The project was born within the framework of the 2017 version of CORFO’s Programa de Bienes Públicos para la Competitividad (Public Goods for Competitiveness Program). This program seeks to support projects that develop public goods aimed at reducing information asymmetries and
uncertainty in markets, and thus improving the competitiveness of industries.
To this end, a support system for the energy efficiency industry at the residential level was developed. The finalresult was the implementation of the web platform MapaTermico.cl that provides technical information on the thermal efficiency of Valdivia’s houses in a simple and visual way.
In order to operate the model, an energy diagnosis of the houses in the city of Valdivia was carried out, based on the collection of thermal images and the record of structural typologies of different neighborhoods of the city. With this information, a preliminary evaluation of the energy performance of the houses was made.
Additionally, the platform includes responses from householders regarding their socioeconomic condition and wood stoves uses. Thus, the platform submits an estimate of the energy efficiency of each house, and shows the potential energy savings that can be obtained if structural improvements are implemented. Moreover, householders have access to the thermal imaging of their roofs, so that information about energy efficiency is presented in a graphic and simple way.
Along with this, the platform allows users to have access to a list of low-difficult technical solutions to address specific problems that reduce the energy efficiency of their houses. For more complex structural improvements, users can contact companies and professionals with experience in thermal retrofit of houses through the company directory provided by the platform. The companies’ record has a scoring system in which users can evaluate the services provided by each company or professional. This allows families to have enough information when contracting this type of service.
In addition, the platform offers users the possibility to get access to the public and private funding instruments available in the market for energy efficiency (such as subsidies and green credits).
As data collected by MapaTermico.cl are very useful for the public and private sector, the Companies and Public institutions profiles were created. In the Companies profile, builders can have access to a preliminary map with information about the needs of the families living in each area of the city. In the Public institutions profile, on the other hand, with the same preliminary map, public agencies can identify the specific problems that each neighborhood of the city has.
The services provided to the public and private sectors make MapaTermico.cl a free-information space, which contributes to reduce the existing barriers between supply and demand of energy efficiency measures. The platform currently has information for Valdivia, and it is expected that this service will be implemented in other cities throughout the country in coming years.
If you want to know more about this project, visit the webpage www.MapaTermico.cl
