iNUMBER

iNUMBER (iNtelligent Urban Model for Built Environment Research) is a four-year (2017-2021) collaborative India-UK project to research how best to reduce energy demand in urban areas. It is led by UCL-Energy's Professor Paul Ruyssevelt, in collaboration with Dr Kathryn Janda, the University of Oxford, and academic, business, and non-profit partners in India and the UK.

Background

Funded by the Newton-Bhabha Fund, iNUMBER is supported jointly by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) in partnership with the Government of India’s Department of Science and Technology.

iNUMBER will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, stabilise the electricity grid, and help alleviate poverty by enabling municipalities to provide more support and social services to poorer members of their communities.

iNUMBER was one of four collaborative India/UK projects to reduce energy demand in the built environment announced by Science Minister Jo Johnson as part of a visit to India in November 2017.

Aims and objectives

iNUMBER aims to develop new methods and an integrated model of built environment for energy demand reduction to support decision-making in cities.

The project's objectives are to:

• develop and diffuse innovative technologies and practices sideways between cities, initially in India and with implications for the UK;
• contribute findings and data upstream to national analysts and policymakers; and
• engage downstream with building owners, technology solution providers, and the public.

Research approach

WP1: Create a 3D Building Stock Model

• Within Land Parcel
  • Building characteristics – Geometry
  • Administrative data for use, age, public/private ownership

WP2: Incorporate Municipal Energy Services

• Outside Land Parcel
  • Water pumping and street lights
  • Ancillary services, gardens, fountains, sewerage treatment

WP3: Increase Data Granularity

• Deep dive into residential sector
• Indoor environmental conditions
• Energy consumption, for comfort

WP4: Integrate

• Across WP1-3
• With three other India/UK projects & other work in the field

Novelty

iNUMBER will involve:

1. Providing new empirical data sets using unmanned aerial vehicles, laser range finding, infrared and visible cameras, and smart energy and environmental monitors;
2. Integrating 3D spatial models of building habitat;
3. Analysing the impact of data at different resolutions, one month to five sec;
4. Facilitating new forms of benchmarking and cluster analysis of building types and technologies; and
5. Accelerating impact by seeking synergies in real time.

Methods

iNUMBER will produce data collection and data analysis methods at three levels:

1. City building stock
2. Municipal energy services
3. Residential energy

Deployment pathways

Ahmedabad City (existing city)

• Administrative data
• iNUMBER data
  • Within land parcel / outside land parcel

Amravati (new planning)

• iNUMBER data
  • Future projections for planning
  • Management of municipal services

C40, UMC, CPR, CIBSE, RESPONCITIES

People

Vidyadhar Phatak, CEPT University (Principal Investigator)
Urban Planning and City governance

Paul Ruyssevelt, UCL (Principal Investigator)
Stock Modelling, Energy Efficiency

Rajan Rawal, CEPT University
Building Energy Efficiency, Energy Modelling

Kathryn Janda, University of Oxford
Decision-making, Energy Management, and Organisation Science

Krithi Ramamritham, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Urban Science, Data Management and Analysis

Mona Iyer, CEPT University
Urban Planning, Water – Sanitation, Urban governance

Partners

Technology partners

Bentley Systems
CIBSE
Schneider Electric India
Pilio
Anandjiwala Technical Consultancy

Cities, governance and deployment

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation
Foster + Partners
C40 Cities
BCIL-ZED 
Responcities Foundation
Urban Management Centre
Centre for Policy Research

Integration

iNUMBER sits as part of a wider buildings and cities energy research partnership.

CEDRI

• David Jenkins, Heriot Watt
• Dr Andrew Peacock, Dr Eddie Owens, Dr Sandhya Patidar, Dr David Flynn, Dr Valentin Robu, Dr Sarah Payne

iNUMBER

• Prof Paul Ruyssevelt, Dr Katy Janda
• Prof Philip Steadman, Dr Ivan Korolija, Dr Robert Liddiard, Mr Douglas Stephen Evans, Dr Russell Layberry, Dr Philipp Grunewald

RESIDE

• Prof Rajat Gupta, Oxford Brookes
• Dr Tim Chatterton, University of West of England, Prof Fergus Nicol, Dr Sonja Dragojlovic-Oliveira

ZED-I

• Prof Sukumar Natarajan, University of Bath
• Prof David Coley, Dr Nick McCullen, Prof James Davenport, Dr Ian Walker