Energy Performance characterization and decarbonization scenarios for University Buildings : Case of UCLouvain’s Stevin and Mercator Buildings
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- The building sector accounts for approximately 40% of energy consumption and 36% of green house gas emissions in the European Union, making it a central target of climate policy. In this context, UCLouvain has committed to achieving zero-carbon buildings by 2035, yet many of its campus buildings remain far below current energy performance standards. This master thesis focuses on two such buildings, Stevin and Mercator, and addresses the following research question: how can their actual energy performance be characterized, and which intervention scenarios would enable UCLouvain to meet its decarbonization targets? The work is structured in two parts. The first characterizes the thermal behaviour of both buildings through climate-normalized consumption analysis, energy signatures, and residual analysis, using nine years of real monthly data (2017–2025). Thesecondmodelsthreeintervention scenarios, Slowheat, immediate Biomass and progressive Biomass, and evaluates their energy, environmental, and financial performance over a 10-year horizon using Net Present Value analysis, Monte Carlo simulation, and ETS-2 carbon pricing impact assessment. Results show that the 2023 cavity wall insulation works reduced specific heating consumption by approximately 24% in both buildings, though this remains insufficient to meet the 2035 target. Among the intervention scenarios, immediate Biomass delivers the highest performance (2,951 MWh saved, 596 tCO2 avoided, NPV of 122,887 =C over 10 years), while Slowheat constitutes a valuable zero-CAPEX short-term measure. The analysis concludes that a combination of immediate Slowheat deployment and biomass connection from 2028 represents the most robust decarbonization pathway for UCLouvain.