Geographical Information System as Support Tool for Sustainable Energy Action Plan

The Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) shows that in 2008, the European Commission approved a package of measures entitled “Energy for a Changing World” which is also known as “20–20–20” targets. Therefore, for quality control management and efficiency in the SEAP, it is essential obtaining suitable information on the building's energy performance and consumptions. This paper illustrates a methodology to support energy policies at the urban level using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in order to characterize and monitoring the energy performance of a region. In this way, the GIS platform provide a mapping representation of the actual state of energy resources in order to develop sustainable energy policies. It was concluded that the GIS can be a useful support during the phases of organization of a SEAP and, for monitoring the actuation of the actions which were foreseen. As a case study, a small town in the Sicily region (Italy) was considered. The proposed methodology aims to help local communities to make decisions for estimating and monitoring the energy consumption in buildings (residential, commercial, industrial), and to simulate effects of energy policies.