It has long been acknowledged that buildings are responsible for more than 40 percent of the total global energy consumption, but what steps can be taken to start reducing this figure?

According to recent EU reports, every year only around 1.5 percent of buildings are being renovated to improve their energy efficiency. Additionally, often energy savings remain far from the near zero-energy building standard.

To get the renovation ball of the European housing stock rolling, it is necessary to show that in fact not buildings use energy, but people, for their comfort at home or at work. Therefore, we need to understand their habits and practices in relation to energy use, as well as what influences and motivates them when they decide to renovate.

The TripleA-reno project, funded under the EU Horizon 2020 programme, which was kicked-off on 12-13 June, aims to make the process of deep-renovation attractive, acceptable and affordable to people in a straight-forward way.

This will be done by developing an innovative open gamified platform that will act as a one-stop-shop, in turn building the local renovation community.

Following 7 real-life case-studies from cities across Europe, the project will put citizens in the driver´s seat. After observing their needs, the platform will provide users with simple and proven decision-making tools, giving them easy access to the latest renovation technologies and products, including information on renovation procedures and the local renovation value chain.

House-owners will also get an overview of real performance concerning energy, health and indoor environmental quality, as well as user-satisfaction of buildings that were renovated. Designers, workers and suppliers will be able to use the training modules of the platform to improve their skills, while investors will get an insight into the renovation market, with details on projects seeking funding.

ICLEI Europe will soon start engaging its members, provide them with more recent updates and explain how local authorities and their citizens could benefit from such a gamified user-oriented platform as a tool for increasing the number of buildings renovated with a view of improving energy efficiency and ultimately quality of life.

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