Data estimation
Resource consumption data
Estimation of data is performed to fill data gaps in collected data. Estimation of data can be done by BuildingMinds, your organization, or a third party.
Prerequisites
If BuildingMinds is estimating data the estimation is based on the following reference data with the minimum data requirements listed below going from high data to low data quality.
Reference data | Minimum data requirements | Quality |
|---|---|---|
Collected resource consumption data for 72 month | At least 50% of data for each month is available. | High |
Energy performance certificates (EPCs) | The energy demand values are valid for the period to be estimated and electricity, heating demand, or final energy are listed separately in the certificate. EPCs based on energy demand and energy consumption can be used for the estimation. | Medium |
Benchmark data | When no other reference data is available benchmark data is used. To estimate based on benchmark data the following information is necessary per building: | Low to medium |
Process
BuildingMinds is estimating data once during the initial onboarding of your buildings with the following steps.
Process available data into calendar months. Depending on the provided data the data is split or aggregated.
Apply the vacancy normalization for periods the building was not fully occupied. Vacancy normalization is not performed if the vacancy rate is below 5%. For more information, see Vacancy normalization.
Apply heating degree days for the building's location for heating energy consumption-related data. For more information, see Weather normalization.
Identify data gaps that need estimation.
Check if any collected data for 36 months before and 36 months after the month that needs estimation is available in the provided data set by your organization.
If not, check if energy performance certificates are available for the period to be estimated.
If not, benchmark data is used for the estimation.
Estimation with collected data
When individual months are missing, the platform checks whether data collected within a 36-month period before and after the gap is available. These collected values are then used to estimate the missing data through a weighted average calculation.
The estimated value is determined by multiplying a weighting factor for each specific month with the resource consumption value collected for that month and summing up all the weighted values. The weighting factors consider two key elements: temporal distance and seasonality. Months closer to the missing month and similar months from previous years are given higher weights, resulting in a triangle- and wave-shaped weighting function.
For missing heating values, weather normalization is applied as part of the estimation process. The data from months with collected values is calibrated to match the heat demand of the missing month by using Heating Degree Day (HDD) values, which are specific to the location and time period in question.
Estimation with energy performance certificates (EPCs)
When collected resource consumption data is not available for 72 months before and after the month which needs to be estimated, data from energy performance certificates is used to close the data gap.
EPCs based on energy demand or energy consumption can be used for the estimation. In case the total electricity consumption is not listed in the EPCs the total energy consumption value is split into heating energy and electrical energy based on the shares of the following table (see columns 5 and 6). If buildings are leased-in or leased-out the split between tenant and landlord electricity is based on the shares of the following table (see columns 3 and 4).
Country | Building type | Tenant electricity share | Landlord electricity share | Electricity share | Heating share | Heating source | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Austria | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 36% | 64% | District heating | Entranze Odyssee |
Belgium | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 39% | 61% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Croatia | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 61% | 39% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Bulgaria | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 66% | 34% | District heating | Entranze Odyssee |
Cyprus | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 71% | 29% | Oil-based fuels | Entranze Odyssee |
Czech Rep. | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 39% | 61% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Denmark | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 47% | 53% | District heating | Entranze Odyssee |
Estonia | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 50% | 50% | District heating | Entranze Odyssee |
Finland | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 55% | 45% | District heating | Entranze Odyssee |
France | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 44% | 56% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Germany | Non-residential | 39% | 61% | 30% | 70% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Greece | Non-residential | 47% | 53% | 76% | 24% | Oil-based fuels | Entranze Odyssee |
Hungary | Non-residential | 50% | 50% | 33% | 67% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Ireland | Non-residential | 55% | 45% | 46% | 54% | Oil-based fuels | Entranze Odyssee |
Italy | Non-residential | 60% | 40% | 39% | 61% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Latvia | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 37% | 63% | District heating | Entranze Odyssee |
Lithuania | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 46% | 54% | District heating | Entranze Odyssee |
Luxembourg | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 42% | 58% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Malta | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 80% | 20% | Oil-based fuels | Entranze Odyssee |
Netherlands | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 33% | 67% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Poland | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 48% | 52% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Portugal | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 58% | 42% | Oil-based fuels | Entranze Odyssee |
Romania | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 33% | 67% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Slovakia | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 30% | 70% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Slovenia | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 52% | 48% | Oil-based fuels | Entranze Odyssee |
Spain | Non-residential | 74% | 26% | 69% | 31% | Oil-based fuels | Operational measurment-GENERALI |
Sweden | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 58% | 42% | District heating | Entranze Odyssee |
UK | Non-residential | 66% | 34% | 49% | 51% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Switzerland | Non-residential | 74% | 26% | 60% | 40% | Oil-based fuels | SIA-Effizienzpfad Energie |
Austria | Residential | 88% | 12% | 6% | 94% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Belgium | Residential | 88% | 12% | 3% | 97% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Croatia | Residential | 88% | 12% | 6% | 94% | Natural gas (unspecified) | https://keepwarmeurope.eu/countries-in-focus/croatia/english/ |
Bulgaria | Residential | 88% | 12% | 14% | 86% | Biomass | Entranze Odyssee |
Cyprus | Residential | 88% | 12% | 27% | 73% | Oil-based fuels | Entranze Odyssee |
Czech Rep. | Residential | 88% | 12% | 8% | 92% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Denmark | Residential | 88% | 12% | 3% | 97% | District heating | Entranze Odyssee |
Estonia | Residential | 88% | 12% | 3% | 97% | Biomass | Entranze Odyssee |
Finland | Residential | 88% | 12% | 17% | 83% | District heating | Entranze Odyssee |
France | Residential | 88% | 12% | 13% | 87% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Germany | Residential | 88% | 12% | 7% | 93% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Greece | Residential | 88% | 12% | 7% | 93% | Oil-based fuels | Entranze Odyssee |
Hungary | Residential | 88% | 12% | 4% | 96% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Ireland | Residential | 88% | 12% | 5% | 95% | Oil-based fuels | Entranze Odyssee |
Italy | Residential | 88% | 12% | 6% | 94% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Latvia | Residential | 88% | 12% | 1% | 99% | Biomass | Entranze Odyssee |
Lithuania | Residential | 88% | 12% | 18% | 82% | District heating | Eurostat |
Luxembourg | Residential | 88% | 12% | 5% | 95% | Oil-based fuels | Entranze Odyssee |
Malta | Residential | 88% | 12% | 77% | 23% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Statista |
Netherlands | Residential | 88% | 12% | 2% | 98% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Poland | Residential | 88% | 12% | 1% | 99% | Coal, district heating | Entranze Odyssee |
Portugal | Residential | 88% | 12% | 19% | 81% | Biomass | Entranze Odyssee |
Romania | Residential | 88% | 12% | 1% | 99% | Biomass | Entranze Odyssee |
Slovakia | Residential | 88% | 12% | 3% | 97% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Slovenia | Residential | 88% | 12% | 1% | 99% | Coal | https://keepwarmeurope.eu/countries-in-focus/slovenia/english/ |
Spain | Residential | 88% | 12% | 1% | 99% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Sweden | Residential | 88% | 12% | 26% | 74% | Biomass | Entranze Odyssee |
UK | Residential | 88% | 12% | 9% | 91% | Natural gas (unspecified) | Entranze Odyssee |
Switzerland | Residential | 88% | 12% | 34% | 66% | Oil-based fuels | SIA-Effizienzpfad Energie |
Area measurement data
Carbon and energy intensity values are based on buildings area measurements provided by your organization. In case you can deliver only one area type, BuildingMinds applies the following conversion factors to determine the area measurement type necessary for sustainability calculations.
All decimal numbers in this section are displayed with a decimal point.
Area type | Definition | Conversion factor | Integrated with sustainability calculations | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gross floor area (GFA) | Floor area including external walls and internal walls | GFA = GIA / 0.95 (Industrial) GFA = GIA / 0.90 (all other, including office, residential, retail, etc.) | yes | OPDB HIF BUD (2019): Attachment 6.3 - Development Appraisal Methodology |
Gross internal area (GIA) | Floor area including internal walls, but excluding external walls | GIA = GFA * 0.90 (all other, including office, residential, retail, etc.) GIA = GFA * 0.95 (Industrial) | yes | OPDB HIF BUD (2019): Attachment 6.3 - Development Appraisal Methodology |
Rentable area (RA) | Area specified in the rental contract | RA = 0.545 * GFA (residential) RA = 0.606 * GIA (residential) | yes | |
RA = 0.85 * GIA (office) → RA = 0.765 * GFA (office) RA = 0.95 * GIA (all other commercial incl. industrial) | yes | OPDB HIF BUD (2019): Attachment 6.3 - Development Appraisal Methodology | ||
Net room area (NRA) | Void spaces on a floor of a building excluding inner walls, outer walls, and shafts. | NRA = GFA * 0.83 (residential) NRA = GFA * 0.87 (non-residential) | no | |
Energy reference area (ERA) | Heated and/or cooled area | ERA = 0.85 * GFA (non-residential buildings) | no | |
ERA = 1.2 * RA (residential) | no |
In case your organization has only rentable area data available for their buildings the common area ratio is applied from GRESB GRESB Real Estate Reference Guide, Appendix 3.