Solar buildings for the tertiary sector

The BEST project involves the development and marketing of software applications for designing, managing and maintaining tertiary buildings, the energy requirements of which (heating, air-conditioning and electricity) are met essentially by solar power.

This software package is made up of 3 interconnected elements, which were designed and developed with the help and expertise of consortium partners from all areas of the profession:

• the architectural and technical design element;
• the sociological and organisational design element, focusing on the activities of the home occupants;
• the economic element relating to investments and operations;

The hypotheses considered in the development of these tools have been described in reports aimed at the profession.

The approach is being tested on 2 actual buildings, the energy consumption of which is being monitored on site; in addition, the companies and occupants concerned are providing feedback.

During the project, the software applications - globally designated as ARCHIWIZARD - were quickly made available to the entire profession for testing.

Two of the partner companies in the project have set up a subsidiary, RayCREATIS, to ensure the long-term maintenance of the applications after the end of the project.