EP-0 tool: an open-source web-based platform for analysing and mapping energy and social vulnerability, and guiding district-scale retrofit strategies

1. Introduction

The EP-0 tool (available at: https://energypoverty0tool.r2m.cloud/) is a web-based, open-source platform developed within the Energy Poverty 0 project to support municipalities, housing authorities, institutes and public authorities in identifying and addressing energy poverty across urban districts. This tool enables rapid, district-scale analysis of energy inefficiency and social vulnerability, providing efficient insights for targeted policy-making, urban planning, and energy retrofitting strategies.

The tool integrates multiple functionalities, including the following key layers:

• Building Data: visualizes building-level energy consumption, emissions, and geometric data. Uses archetype-based pre-simulated scenarios to assess baseline performance and propose retrofit scenarios.

• Vulnerability Index: applies a scientifically grounded, multi-dimensional methodology based on socio-economic, building condition, and energy cost indicators to compute a Global Vulnerability Index (GVI). The results are visualized using a traffic light system (Red-Critical, Orange-Moderate, Yellow-Mild).

• Financial Tool: allows a preliminary cost and economic analysis, including net renovation costs, amortization plans, payback periods, and incentive optimization. It also provides access to main country-based web information on subsidies and incentives.

• Catalogues: presents retrofit solutions organized by intervention category, complete with technical descriptions and application guidance.

By combining archetype-based energy simulation with scalable vulnerability mapping, the EP-0 tool offers a comprehensive, data-driven solution for tackling energy poverty and planning sustainable urban retrofitting initiatives.

2. Methodological background

a. Integration with archetype-based pre simulated data

In the Building Data layer, the tool automatically classifies buildings based on their year of construction and shape factor (S/V). The layer is integrated with the iNSPiRe project’s database of pre-simulated climate-based building archetypes. Year of construction and shape factor are used in the backend to group buildings into archetypes representing common construction and energy profiles. Each archetype is associated with pre-simulated data on:

• heating and cooling energy consumption (kWh/m² · year);

• CO₂ emissions (kg/m² · year);

• retrofit scenarios, including technical solutions, indoor comfort parameters, energy and economic results.

This allows the tool to provide instantaneous baseline average assessments and propose preliminary retrofit packages without the need for new simulations, accelerating the initial analysis process for large scale urban assessments. Cases are mapped across the projects’ pilots.

b. Energy and social vulnerability assessment

The EP-0 tool’s Vulnerability Index layer is based on a scientifically-based replicable methodology, designed to map social and energy vulnerability at the census section level using publicly available, periodically updated data. This methodology relies on EU best practices and regulations, e.g., the Energy Poverty Advisory Hub (EPAH) framework and handbook, and academic literature on multidimensional vulnerability indicators.

The methodological core is structured around three dimensions of vulnerability:

       i. Socio-economic factors: including indicators such as average household income, unemployment rate, educational level, renting households, foreign-born population, and age-related vulnerability (e.g., elderly or very young populations).

       ii. Building conditions: measured through the percentage of buildings in poor state of conservation and the proportion of buildings constructed before national energy efficiency regulations came into force.

       iii. Energy cost: assessed using the energy expenditure-to-income ratio, identifying households at risk of excessiv financial stress due to energy bills.

Each indicator is collected from public data sources (e.g., national statistical institutes, tax records, national energy statistics). The process follows six structured steps:

1. Data collection and single indicators calculation: publicly available datasets are gathered at the most suitable feasible level (e.g., census section). Indicators are computed individually, ensuring local relevance and comparability.

2. Spatial mapping: Geographic Information System (GIS) shapefiles or GeoJSON files are used to visualize the calculated indicators spatially, supporting district-scale comparisons.

3. Thresholds’ definition: for each indicator, vulnerability thresholds are defined relative to regional averages. This approach ensures contextual sensitivity, acknowledging economic and social disparities within countries.

4. Assignment of preliminary vulnerability levels: census sections are categorized into two vulnerability levels (L1 = moderate, L2 = high) per dimension based on the threshold exceedance.

5. Computation of the Global Vulnerability Index (GVI): the three individual dimension levels (i.e., socio-economic, building conditions, energy cost) are aggregated into a composite index using a "traffic light" system: red for critical, orange for moderate, yellow for mild.

6. Visualization and policy use: final vulnerability scores are visualized in the tool, allowing users to identify high-priority zones for intervention. This spatial mapping  supports urban energy planning, funding prioritization, and social policy development within public authorities.

This methodology enables large-scale, scalable, and data-driven vulnerability assessments without relying on intrusive or resource-intensive household surveys. It is designed to be adaptable to different national contexts and extendable to new areas through standardized data preparation procedures. Example cases are visualized according to the project’s pilots. For further guidance, a full methodological document is included in the tool's "Readme" section.

c. Financial and economic evaluation

The EP-0 platform integrates a dedicated Financial Tool to support economic feasibility assessments of energy retrofit interventions, particularly targeting vulnerable groups exposed to energy poverty. This layer offers a quick and user-friendly pre-feasibility assessment, allowing users to evaluate:

• investment cost (average, €): average renovation cost derived from archetype data;

• interest rate (%) and loan duration (years): key financing parameters to model debt structure;

• energy savings (€/m² · year): annual energy savings, either user-provided or retrieved from simulation results;

• financing scheme: selection of the applicable incentive’s share.

Upon data input, the tool calculates and displays:

• total cost of financing (€): total loan repayment over the financing period;

• loan amount (€): principal loaned amount;

• incentives share (%) and reduction of initial costs (€): the share of renovation cost covered by subsidies or grants;

The tool finally calculates:

• amortization plan (€/month);

• balance between savings and financing (€);

• incentive optimization (€);

• internal rate of return (€);

• net present value (€);

• net renovation costs (€);

• net economic contribution of incentives (€);

• payback period (years).

The tool offers embedded links to national incentive programs for project’s pilots countries, i.e., France, Italy, and The Netherlands, allowing the user to find the most relevant and accurate information on national subsidies and incentives. This ensures that users can easily access up-to-date information on available subsidies and financial support.

The Financial Tool simplifies complex financial assessments into clear insights for decision-makers, municipalities, and social housing providers, enabling users to evaluate multiple financing scenarios and identify the most accessible and financially viable options for vulnerable households, while also supporting resource allocation.

d. Development of the repository of retrofit solutions

Another key component of the tool concerns the development of the Catalogues of prefabricated retrofit solutions, which represents both a knowledge base and a decision-support resource to guide the selection of renovation interventions. Retrofit solutions are systematically grouped into distinct technical categories reflecting the key intervention areas:

• thermal envelope (e.g., prefabricated façade panels, roof modules, low floor insulation);

• energy systems (e.g., prefabricated HVAC, renewable energy integration, MEP pods);

• solutions improving building and living comfort (e.g., external lifts, modular balconies, monitoring systems).

This categorization allows for the evaluation and comparison of diverse technological options across heterogeneous building contexts.

For each solution included in the repository, technical characterization is provided. The solution sheets include multiple performance indicators such as:

• structural compatibility and installation requirements;

• energy efficiency and thermal properties;

• integration with renewable energy systems;

• environmental impact (CO₂ footprint, circularity aspects);

• seismic performance (where applicable);

• co-benefits identification;

• installation time and disruption minimization;

• cost ranges (purchase, installation and maintenance);

• expected lifespan and end-of-life recyclability.

The repository has been developed through the integration of publicly available factsheets data and case studies from EnergieSprong pilot projects in Italy, France, and the Netherlands, as well as technical inputs from desk research and from the EnergieSprong Italy’s public documentation on solutions. This iterative approach ensures that the repository reflects not only the state-of-the-art technical solutions but also practical lessons learned from real-world implementation. 

The repository is designed to serve as a core information source for the EP-0 tool, enabling users to explore, compare, and select appropriate solutions based on specific building configurations and renovation goals, provided with an overview of economic, environmental, and operational data, supporting municipalities and building owners in informed decision-making processes. By including this structured repository, the EP0 project contributes to the scalability and replicability of industrialized retrofit processes, enabling standardization while maintaining sufficient flexibility to adapt solutions to diverse national, regional, and local contexts.

3. Other

• Guidelines: designed primarily to assist users in collecting data and uploading GeoJSON files (typically exported from an IES model).

• Readme: offers an overview of the tool’s purpose and features, access and use instructions, usage information on the different tool’s layers and functionalities.

Contact information

R2M Solution S.r.l.: https://www.r2msolution.com/; info@r2msolution.com
Project contact/Lead developers: lorenza.pistore@r2msolution.com; jyoti.dhiman@r2msolution.com

This tool was developed within the Energy Poverty 0 project (LIFE21-CET-ENERPOV-EP-0, ID 101077575).
Energy Poverty Zero (EP0) is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.