Building Energy Performance Tool launched

New free browser application to calculate the energy performance of buildings and cost-effectiveness of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures.

International building certification schemes are scarcely applied in the MENA region because they are too expensive, focus on sustainable construction as opposed to energy performance, and do not respond well to the market conditions in the MENA region. However, to apply for financial support from banks, project developers need evidence proving that the planned activities sufficiently reduce the energy demand of the buildings. To close this gap, the project ‘BUILD ME – boosting ambitions to achieve a climate-neutral building standard in the MENA region’ funded by International Climate Initiative (IKI) developed the Building Energy Performance (BEP) Tool. The BEP Tool is  a free browser application tailored to the MENA region that provides a wealth of information about a building’s energy performance and the cost-effectiveness of renewable energy or energy efficiency measures in three simple steps.

Why use the BEP Tool?

If you're interested in energy performance and savings, cost-optimal energy efficiency measures, or economic sizing of renewable energies, the BEP Tool is for you. In it you can find the answers to questions like how much energy can the building save with energy efficiency measures or the use of renewable energies? How much money would that save? And how does the building project compare to similar buildings in my country?

From the buildings’ envelope to the use of renewable energies, the tool covers all relevant aspects that influence the energy performance of buildings and the life cycle costs of energy efficiency measures. It delivers realistic results based on a solid, internationally applicable methodology. The core of the model, ISO 52016, is complemented with hourly climate data and local market data for Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Who can use the BEP Tool?

The BEP Tool is useful for a wide range of actors, particularly from the MENA region.

• Project developers seeking to exploit energy saving potentials, identify the cost-optimal/economic efficiency measures and appropriately size renewable energies to their building.
• Financial institutions to verify green building projects in the local market and support them with green funding.
• Architects to pre-assess potential measures in the concept phase with an easy and free tool, thereby support the design of nearly zero-energy buildings.
• Researchers to generate energy consumption data for either representative reference buildings or individually designed cases.
• Non-technical users, such as policy makers to understand the impact of energy efficiency measures on a building's energy performance but also reduction in CO₂-emissions.

These are just a few illustrations of the many ways in which the tool can be utilized to find the answers to questions about new building projects.

Additional features and enhancements will be added to the BEP Tool over the course of 2021.