Community-led data collection approach leading to energy labeling and retrofit decision framework with case application
4 affiliations
- 1Future Urban and Energy Lab for Sustainability (FUEL-S), Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering (FSDE), University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada
- 2Institute of Island Studies, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada
- 3Canadian Center for Climate Change and Adaptation, University of Prince Edward Island, St Peter’s C0A 2A0, Canada
- 4Future Urban and Energy Lab for Sustainability (FUEL-S), Faculty of Sustainable Design Engineering (FSDE), University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada; Corresponding author.
Abstract
Neighborhood-scale energy planning is often constrained by limited and inconsistent ground-truth data. Although community-led data collection has been effective in other sectors, its application to building energy modeling and retrofit decision-making remains limited. This study presents a community-led data collection and modeling workflow that couples resident-gathered measurements with physics-based analysis and a transparent retrofit decision framework. In Georgetown, PE, Canada, a research team and trained volunteers collected thermographic images, energy-systems data, occupancy, building characteristics, etc., for 157 residential buildings using research ethics-approved protocols and standardized kits. Infrared images, fused with local weather data, drive an exterior-surface heat-balance model to estimate building envelope thermal resistances. Validations against in-situ heat flux meters (walls of 8 buildings) are performed along with a comparative analysis with energy audit data for 24 buildings. A composite envelope performance score (EPS) ranked retrofit tiers and identified systematic shortfalls guiding targeted retrofit strategies. Demonstrated in a real-world case study, the community-led protocol, processing pipeline, and decision method are portable and scalable to other communities with different housing stocks and envelope measurements. The originality of this study lies in its first-time designation of a standardized community-led protocol that integrates physics-based modeling and retrofit decision rules at the neighborhood scale. This integration transforms resident-gathered observations into simulation-ready evidence and actionable retrofit pathways in energy planning.
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BibTeX
@article{debnath2026communityled,
title = {{Community-led data collection approach leading to energy labeling and retrofit decision framework with case application}},
author = {Sudipta Debnath and Noushad A.C. Mohammed and Misbaudeen A. Adesanya and Andrew Halliday and Aitazaz A. Farooque and Kuljeet S. Grewal},
journal = {Energy and Built Environment},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.enbenv.2026.02.009},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbenv.2026.02.009},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Community-led data collection approach leading to energy labeling and retrofit decision framework with case application
AU - Sudipta Debnath
AU - Noushad A.C. Mohammed
AU - Misbaudeen A. Adesanya
AU - Andrew Halliday
AU - Aitazaz A. Farooque
AU - Kuljeet S. Grewal
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - Energy and Built Environment
DO - 10.1016/j.enbenv.2026.02.009
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbenv.2026.02.009
AB - Neighborhood-scale energy planning is often constrained by limited and inconsistent ground-truth data. Although community-led data collection has been effective in other sectors, its application to building energy modeling and retrofit decision-making remains limited. This study presents a community-led data collection and modeling workflow that couples resident-gathered measurements with physics-based analysis and a transparent retrofit decision framework. In Georgetown, PE, Canada, a research team and trained volunteers collected thermographic images, energy-systems data, occupancy, building characteristics, etc., for 157 residential buildings using research ethics-approved protocols and standardized kits. Infrared images, fused with local weather data, drive an exterior-surface heat-balance model to estimate building envelope thermal resistances. Validations against in-situ heat flux meters (walls of 8 buildings) are performed along with a comparative analysis with energy audit data for 24 buildings. A composite envelope performance score (EPS) ranked retrofit tiers and identified systematic shortfalls guiding targeted retrofit strategies. Demonstrated in a real-world case study, the community-led protocol, processing pipeline, and decision method are portable and scalable to other communities with different housing stocks and envelope measurements. The originality of this study lies in its first-time designation of a standardized community-led protocol that integrates physics-based modeling and retrofit decision rules at the neighborhood scale. This integration transforms resident-gathered observations into simulation-ready evidence and actionable retrofit pathways in energy planning.
SN - 2666-1233
ER -