OPTEEMAL D2.3 Functional architecture of the data repository

The goal of the OptEEmAL platform is to support users in the optimisation of energy efficient refurbishment building designs at district level. The main components of the platform are the data repositories, a data insertion module, a data management module, a simulation module, an optimisation module, an exportation module, and a visualization module. This document summarizes the results achieved in Task 2.3 “Tools for DDM repositories” whose purpose is to design the architecture of the data repository of the OptEEmAL platform. Task 2.3 builds on the specifications elaborated in the previous Task 2.1 “District Data Model requirements definition and specification”.The design of the architecture of the data repository takes into account the requirements for storing and managing all data used across the different modules that make the platform. Different types of data (building data, city data, contextual data, energy conservation measures and project data) are managed by the platform and further processed with external simulation tools. The communication between data integrated in the platform and external tools is performed via a District Data Model (DDM), realised by a comprehensive semantic framework to facilitate the intertwining of standardized data models with domain-specific ontologies using Semantic Web technologies. A four-stage data transformation and integration process is envisaged to assure interoperability between the semantically integrated data and the external simulation tools. As described in Deliverable 2.1 “Requirements and specification for the District Data Model”, the data repository is divided into five repositories: BIM repository, City repository, Context repository, ECM repository, and Project repository. Each of these repositories has been designed to support the retrieval, integration and storage of: (1) the data provided by the users, (2) the data held by the platform (e.g., ECM repository, barriers, and targets), and (3) the data generated by the platform (e.g., simulation models and scenarios) in each project. Different technological alternatives have been evaluated for each of the five data repositories required by each type of information stored in the OptEEmAL platform. These alternatives have been analysed taking into account the capacities of the different storage technologies, including databases and other data stores.