Development of a mobile-friendly web tool

About Solar Heat Europe/ESTIF

Solar Heat Europe/ESTIF represents the interests of the solar heating and cooling industry, actively promoting the use of solar thermal heating and cooling technologies in Europe. Its membership covers the whole solar thermal value chain, from collector manufacturers to component suppliers, research institutes, service providers, national solar thermal and renewable energies associations.

For more information visit [URL visible pour les membres Pro] .

About Labelpack A+

The 'Labelpack A+' project aims at providing support for a smooth implementation of the energy labelling of heating appliances, while boosting its impact.

An online tool and a support materials are available online, on the Labelpack A+ website: [URL visible pour les membres Pro]

The focus is on the "package label" and its potential to promote the uptake of renewable technologies, in particular solar thermal, in combination with other efficient conventional technologies.

In particular, the project will focus on Energy-related products, which the Directive includes in Lot 1 (Boilers and combi-boilers) and in Lot 2 (water heaters).

The regulation requires that the package label is issued by the person that assembles the package from its components to an operational system and sells it. Thus, the project will address one of the main challenges related to the package labelling, which is the involvement of dealers and installers in the labelling process.

During the project, all partners will work at the European and national level to achieve the following results:
- Bring a common understanding of the regulations to support its implementation and increase its impact from the beginning;
- Ensure an increased visibility and a specific targeted promotion of the “package label” as an innovation in accordance with the upcoming regulations on the energy labelling of heating appliances;
- Involve the supply chain actors in the preparation and implementation of the “package label” to remove barriers and increase acceptance.

The project is coordinated by Solar Heat Europe/ESTIF and supported by the European Commission, under the Horizon 2020 programme, with the reference H[Téléphone visible pour les membres Pro] –LabelpackA+. It has a duration of 36 months, from 1 March 2015 until 28 February 2018.

Call for Proposals

The current call for proposal (Call) covers the DEVELOPMENT OF AN ONLINE TOOL USING THE “SOLCAL” METHOD.

1. What is the SOLCAL method?

The SOLCAL method is a calculation procedure that allows to estimate several parameters related to the performance of a solar thermal system, more concretely a combination of one or more solar collectors and a storage tank. This method is used in order to facilitate the estimation of the system performance without requiring additional testing. The method is detailed in European standards and in the documentation related to the energy labelling and eco-design requirements for space and water heaters.

2. What is the Labelpack A+ online tool?

The Labelpack A+ online tool provides a calculation of the efficiency class of a space and/or water heating system. The new regulations for space and water heaters foresees, besides the usual product label, a system (package) label. This label indicates the performance of combination of components composing the space and/or water heater. The Labelpack A+ online tool allows to perform that calculation online, based on the requirements defined in the regulations.
The tool is available at: [URL visible pour les membres Pro]

3. What we need:

A mobile-friendly web tool to output the correct calculation of a “solar device” based on the SOLCAL method.

The tool shall follow the following considerations regarding:
- Providing a calculation based on SOLCAL method: numeric data needed for the product fiche and the technical documentation of the solar device (SD) output form: web page (HTML) based on typed-in data from product fiches or product specifications.
- Calculation with previous and current SOLCAL method: The tool should be prepared to operate either with: previous method1, new method2.
- Importing data from external databases: Set up functionality to potentially import saved data of sub-components from the Solar Keymark database3 and other potential sources (EC database), using pre-defined fields, in a csv file.
- Transferring data to the Labelpack A+ online tool: with a press of a button, the data from the SOLCAL calculation are transferred to a form of the energy labelling online tool, to be used once in a calculation.
- Saving the data: based on the data from the SOLCAL calculation, it shall be possible to save the SD as a component in the Labelpack A+ online tool user area.

The tool should be developed considering that:

• The calculation can be done on the basis of data input by the user. It shall also be possible to use the initial data entries used in the LPA+ online tool for the following fields: Water heating energy efficiency of water heater (in %); Declared load profile.
• Result can be viewed on the website, revised or confirmed. Upon confirmation, it can provide the option to:
o visualise and then download a “fiche” for the “solar device” (high-quality PDF)
o export the data into the LPA+ tool.
• The PDF generation will be done in the backend4. The calculation can be done either in frontend or backend.
• The tool will include error or warning messages if user keys in inconsistent, out-of-range or incomplete data5.
• The tool will be compliant with EU General Data Protection Regulation.
• The main LPA+ tool allows the user to register an account with the tool to save her/his data in an online database. This saves her/him from having to key in these again each time. These ‘personal’ datasets will not be available to other users. The “solar device” data should be available for saving in this user area.
• Like for the main LPA+ tool, the front end of the SOLCAL tool can be displayed in different languages (the user can select from several) and will be included in the Labelpack A+ website: Main and national
• Performance: The user should see the result online within five seconds6 at the most (under normal circumstances). The creation/download of the final PDF may take longer.
• Not required but a plus would be:
o (almost) real-time display of result when entering/changing data (e.g. data form on the left side and result shown on the right);

For information here: [URL visible pour les membres Pro] (Call for Proposals notice)