Agreement on Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation - ECTI, established between ENBPar, under PROCEL, and UFSC, aimed at developing the projects "Development of DEO-Procel and Technical Support for the implementation of mandatory conformity assessment of Buildings regarding energy efficiency in Brazil" and "Proposal of a training and evaluation system for professionals certified as auditors of PBE Edifica". The Agreement is foundational to develop the CB3E - Brazilian Center for Energy Efficiency in Buildings, and to ensure progress in energy efficiency policies in the country's buildings, divided into 4 tasks:
Task I - Development of DEO-PROCEL focused on non-residential buildings
Objective: Development of the DEO-PROCEL Certification focused on at least 7 typologies of non-residential buildings.
Goals: The goals of this task are:
1. Review the operational benchmarking system of other countries.
2. Develop operational energy benchmarking, including modeling the structure integrating indoor environmental quality and user satisfaction.
3. Raise awareness through workshops to disseminate the DEO-Procel certification.
4. Apply examples of operational energy benchmarking in each typology.
Description:
Operational Energy Performance (DEO) is a program developed by PROCEL, in partnership with the Ministry of Mines and Energy, with the aim of evaluating and classifying the energy efficiency of buildings during operation in Brazil. Created in 2013, it was initially developed by the Brazilian Green Building Council (CBCS), with few typologies. Over the years, new typologies have been added, covering corporate, public buildings, and other segments, totaling 17 building categories analyzed.
Currently, DEO is applied via an online calculator that allows classifying buildings as "efficient," "inefficient," or "typical," based on energy consumption data provided. However, the platform operates in a simplified way, focused only on calculating energy benchmarks, without implementing a formal certification system. Despite limitations, DEO-PROCEL represents an advance in understanding the real energy consumption in Brazilian buildings, allowing more precise operational efficiency analysis.
This Agreement foresees proposing a system of operational performance certification, i.e., the effective comparison of the building's energy bill with "how much" it should consume efficiently (benchmark). Furthermore, the creation of a database for existing buildings, tools for setting efficiency goals, corrective actions, and generating detailed reports are planned. These improvements aim to transform DEO into a strategic energy management tool, promoting more sustainable and efficient decisions in the construction sector.
Deliverables: The deliverables of the Agreement related to Task I approved by PROCEL are:
- CB3E-T1-RT01-01 - Literature Review of main models and operational energy performance evaluation systems worldwide;
- CB3E-T1-RT02-01 - Study of Climatic Representativity in Computational Building Simulation;
- CB3E-T1-RT03-01 - Analysis of current DEO limitations; [coming soon]
- CB3E-T1-RT05-01 - Compatibility of typology definitions of INI-C and DEO-Procel;
- CB3E-T1-RT08-01 - Brazilian Common Building Components Library; [coming soon]
- Reference Buildings of the Brazilian Commercial Sector.
Task II - Technical support for implementing mandatory conformity assessment of buildings regarding Energy Efficiency
Objective: Provide technical support for implementing mandatory conformity assessment regarding energy efficiency applied to residential and non-residential buildings, as well as continuous technical advising to MME, PROCEL, INMETRO, CGIEE, GT-Edificações, ST-Edificações, and ABNT on topics related to the Building Labeling Program.
Goals: The goals of this task are:
1. Maintenance of the inquiry channel on Inmetro Ordinance 309/2022 - PBE Edifica Forum.
2. Publication of Technical Notes on the PBE Edifica website aiming to correct errors, review, and update methods of Inmetro Ordinance 309/2022.
3. Examples illustrating application of NZEB, EEP, and Procel Seal concepts.
4. Technical support for developing technical standards related to building energy efficiency.
5. Propose criteria for updating the Procel Seal for non-residential and residential buildings.
6. Propose a method to define a unique building identifier, applied in a case study of 10 buildings.
Description:
Since 2014, Procel Edifica together with CB3E have developed actions to improve and simplify the evaluation and classification method of energy efficiency of commercial, service, public, and residential buildings, which resulted in requirements present in Inmetro Normative Instructions, published by Ordinance No. 309/2022 (INI-C, INI-R, and RAC).
The main drivers of these actions were the improvement of the performance indicator, helping consumers make decisions when choosing their property and enabling quantification of savings generated by energy efficiency measures applied to buildings; and, 2) the inclusion of assessment of nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) and positive energy buildings, encouraging local renewable energy generation in buildings.
The proposed evaluation and classification published by the INIs is based on primary energy consumption, comparing the building in its real condition with the same building adopting reference characteristics, equivalent to efficiency class D for non-residential buildings and class C for residential buildings.
Within this Agreement's scope, in addition to the goals below, maintenance of the PBE Edifica page and the database of labeled residential and non-residential buildings, the digital interface of the neural network for evaluating energy efficiency of commercial, service, public, and residential buildings; monitoring development and support for dissemination of NZEBs and EEPs in Brazil; technical support in standard development, testing and trials; maintenance of CB3E's optical properties reference core; proposal of a unique building identifier for PBE Edifica evaluation, Procel Seal, and DEO-Procel Certification; and inclusion of labeling in Caixa's Casa Azul Seal certification are foreseen.
Deliverables: The deliverables related to Task II approved by PROCEL are:
- CB3E-T2-RT-02 - Report on maintenance activities of the PBE Edifica website, interface, and database; [coming soon]
- CB3E-T2-RT-03 - Dissemination of NZEBs and EEPs in Brazil: literature review and existing barriers; [coming soon]
- CB3E-T2-RT-05 - Development of new typologies covering DEO-Procel and INI-C; [coming soon]
Task III - Pilot Think Tank Project to support the National Energy Efficiency Policy in the Building sector
Objective: Continue the constitution of CB3E, developing a project to establish a pilot think tank, considering the complexity of implementing the policy aimed at energy efficiency in the construction sector.
Goals: The goals of this task are:
1. Invite individuals and institutions to institutional cooperation with CB3E;
2. Train people on energy efficiency in buildings through presentations, courses, and offered workshops.
Task IV - Proposal for a Training and Evaluation System of Professionals Certified as Auditors of PBE Edifica and DEO
Objective: Provide technical support for implementing a training and evaluation system for professionals certified as auditors of the Brazilian Building Labeling Program (PBE Edifica) and the Procel DEO Seal.
Goals: The goals of this task are:
1. Analyze 4 currently available courses for training people to apply PBE Edifica.
2. Interview 4 institutions to study the feasibility of including professionals certified as auditors.
3. Develop 60 questions for a question bank.
4. Incubate 1 certification body for persons.
5. Train and evaluate 20 professionals certified for PBE Edifica.
6. Impact 30 people through the final workshop.
Description:
The implementation of mandatory energy efficiency evaluation of buildings through PBE Edifica requires greater evaluation structure. Currently, the National Energy Conservation Label (ENCE), which classifies building energy efficiency, is issued by Accredited Inspection Bodies (OIA) by Inmetro. Although the OIAs' robust structure is essential for inspecting complex or large buildings, the mandate also requires a more agile approach and wider geographic dispersion to quickly serve smaller buildings.
To broaden PBE Edifica's reach, reinforce available technical capacity, and speed certification processes, ensuring more buildings are labeled efficiently, Inmetro Ordinance 309/2022 introduces the figure of the Certified Professional (PC). The PC will be responsible for evaluating, inspecting, and issuing ENCE for smaller buildings, supporting the OIAs.
This Agreement foresees creating a training, certification, and monitoring system for these professionals. The certification process aims to validate technical and professional competencies so the PC can perform inspections on energy efficiency requirements in the construction sector, with expected performance and quality. Besides this system proposal, the agreement includes incubating a Certification Body for Persons (OPC) and forming the first PC cohort.
Deliverables: The deliverables related to Task IV approved by PROCEL are:
- CB3E-T4-RT-01 - State of the art: Certified Professionals;
- CB3E-T4-RT-02 - State of the art: Training Methodologies for Professionals;
- CB3E-T4-RT-04 - Interviews with OPCs and OIAs: Implementation of the certified professionals program for ENCE issuance by PBE Edifica;
- CB3E-T4-RT-05 - Feasibility Analysis: Survey of Training in PBE Edifica.
Team involved in the Agreement:
- Roberto Lamberts - Coordinator
- Ana Paula Melo - Deputy Coordinator
- Greici Ramos - Researcher A
- Mateus Vinícius Bavaresco - Researcher A
- Matheus Soares Geraldi - Researcher A
- Renata De Vecchi - Researcher A
- Rayner Maurício e Souza Machado - Researcher A
- Luiza Tavares de Castro - Researcher B
- Natasha Hansen Gapski Pereira - Researcher B
- Thalita Maciel - Researcher B
- Luís Filipe Muta - Researcher B
- Brenda da Costa Loeser - Researcher B
- Anthony Aliardi - Researcher C
- Ellen Casanova Nunes - Researcher C
- Nathalia Coelho - Researcher C
- Igor Sartori Schlichting - Researcher C
- Matheus Araujo Langer - Undergraduate Research
- Paula Rodrigues de Souza - Undergraduate Research
- Roberta Rodrigues Meneghetti - Undergraduate Research