Stepwise Address Matching Methodology for National-Scale Building Energy Database Integration

Achieving carbon neutrality in the building sector requires comprehensive, evidence-based policy making, yet building-related data remains fragmented across multiple government ministries in South Korea. With approximately 7.3 million buildings nationwide and small buildings (under 1,000 m2) comprising over 90% of the total stock, integrating these dispersed datasets is critical for inclusive energy management policies that have historically overlooked this majority segment. The DataNet project (2023-2026) aims to establish a national data framework by integrating 17 administrative datasets from various ministries including Land Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), Interior and Safety (MOIS), Education (MOE), Health and Welfare (MOHW), and Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST). The project addresses Korea's unique challenge of dual address systems—land lot-based addresses and road name addresses—alongside complex meter-building relationships where single lots contain multiple buildings and meters rarely correspond one-to-one with registry entries. Currently in its third year, the project has successfully integrated 13 of the planned 17 datasets, achieving an average matching rate of 94.96%. We are employing a stepwise matching methodology that combines code-based matching for datasets with standardized identifiers and text-based matching for those without. The National Building Energy Database (NBED) serves as the reference point, containing dual address codes for each building. The methodology includes comprehensive lot-building verification to capture all relationships and systematic preprocessing that addresses temporal alignment, non-building consumption exclusion, and quality control through multi-dimensional anomaly flagging. The ongoing integration is enabling unprecedented nationwide analyses by linking building registry data, monthly energy consumption from 40 million meters, business permits, meteorological data, and facility-specific operational information. These achievements are establishing the foundation for evidence-based carbon neutrality policies and providing valuable methodological insights for similar national initiatives globally.