RÉPENER

RÉPENER is a research project  co-funded by the Spanish National  R&D Plan 2009-2012 which is carried out the research group ARC Enginyeria i Arquitectura La Salle, Barcelona in collaboration with the Faculty of Business and Computer Science, Hochschule Albstadt-Sigmaringen, in Germany.

The aim of this project is to design and implement a prototype of an energy information system using semantic technologies, following the philosophy of the Linked Open Data intiative. The system integrates two types of data sources, proprietary and open. The energetic model in which the system is based comprises two types of energy data: building data (consumptions, provision, installations, use, etc.), and data related with other fields (environmental, social, economic,…) that can have an impact in the buildings’ energy efficiency.

The RÉPENER information system will make available to different stakeholders (technical equipment, consultants, users, energy managers) the energy information created by different applications throughout the building lifecycle, from design to operation and maintenance. The aim of the system is to provide qualified information to different agents to enable them to improve their decision-making process in their respective realms with the common purpose of improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Therefore, together with the modeled data semantically, services for analysis and processing of data using data mining techniques will be developed.

The system interfaces will enable the different actors to interact with the system information in a personalized way, adapting each interface to the user profile. The aim is to develop a communication space that allows the different types of user to extract different the information they need in the appropriate format.

September 2012

Two papers were presented at the conference SEMAPRO 2012 in Barcelona on 24-27 September. The two papers deal with technological issues developed during the project. Specifically, RÉPENER ontology design and strategies for creating links between different data sources based on the semantic web.

- Ontological Representation of Knowledge Related to Building Energy-efficiency. German Nemirovski, Alvaro Sicilia, Fàtima Galán, Marco Massetti, Leandro Madrazo

- Strategies for Semantic Integration of Energy Data in Distributed Knowledge Bases. Alvaro Sicilia, Fàtima Galán, Leandro Madrazo

On September 14, 2012, Gerardo Wadel and Marco Massetti presented the research works that the group ARC Enginyeria i Arquitectura La Salle is carrying out about the application of semantic technologies to energy
information. The presentation took place at the Ramon Llull University in the meeting on “Energy and Sustainability” organized by the Campus of Excellence Aristos Campus Mundus.

July 2012

RÉPENER has been presented in a paper at the ECPPM 2012 conference held 25 to July 27 in Reykjavik, Iceland.

- Semantic modelling of energy-related information throughout the whole building lifecycle. L. Madrazo, A. Sicilia, M. Massetti & F. Galan

May 2012

RÉPENER be presented at the research day organized by the Technology Futures Institute at the University of Teesside, UK, on May 15, 2012.

April 2012

The results obtained in the first phase of development of RÉPENER will be presented in a paper at the ECPPM 2012 conference held 25 to July 27 in Reykjavik, Iceland.

March 2012

A Linked Data in Architecture and Construction Workshop organized by SmartLab, University of Ghent has taken place on 28 and 29 March 2012. This Workshop had the participation of researchers from ARC Enginyeria i Arquitectura La Salle, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, la National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland, and the Laboratory of Software Technology Aalto University, Helsinki. The theme of the workshop has focused on analyzing the potential of semantic web technologies, the Linked Open Data and ontologies applied in the AEC sector and energy efficiency.

December 2011

An Ontology Workshop organized by ARC Enginyeria i Arquitectura La Salle will take place on 19 and 20 December 2011. It is expected the participation of researchers from SmartLab, University of Ghent, Belgium and the Ontology Engineering Group, Polytechnic University of Madrid.

September 2011

Start of the European project activities SEMANCO “Semantic Tools for Carbon Reduction in Urban Planning”, coordinated by ARC Enginyeria i Arquitectura La Salle. The goal of this project is to apply semantic technologies to develop new tools that help reduce CO2 emissions in the urban environment.

June 2011

REPENER information system has been presented in a poster at the CAAD Futures 2011 conference, held in Liege, Belgium, from 4 to 8 July 2011.

March 2011

ARC Enginyeria i Arqutiectura La Salle has joined the Thematic Network of Linked Data. The purpose of this network is to facilitate exchange of knowledge in this area between management groups, research institutes, government and business.