EE-Heritage

• Comprehensive Assessment: The project undertakes detailed mapping of heritage building stock, analysing their current condition, energy management capabilities (Smart Readiness Indicator), and accessibility. This creates a strong evidence base for tailored interventions in the main project.
• Regulatory and Technology Analysis: EE-Heritage reviews renovation laws and explores cutting-edge non-intrusive technologies—from AI-driven HVAC and smart glass to adaptive shading and energy harvesting floors—ensuring that proposed solutions respect heritage value while advancing energy goals.
• Gamification for Energy Engagement: A unique feature is the integration of gamification strategies—applying game-like elements to encourage and reward energy-conscious behaviour among building users. By making energy saving engaging and competitive, the project aims to foster a culture of sustainability and active participation, vital for lasting impact.
• AI Potential and Case Studies: The consortium analyses how artificial intelligence can optimize energy use, maintenance, and user comfort in heritage buildings, collecting case studies and best practices from across Europe.

The project investigates how artificial intelligence can enhance energy management, maintenance, and user comfort in heritage buildings. This includes analysing AI applications for predictive maintenance, optimizing energy use, and improving occupant experiences. The consortium is also collecting case studies and best practices from across Europe to inform the development of scalable solutions, ensuring that the main project benefits from proven strategies. 

Central to this AI-driven approach is the integration of machine learning predictive models that forecast energy consumption patterns based on multiple variables including weather conditions, occupancy levels, historical usage data, and seasonal variations. These models enable proactive rather than reactive energy management, allowing building systems to anticipate demand and adjust accordingly before peak consumption periods occur. 

The project's sophisticated user behaviour analysis employs ML algorithms to identify patterns in how occupants interact with building systems—tracking lighting usage, HVAC preferences, space utilization, and movement patterns throughout heritage buildings. This behavioural modelling creates detailed profiles that inform personalized energy optimization strategies while maintaining individual comfort preferences. 

A key innovation lies in the deployment of AI agents that serve as intelligent intermediaries between energy efficiency goals and occupant comfort requirements. These autonomous agents continuously monitor environmental conditions, analyse real-time occupancy data, and make dynamic adjustments to heating, cooling, ventilation, and lighting systems. The agents employ reinforcement learning techniques to optimize their decision-making over time, learning from successful interventions and adapting to changing building conditions and user preferences. 

The AI system's multi-objective optimization capability ensures that energy savings never come at the expense of occupant well-being. By establishing comfort boundaries and preference parameters for different user groups and building zones, the AI agents can maximize energy efficiency while guaranteeing that temperature, humidity, air quality, and lighting levels remain within acceptable ranges. This balanced approach is particularly crucial in heritage buildings where occupant satisfaction directly impacts the long-term viability of adaptive reuse projects. 

Furthermore, the predictive maintenance component uses sensor data and historical patterns to anticipate equipment failures and maintenance needs in heritage building systems, many of which may be aging or uniquely configured due to architectural constraints. This proactive approach minimizes energy waste from inefficient operation while preserving the integrity of both modern building systems and historic structures.

A standout feature of the project is its use of gamification—incorporating game-like elements to encourage energy-conscious behaviour among building users. By making energy-saving activities engaging and competitive, such as through apps or reward systems, the project aims to foster a culture of sustainability. This approach promotes immediate energy savings and encourages long-term behavioural changes, which are critical for the lasting impact of the initiative. 

However, implementing gamification across different building types presents unique challenges. This is a hard nut to crack, as several buildings, like theaters and museums, are much less likely to benefit from gamification applications from visitors who typically spend only brief periods in these spaces. The transient nature of visitor engagement in such venues makes it difficult to establish meaningful, sustained participation in energy-saving games or reward systems. 

Nevertheless, in many cases building users spend significant time in the buildings—particularly heritage buildings used as offices—when gamification can bring substantial benefits. In these environments, occupants develop routines and have ongoing relationships with the space, making them ideal candidates for long-term gamification strategies that can effectively influence daily energy consumption behaviours and create lasting cultural shifts toward sustainability. 

The EE-Heritage Seed Money project goes beyond technological innovation—it prioritizes a people-centered approach to transforming heritage buildings. By integrating advanced AI, smart retrofits, and gamified engagement tools, it sets the stage for a main project that will deliver smarter, more sustainable buildings and actively engaged occupants. The long-term goal is to empower public authorities and communities to manage historic buildings efficiently, comfortably, and sustainably, transforming heritage preservation into a dynamic, participatory process suited for the digital age. 

The project aligns with the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), which promotes economic, social, and territorial cohesion across 14 countries. By focusing on energy efficiency in heritage buildings, the project contributes to EUSDR’s priority areas, particularly those related to sustainable energy and cultural heritage. The Interreg Danube Region Programme supports such initiatives through its Seed Money Facility, which provides funding to develop complex, strategic, and transnational projects that address regional challenges.