Queenborough and Rushenden BPE data analysis and dissemination report Business Intelligence Data Management & tool Developer September 2012
Queenborough and Rushenden BPE data analysis and dissemination report BPE intern specification Part 1 Project background 1.1 Summary The Institute for Sustainability is leading a project to conduct measuring, monitoring, and evaluation for a 270 home domestic retrofit project in the communities of Queenborough and Rushenden, in Swale, Kent. This project will include pre-retrofit physical testing of properties, installation of monitoring equipment in a small number of properties to capture building performance data over the course of the project, and post-retrofit physical assessment. The project will also assess resident expectations and experiences. 1.2 About the Institute The Institute for Sustainability is an independent charity established in 2009 to support cross sector collaboration and innovation. Our mission is to significantly accelerate the delivery of economically, environmentally and socially sustainable cities and communities Our focus is on delivering innovative demonstration projects and developing programmes to actively capture and share learning and best practice. The Institute plays a number of roles in supporting and enabling projects. These include acting as an independent facilitator brokering strategic and operational relationships with partners; leveraging funding; shaping and sharing knowledge and best practice and; managing projects, shaping and guiding them from inception through to delivery. Our activity is in the areas which we believe present the greatest challenge and opportunity to creating sustainable cities and communities. These are resource efficient buildings, sustainable infrastructure and resources, transport and logistics and Total Community Retrofit (TCR). A number of our projects are cross-cutting across all of these areas and have a specific focus on innovation and supply chains. 1.3 About the Queenborough and Rushenden retrofit project Project overview This is a comprehensive, whole house (as required), whole community retrofit scheme that will deliver substantial carbon, energy and financial savings to the residents of Queenborough and
Rushenden. The project has been designed to help alleviate the complex social problems within a community characterised by extensive unemployment, low aspiration, high levels of deprivation and fuel poverty. It will bring the current low property energy standards up to current levels and in so doing enable greater social and community cohesion, improving standards of living considerably. The total number of homes within Queenborough and Rushenden is just under 1,500 and the proposed first phase of the project in Rushenden, contains approximately 270 homes retrofits across all forms of tenure. Current funding levels will enable each retrofit to deliver a carbon saving of around 40-50% and an annual residential saving of approximately 350 assuming current energy prices. There will also be a set of water efficiency measures introduced to participating households, helping to minimise water stress and further reduce the energy used to heat water for use within the home. The energy measures proposed, derived from an initial wide ranging survey of 120 local properties, will vary by individual property and include: Insulation loft, cavity and solid wall as appropriate with draught proofing throughout Boiler replacement and central heating systems, with new control systems, smart meters and real time displays Solar thermal (in part) New, low u-value glazing Water efficient fixtures and fittings (in part) Fuel switching (electricity or coal to gas if required) This capital work is expected to range approximately 4k- 15k per dwelling. The Queensborough and Rushenden project is set out as a best practice demonstrator, intended not only to deliver a practical scheme and improve the quality of the community but to serve as a guide for future, and larger, projects across the UK. The key process for identifying and developing these best practices is deployment of a comprehensive measurement, monitoring, and evaluation (MME) programme through the life of the Q&R project: Dwelling descriptions Detailed property data will be provided to the winning bidders to facilitate development of the service. The following summary is provided for context. Of the 270 properties to be treated, 203 are owned by the registered social landlord Amicus Horizon, and 67 properties are privately owned.
The majority of the private properties included in the project are terraces constructed between 1900-1929, while the social properties are both similar terraces and a number of detached homes/bungalows, typically built between 1950-1965. Project scheduling considerations Retrofitting of the private homes began in November 2011 and finished in April 2012. Retrofitting of the social housing stock is to begin in July 2012. The Experiment Design takes into consideration this schedule and challenges it poses for collecting pre-retrofit baseline data and implementing a robust methodology. The Institute s MME project will run from September 2011 through to March 2013. Evidence base to support private sector investment To achieve the level of retrofitting required to meet statutory carbon reduction targets, it is clear that significant private sector investment will be required. Private sector financing is predicated on clear and reliable business models which set out anticipated returns on investment. These business models offset the investment costs of retrofitting with the gains achieved through reduction in ongoing energy costs. However, these business models are only sustainable when retrofit programmes achieve the performance results anticipated. Currently, it is uncertain whether retrofit measures consistently achieve planned energy savings, and this uncertainty will limit the availability of private sector financing. Improved information and, ultimately, results, achieved through MME programmes, are the key to attracting private sector financing for carbon reduction. Technical information vital to SME and larger companies entering the low carbon supply chain. The UK Government has made clear the business opportunities anticipated by a transition to a low carbon economy. Retrofitting programmes stimulate a significant demand for new business, new skills, and new jobs. Many of these businesses are SMEs with limited research, development, and economic resources. Effective MME programmes will provide valuable, and specific, information to firms across the low carbon supply chain to improve their operation and success. 1.5 MME Project Objectives and Approach Technical objectives of the Q&R MME programme The MME programme will achieve these objectives: Establish projected economic model for changes to energy costs, payback periods for measures deployed, impact on access to financial support (fuel poverty, etc.)
Compare and document achieved carbon savings against projected savings as a result of planned measures: o at the project level o at the property level o at the component level (heating source, walls, windows, etc.) Compare occupant satisfaction responses to those originally measured prior to the retrofit Highlight aspects of the retrofit project management that encourages/discourages and ensured take up by residents Specific activities of the Q&R MME programme To achieve the technical objectives of the Q&R MME programme, the programme will include the following activities for selected properties to be studied: Document targets for carbon savings, and economic models Conduct thorough pre-retrofit property evaluations, including: o Thermal imaging o air tightness testing o Empirical testing of wall U-values o Occupant questionnaire to assess awareness, expectations, concerns, and satisfaction with existing conditions o Economic assessment (energy costs over previous heating/cooling season, etc.) Systematically document, to the extent possible, retrofit implementation activity (installer techniques, issues encountered, etc.) Conduct post-occupancy monitoring through installed equipment to measure: o internal and external temperature and humidity o energy use o (hot) water use, if water measures are included in retrofit Conduct an initial physical post occupancy evaluation, assessing: o Thermal imaging o air tightness o Empirical testing of wall U-values o Thermal efficiency (energy use to achieve a benchmark internal temperature) Conduct a regular series of occupant assessment interviews, to consider: o occupant satisfaction o occupant feedback on retrofit process Identify situations, if any, where new occupants move into retrofit properties, and assess occupant acceptance and performance with retrofit components (thermostats, meters, etc.)
Assess any system/performance degradation over an extended period (i.e. loss of air tightness, decreased energy efficiency of components/properties)
Part 2 -Services Required Strategy 2. Overall Strategy Services Required Strategy: In this phase of the project the Institute needs to put in place an analytical structure which produces the Q&R BPE dissemination report, reviewing the whole retrofit methodology and execution based on test data from the building performance evaluation. This Part sets out this strategy and how the various tasks come together. The specific service required and tendered are set out in Part 3. 2.1 Services structure The Institute has been reviewing the structure required to deliver this phase of the project and successfully deliver the outcomes in the agreed project time. The Institute consider that a dedicated team needs to be built which will contain the right expertise to deliver each element of the work. This is represented below; Data analysis & Building Performance Evaluation Data management & Tool Development Direction, control & management [Institute] Academic and Industry review Dissemination report
This phase of the project will produce the following outputs; Analytical tool which will use CSV format technical data collected from the installed equipment in about 70 homes (IPR vested in the Institute) Analysis of social data collected using the BUS questionnaire and supplement to capture energy use data and occupant satisfaction feedback Detailed in-depth analysis of MME data, including analysis of: customer experience project evaluation financial evaluation technical performance of building fabric internal and external environment conditions Produce interim dissemination report by November 2012 Produce final dissemination report by April 2013 2.2 Data management The previous phase included the design and installation of monitoring equipment into about 65 homes. To satisfy the objective of assessing whether each of the retrofit measures is effective we are monitoring the following information: Energy o Electricity use o Gas use Internal & External Environmental conditions o Living room temperature and relative humidity o Bedroom temperature o External weather conditions (via an external station) The MME installation contractor has been commissioned to ; Supply and install all monitoring equipment (internal & external) Display, as close to real time as possible, the data on a consumer in-home display, Enable data to be viewed via an on-line interface Manage data collection, collation and submission to the Institute in an agreed (CSV) format No MME equipment was installed prior to the retrofit to any of the private homes but the sample set of the social homes will receive MME equipment prior to the main retrofit works. Therefore the pre-retrofit baseline data and any existing records in-lieu of physical monitoring data will be
collected using the questionnaire, which will ask for utility data (electricity, gas and water) for the last 12 months and general/household information. Data Capture The data is recorded every 15 minutes and either saved internally or to a remote data-store and is designed to clearly identify individual properties and data source. Data will be made available for analysis in a CSV format with column headings and rows starting with the date and time and columns for each data source grouped by dwelling number. Data will be collected until at least March 2013 and could be possibly extended through future discussion; however this is yet to be confirmed. The total number of properties in the target area is 274. The sample base for MME installation is split as follows; Private homes 40 units Social homes 30 units 2.3 Data Analysis The Institute will employ a specialist to produce the soft tool required to analyse the data gathered. This tool will generate analysis on: Annual energy consumption (corrected for standard degree days) pre and post retrofit. With comparison of improvements made. Seasonal daily consumption profiles (average) against average internal temperature Compare annual and daily consumption changes for certain retrofit measure with the others. Compare environmental performance KPIs of individual houses, house types and occupant types before and after retrofit Occupant satisfaction- performance and comfort Compare before and after U-value improvements relative to heating consumption To enable data to be corrected for external conditions, local weather data is required; this will be collected via one newly installed weather station. This will collect data at 15 minute intervals and will include: Temperature Rainfall
Sunshine Wind speed Wind direction 2.4 Academic and Industry review The Institute will establish a group of people (contracted) who will provide review of the project s technical progress, data management and the dissemination report content. They will be provide constructive criticism and help shape the final report structure, detail and content. This group will also help to test a number of hypothesis and questions which the Institute have raised and are essential to answer to help with the industry acceptance of the final dissemination report. 2.5 Dissemination report The final report is intended to provide an unbiased review of processes and methodologies used and compare the post-retrofit data to the initial design predictions and make recommendations for improved delivery performance. The Institute also wishes to test a number of hypothesis and questions which will help interested stakeholders and other to have clearer understanding of the issues that arise from a retrofit project and the exact nature of the end results. In order to invigorate this testing the Institute sets out below an initial set of questions to be investigated; 1. Do economically deprived communities have a different attitude to energy use 2. The results of private-social comparison for both archetypes and socio-economic status 3. Are the residents with more high-tech measures more satisfied? 4. In home displays did residents find them useful, how did they use them, did people actually use them, did they like them or not 5. How do family demographics alter energy use 6. Expectations against experience for both pre & post retrofit 7. To what extent do people understand their energy use 8. What aspects of the retrofit delivered high levels of occupant satisfaction 9. Advantages/disadvantages of doing a community wide or at least street wide retrofit 10. Focus group reviews (excluding SBC & AH) to ask first hand on experience and knowledge of the retrofit project 11. Impact of the Green Doctor 12. Will churn have any effect on home energy use 13. Soft landings information given to run new home, what information is needed
14. Contracts manager s focus group what technologies were easier to or better or should have been used 15. Review of BPE process use of broadband, wireless and home collected data 16. Does this work influence residents whole outlook on sustainability/recycling etc. 17. How can SBC or AH change or be influenced by this project 18. Retrofit community wide business case keeping the momentum going 19. Which measures delivered value for money 20. What were the risks to implementing the retrofit that can be better managed on future projects These questions represent some early thinking and can change as the project progresses. Structure of report The Institute will write and produce the dissemination report of the outcomes from the services provided during the delivery of the MME project and data collection. The initial report format is set out below, this is only intended to enable some common ground and the final content and structure will need to be agreed through the strategy in this phase. Draft report structure Executive Summary Introduction Equipment installed in each property Analysis of data and trends Social information, baseline and current status Question testing and hypothesis Data analysis Recommendations and Findings Conclusion Glossary and Index Annex
Part 3 Specific Services Required 3.1 Business Intelligence Data Management & tool Developer As described in the overall Services Strategy (Part 2) document above, the Institute are looking for an integrated approach to data management and producing the tools to analysis the data and report on it. The individual required will work initially on a full time basis to develop the data analytical tool required to both manage the data arising from the MME installed at Q&R, to analyse the same so to understand the trends, spikes and interpretation of the data in a variety of ways. The Institute already have well developed protocols of how the data is being currently captured and stored. The Institute also have some well-developed ideas of the type of interpretation that is required to fulfil a variety of questions and hypothesis and fulfil the project requirements. We believe the best way of doing this is to store the data in CSV format in Excel and use the front-end to display the analysed data. The individual will create a simple but powerful platform which will enable easy upload of data, run this through a variety of analysis and using a BI reporter front-end such as Microsoft PowerPivot or similar create report templates and reports which give easy to read outputs. Key responsibilities of the Business Intelligence Tool Developer:- Construct reports to specifications provided by project Help maintain data integrity of the system. Assist in automating the delivery of reports. Ad-Hoc analysis and investigation tasks. Deal with confidential information and adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) Excellent knowledge of business analysis and database design techniques Excellent understanding of Business Intelligence concepts and practical application. Understanding of the end to end project lifecycle. The delivery of Business Intelligence solutions. The use of Microsoft Business Intelligence technologies
Communicate well (oral and written) with all levels of stakeholders in connection with technical and non-technical issues Excellent ICT skills, specifically, MS Office software and database reporting tools Experience of interpreting community risk data and information and identifying trends Experience of using PowerPivot tables or other similar database reporting tools Knowledge and understanding of current issues affecting community scale retrofit projects including their funding, social impact and currently backed schemes Experience of Project Management, or working in a project environment Person specification of the Business Intelligence Tool Developer: Strong analytical skills Strong written and communication skills Highly numerate or statistics educated History of working with large quantities of data Show excellent initiative, originality, independent thought and problem solving skills. Previous experience of working community data desirable. Educated to degree level and/or hold an equivalent professional qualification Experience of working in a performance management desirable Experience of using business information/planning systems Technical skills required of the Business Intelligence Analyst:- SQL Reporting, SQL Integration Services, Analyst Services MS Access, MS Excel, MS Word Writing macros and generating tabular data reporting Ability to produce User level documentation Presentation of data to a variety of audience requirements and specifications for Information Systems Experience of developing, implementing and administering performance/information management systems
Understanding of socio-demographic datasets and their application in a service planning environment Excellent analytical skills, and proven ability to collect and report on data using relevant and appropriate statistical analysis techniques High degree of self-motivation Flexible and innovative approach to work., and the ability to work on more than one project at a time and balance multiple competing tasks Excellent ICT skills, specifically, MS Office software and reporting tools Key Task Dates Meetings inception meeting to agree the plan, Mid-September 2012 content and re-evaluate the Institute s aspirations of this commission Meetings weekly meetings October 2012 November 2012 Outline structure of analytical tool and first full Mid October 2012 report [M] Initial analysis and report for interim report due Mid November 2012 end November 2012 [M] On-going testing, improvement and July 2012 April 2013 commissioning Launch of interim report and initial analysis [M] November 2012 Launch of final report [M] May 2013 Commission end date May 2013 Payments Payments for the delivery of the analytical tool will be based upon a monthly payment for the hours worked on the project, subject to a 40 hour working week and achieving the milestones [M] set out above. It is envisaged that this service will require a full time person until the tool is largely developed by mid-november, then the time required will probably reduce. If your proposal is for an alternative approach, e.g. you already have a basic tool to this, then please detail this and your view on the time allowed. Tender Plan Invitation to tender period September 2012 Tender submission deadline 12.00midday, 17 September 2012
Tender review period 17-19 September 2012 Order raised 20 September 2012 (provisional) Initial meeting 21 September 2012 (provisional) End date May 2013 About the buyer's selection process: Evaluation will be based upon the following criteria 1. Compliance with service requirements and delivery plan against milestones 2. Experience and expertise in creating databases, managing large volume data and reporting 3. Experience of working with DPA 4. Evidence of skills and knowledge in this field together with evidence of working on specific and relevant projects/programmes preferably in the retrofit/built environment 5. Depth and quality of proposal, including approach and methodology and options 6. Cost (30% of marks) including time allowed details Pricing Schedule The tender bid should contain at least the following; 1 A plan of the works showing key stages, milestone delivery and time periods 2 Details of the cost and any deviation or qualifications against the Institute requirements 3 The tender pricing schedule must include for all disbursements, expenses, etc. 4 CV of relevant skills only (max two pages for each person) 5 The whole submission to be c10 sides maximum The following terms and conditions will apply; Please click on the link below to access the Institute s standard T&Cs Please submit your tender bid together with all supporting information to; info@instituteforsustainability.org.uk with "Tender Q&R Data BI Tool tender" in the subject line, clearly identifying the source and including requirements stated above. Closing date for tender submission is 12.00midday, 17 September 2012.