This led to the development of the eponymous method (“QSE” method) for assessing the overall performance of buildings that have undergone energy renovation work. QUARTET aims to train future users in the method and, in this context, the project team is currently recruiting a few volunteer operators to deploy it. Following the experiments previously carried out in buildings for residential use, QUARTET is continuing its experiments on buildings for school and office use and is recruiting around twenty buildings for office use.
The objective of QSE and today QUARTET is to provide guarantees on the overall performance of buildings after energy renovation work.
Energy, comfort, health: evaluating the overall performance of buildings using the “QSE method”
Launched in 2019 as part of the PROFEEL program, the QSE (Health and Energy Quality of Renovations) project aims to offer local authorities, social landlords, park managers or design offices acting as an assistant to project management, a simple and inexpensive method, known as the "QSE method" to assess, before and/or after renovation, the overall "energy-health-comfort" performance of buildings for residential and educational use of the first degree (nursery and elementary schools) and offices.
The evaluation of the overall performance of a building is carried out by means of an "in situ" survey carried out by an investigator trained in the method, over a period of variable duration depending on the type of building. It is based on the installation of measuring devices and sampling systems, the performance of specific acoustic measurements and the collection of information relating to the building, its equipment and systems and its occupants. The data collected thus makes it possible to determine an overall performance indicator based on the calculation of 3 indices: indoor air quality, ambient comfort and energy.
The 3 indices of the QSE method
The Indoor Air Quality Index (IAQ) is developed by comparing the concentrations of each criterion (CO2 and pollutants such as PM2.5 or formaldehyde) with reference thresholds, and by evaluating the potential risk of excess moisture that can cause fungal growth (traces of water infiltration for example).
The Comfort index includes the calculation of 4 sub-indices. The thermal comfort sub-index is based on measurements of air temperature and humidity and the evaluation of the perception of thermal comfort. The acoustic comfort sub-index is based on an evaluation of the level of facade insulation and equipment noise (heating, heat pump, air conditioning, controlled mechanical ventilation) as well as on the determination of the presence or absence of discomfort related to the sound environment expressed by the occupants. The visual comfort and olfactory comfort sub-indices relate to the presence or absence of discomfort linked to the visual or olfactory atmosphere, expressed by the occupants.
The Energy index is based on the calculation of sub-indexes from the energy consumption data noted on the invoices. The result of the Energy index is established by comparing these indicators with two consumption thresholds defined on the basis of data representative of the building stock.
Quartet continues to experiment and deploy the “QSE method”
The QSE project made it possible to assess the impact of energy renovation work on the overall performance of 29 housing units and the overall performance under steady state conditions of 20 buildings renovated 1 to 3 years ago. In its continuity, the QUARTET project continues the experimentation of the evaluation of the impact of energy renovations in schools and office buildings. The project team is looking for around twenty additional buildings for office use in order to continue the experiment. To participate, operators must carry out a global energy renovation project with the launch of works which would allow the carrying out of surveys by partner operators trained in the "before works" method, by June 2023, and "after works" d by June 2024. Operators must also be able to provide the surveyor with consumption data one year before and one year after the renovation works. To participate in this experiment, 3 office spaces within the building must be analyzed. Finally, the buildings must be located in the regions of intervention of the partners in charge of the surveys: ATMO Grand Est, CSTB, ISPIRA, MEDIECO AND TIPEE. For more information, operators can contact QUARTET on the address: qse-renovation@cstb.fr
At the same time, the QUARTET project team is looking for five volunteer operators (managers of parks, local authorities, social landlords, design offices, project managers, project management assistance, etc.) who would like to be trained in the "method QSE”. Volunteers will be trained free of charge and “QSE kits” (protocols and measuring devices) will be made available to them. They will benefit from personalized support from the CSTB QUARTET project team during “in situ” surveys before or after their renovation work. The data collected will make it possible to assess the overall performance indicator. To participate, operators must have one or more energy renovation projects (upcoming or completed in the past 1 to 3 years) for residential buildings, offices or schools (primary or elementary). To participate in the deployment of the QSE method, simply contact the QUARTET project team via the address: qse-renovation@cstb.fr
Quartet's perspectives: create a resource center and develop the QSE method towards an improved and enriched QSE 2.0 method
A first version of the method for evaluating the overall performance of buildings (QSE Method) as well as the other deliverables (methodological reports and reports on the use of experimental data) are available on the Profeel program website via the following link : https://programmeprofeel.fr/projets/qse-quartet/
A digital resource center accessible to all players in the sector and under development will make it possible to:
- Discover the QSE method thanks to the video presentation
- Go deeper by consulting its methodological guide and its appendices,
- To train thanks to the provision of synthetic video tutorials.
It will also allow, thanks to the collected data, the automatic calculation of the global performance indicator and the comparison of the performance of the buildings between them. The data collected by the users of the method will first be anonymized before being capitalized in a database.
The objective of the deployment of the QSE method by the target users is to benefit from their feedback from the field in order to develop and enrich it by the end of 2024.
For Driss SAMRI, Director of the CSTB Health-Comfort Department: “QUARTET is an ambitious project which will enable us to enrich the work already carried out within the framework of the QSE project thanks to new feedback from the field. The deployment of the "QSE method" which takes into account the concepts of comfort and health, provides guarantees on the overall performance of buildings. We would like it to be able to encourage managers of buildings and parks to undertake massive energy renovation work. »
QUARTET partners: CSTB, ATMO Grand-Est, ISPIRA, MEDIECO, TIPEE, LCPP, SPSE, ALGADE