Resource: Life Cycle Energy Costing Model

Description

The Factor 4 approach is a sustainable development approach which deals together with social, economic and environmental (energy and GEG) issues towards an optimization of any retrofitting programme. So the Factor 4 approach allows the optimization of the available budget of social owners as well as of public subsidies if any.
The Factor 4 LCEC (Life Cycle Energy Cost) model is a decision aid tool which is the economic and financial (coherent and complementary) complement to the Energy Performance Diagnosis (EPBD) which is a technical tool. It deals also with electricity consumption which is not covered by the EPBD but which is very important as regarding energy precariousness.
There are different 4 descriptions of models available: French, Italian, German, Romanian. The French and the Italian can be adapted to other national contexts.

Implementation

- The Factor 4 model is very easy to use and can be used by social owners themselves, which is not the case of the usual existing tools (which are so sophisticated than a lot of errors are made by those who use them, including consultants which are considered as experts…).
- It allows taking the energetic risk into account because it integrates the energy prices increase.
- It allows taking time into account: it is possible to optimise the energy retrofitting works on several years.  In order to be usable by each social owner in each country covered by the Factor 4 project, national versions are available (including the national specificities and prices). The contacts are in each country:
- Cenergia for Denmark: Ole Balslev-Olesen: obo@cenergia.dk
- La Calade for France: outrequin.philippe@gmail.com
- Ricerca & Progetto for Italy studio@ricercaeprogetto.it
- Wolkswohnung for Germania: reinhard.jank@volskwohnung.com.

Information

In France and in Italy numerous tests were done. At least they help the Factor 4 partners to identify the best practices which were analysed with the Factor 4 model. There is a document available with case studies.
SEC is now used in France:
- by social owners for setting up their energy retrofitting building stock
- by regional associations of social owners for setting up their strategy at the regional scale
- by local authorities for the choice of eco criteria for giving public subsidies to social owners
- by local authorities for setting up their sustainable energy strategy at the city or department or regional scale for private and social housing.