice centres/organisations and consultants report to and are monitored and evaluated regularly by the central co-ordination body.

Quantified target
Energy efficiency advice and assistance can have a quantified target, such as the number of individual advice contacts to be reached, the number of local energy agencies to be set up, or the number of events to be organised, etc.
However, it may not be feasible to set an energy saving target for the advice and assistance alone, because decisions on whether taking up energy-efficiency options are finally made by home-builders and investors. In addition, other policies and measures such as Minimum Energy Performance Standards and financial incentive programmes also influence these decisions. Therefore, energy saving targets are more advisable for the package of policies and measures targeting energy-efficient new buildings.    

International co-operations
International co-operations that share best practices of energy efficiency advice can improve the policy. Besides, for countries where building energy efficiency is less developed and training capacity is lacking, international technical assistance and grant programmes that aim at training qualified professionals who can provide energy efficiency advice in these countries can have a high leverage effect.

Monitoring

Monitoring of energy advice activities requires the report of data such as the number of advice activities, the recommended energy efficiency options and potential energy and cost savings, the customer satisfaction/customer service quality, the background information of customers etc. In addition, the really implemented options and/or the energy performance values calculated for Energy Performance Certificates or the real energy consumption achieved by home-builders and investors who receive advice should also be recorded (SErENADE 2008). An optimal monitoring would also collect cost-effectiveness data (investment, energy cost savings compared to conventional building) for the energy efficiency investments recommended in energy advice activities and/or implemented as their consequence, at least for a meaningful sample of participants.

Monitoring of outreach activities requires data, such as the type of event (e.g. workshop, school event, fair), the number of people reached, the (amount of) materials used etc. 

Evaluation

Evaluation of energy efficiency advice can include the following categories of information: evaluation of results of advice (e.g. options recommended and really implemented or energy performance levels recommended and achieved), evaluation of outcomes of advice (e.g. energy consumption and savings achieved compared to conventional buildings, including through compliance with energy efficiency requirements), and benefit/cost ratio, but also evaluation of customer satisfaction/customer service quality, analysis of client group (SErENADE 2008).

In order to evaluate energy savings induced by the energy efficiency advice, modelled energy consumption for the scenario where no energy efficiency action is taken and data of actual energy consumption are needed. However, the accuracy of modelling is sometimes questionable. It can be improved by tailoring the parameters more closely to different house types, which can increase the cost (SErENADE 2008). Thus, a compromise between accuracy and cost needs to be made.

In order to evaluate the economic costs and benefits, data on the cost of providing advice and running the programmes (design, communication, training and certification of advisors, evaluation), the investment of home builders and investors on energy-saving options triggered by the advice, and estimated energy saving are needed. The analysis of cost should avoid neglecting the cost of preparation before the advice-giving and the additional funds raised by local advice agencies. Besides, double-counting of savings should be avoided when more than one public-funded programme supports the advice and assistance, and when there are Minimum Energy Performance Standards and financial incentive programmes for investments (SErENADE 2008).    

Relevant individual dynamics and side-effects

• Dynamic market transformation and/or innovation: Market transformation to low energy buildings requires informed actors in the value-chain (UNEP 2007). Energy efficiency advice and assistance providing specific information tailored to the needs and background of home-builders and investors can facilitate their taking-up of energy efficiency actions or high overall energy performance levels. This can either ensure compliance with Minimum Energy Performance Standards or promote higher energy performance levels than required by these and thus enlarge the market.
• Avoiding lost opportunities: Energy efficiency advice and assistance can first make home-builders and investors aware of opportunities to save energy and then assist them in harnessing these opportunities. In this way, it avoids lost opportunities (SErENADE 2008).
• Minimising rebound effects: During the energy advice activity, Home-builders become aware of the impacts of their behaviour on energy consumption and how to reduce consumption. This potentially minimises the rebound effects.
• Minimising snap-back effects: Constant well-planned marketing and outreaching activities for energy efficiency advice programmes as well as the promotion of high energy performance levels during the advice and assistance (like in the case of the Energielotsen from Hanover, Germany; see the bigEE good practice policy example) can help to minimize snap-back effects.
• Creating Spill-over effects: Positive spill-over effects can be realised with successful energy efficiency advice programme. Home-builders and investors who take up the advice may share their knowledge with others and thus create spill-over effects, if the latter also implement energy efficiency actions.
• Minimising free-rider effects: If the energy advice and assistance helps ensure compliance with Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), it will avoid free-rider effects on the MEPS. If the advice and assistance successfully promotes energy performance levels much higher than MEPS, it will limit free-ridership on the advice itself. Such free-ridership could arise if the advice had proposed the same or even lower performance levels than the investors would have implemented without the advice

Design for sustainability aspects
Other sustainability aspects and environmental impacts can be part of energy efficiency advice, e.g. health aspects, uses of other resources such as water and land.

Co-benefits
Job creation in the energy consultancy and advice field is an important co-benefit of policy or measure providing energy efficiency advice, because of the increased demand for energy consultants and advisors. Indirectly, the increasing demand for energy efficiency products and services creates job opportunities in this field.

The following barriers are possible during the implementation of the policy
Barriers for the implementation of policies or measures providing energy efficiency advice are mainly:

• Insufficient funds, which may lead to low performance in energy advice, limited advice approaches (e.g. not able to conduct on-site advice), “brain drain” of energy advisors into other sectors, etc.;
• Local authorities may not be very interested in energy advice activities and provide little or no funding;
• Limited knowledge exchange among energy advisors (SErENADE 2008);
• Long time spent on documenting and reporting compared to actual advising (SErENADE 2008).

The following measures can be undertaken to overcome the barriers
To overcome barriers for the implementation of policies providing energy audits and advice:

• More public funds should be directed to energy efficiency advice, given its potentially high leverage effect.
• Regulations can require the private sector, for example energy providers - to support energy saving.
• A low service charge can potentially alleviate the problem of funding.
• A nationwide competition, awarding best performing municipalities or regions in terms of energy savings, could enhance the significance of local energy advice agencies and generate support from their respective local authorities.
• Central co-ordination body should promote knowledge exchange among local energy advice agencies and private consultants, for example, via website or conference, etc.
• Effective tools for energy advisors to document and report their activities and outcomes need to be developed

Potentially achievable energy savings vary among different types of energy efficiency advice programmes. For instance, compared to other advice approaches , on-site advice can lead to more reliable and adequate energy efficiency recommendations and thus increase the chance that recommendations are actually implemented.
Furthermore, energy savings from advice and assistance measures will often be difficult to measure or attribute to the advice and assistance measure, but they will contribute to the effectiveness of many other policies, such as Minimum energy performance standards or financial incentive programmes.
For example, in France, the local energy information centres, providing advice for both energy-efficient retrofit of existing buildings and new construction, encouraged investment on energy-saving options that saved 160,000mt of CO₂ in 2009 (MURE 2010; see also the bigEE good practice policy example).

The costs differ significantly depending on the approach of energy efficiency advice and the country of implementation.
For the example of the Energielotsen in Hanover, Germany, the grant to investors is up to €500 for a single-family house. This is a service guiding home-builders through the process of building Ultra-Low-Energy Buildings.

In France, the overall budget for operating local energy information centres, providing advice for both energy-efficient retrofit of existing buildings and new construction, is 15 million Euros per year (MURE 2010; see also the bigEE good practice policy example).

For other, often simpler examples of energy advice in European Union countries, the following table presents values for the cost per client.

Source: SErENADE 2008

Successful policies or measures providing energy efficiency advice can have a very high leverage effect and result in significant reduction of CO₂ emissions. For example, in France, the overall budget for operating local energy information centres, providing advice for both energy-efficient retrofit of existing buildings and new construction, is 15 million Euros per year. These centres encouraged investment on energy-saving options of 465 million Euros and saved 160,000mt of CO₂ in 2009 (MURE 2010; see also the bigEE good practice policy example).

A likely result of careful energy advice and assistance during design and construction will also be that the energy-efficient building will be cost-effective for the investor, or at least the costs for improving energy efficiency will be minimised.