GIS-based Decision Support System for Building Retrofit

In order to reduce the energy demand of the building sector the energy demand of existing buildings need to be reduced. However, the retrofit of buildings is a complex task. Many options, such as replacing windows, improving the building envelope or replacing the heating system are available to improve the energy efficiency of a building or lower carbon emissions. Most building owners are not energy experts and are thus overwhelmed by the available choices for retrofitting their buildings. Furthermore, they can have false beliefs about the payback of energetic refurbishment. We propose a web based decision support system (DSS) using a geographic information system (GIS) based building stock model to inform building owners in a fashion, which is as simple as possible. This is achieved by using an extensive GIS database of building data. This eliminates the need for users to know the dimension of their building envelope or local climate data. The system allows users to select and compare different retrofit scenarios in terms of carbon emissions and energy savings and thus to inform themselves about the potential of energetic retrofit of their building.