About the impact of individual metering on the energy efficiency of residential buildings

Since 2002, the European Union has promoted individual metering of energy consumption as an effective tool to improve energy efficiency in buildings. In 2012, the Energy Efficiency Directive has set mandatory the individual heat accounting in buildings when centralized heating/cooling systems are installed, when technically feasible and cost efficient. As far, Member States of European Union adopted different approaches regarding this obligation, due to differences in their climatic conditions, building stocks characteristics and installed technologies but also to a lack of knowledge about the real impact of the use of such devices. As a consequence, this measure has led to a series of technical, legal and consumer protection issues which still need to be solved. This thesis aims to address, with a multi-thematic approach, the issue of measuring thermal energy consumption in residential buildings. A number of four research questions have been investigated in order to answer to the main question: “What is the impact of the use of energy metering devices in residential buildings?”. To this aim, a number of six case studies were investigated to: i) evaluate the expected metrological performances of individual metering devices on-field; ii) assess the potential energy saving gainable through the use of individual metering devices in Mediterranean climates and analyse possible feedback strategies to enhance end-user awareness; iii) evaluate the potential impact of different energy policies on the outcome of this energy measure; iv) evaluate the performances of current methodologies applied for end-users’ profiling through individual metering. Results of this thesis provide useful insights to researchers, designers and policy makers, filling some of the gaps highlighted in the existing scientific literature in all the analysed areas.