EFFECT4buildings Prosumerism tool

Published on 19 November 2020

Latvia

About this good practice

The Interreg project EFFECT4buildings has developed a toolbox of financial tools and instruments for implementing more energy efficiency measures in buildings. The target group is building managers.
Energy prosumer is an energy consumer that produces energy. The Prosumerism tool helps building managers to produce own solar energy, by (i) introducing legislation frameworks regar¬ding prosumerism in the EU and each participating country; (ii) tackling PV market trends and costs; and (iii) discussing future development and barriers, using case studies and lessons learned from them.
EFFECT4building project has developed a Prosumerism calculation tool that helps building owners:
1. To determine the optimal size of the PV system
2. To find out how much electricity can be produced from a selected area
3. To make financial calculations to identify savings, income, necessary investments, repayment time
and the overall profitability of the system
4. To find out how much a storage system would improve PV systems efficiency
The tool also include templates and guidelines for procurement of PV systems.

Resources needed

Investments in PV solar plants vary depending on size, but using the EFFECT4buildings prosumerism calculation tool does not take a lot of resources.
Using the templates for procurement of PV plants save time and resources.

Evidence of success

The calculation tool was tested in Gulbene municipality in Latvia, which plans to install a solar power plant on a local government administration building. Using this tool, Gulbene calculated the amount of electricity that the planned PV system can produce, and determined that the project would be profitable. Data gathered later using this tool will be used when making procurement.
The templates for procurement of PV plants has been tested by Ludvika municipality in Sweden with good results.

Potential for learning or transfer

The tool has been developed with the aim to make them possible to adapt in all (European) countries. The potential for transferring best practise to other regions is supported by clear guidelines, templates and training materials.
Please visit project website www.effect4buildings.se to explore the full toolbox.