Aspra Spitia, Viotia
Located in Viotia, Greece, the Aspra Spitia settlement was developed between the 1960s and 1980s with a vision of self-sufficiency and high living standards. Today, it spans an area of 2,492 m² and includes 1,088 dwellings, home to more than 3,000 residents.
All buildings within the settlement are owned and managed by Mytilineos, which acts as Facility Manager. The company has provided a LoEn for the purposes of OpenBEP4EU and oversees the full range of utility infrastructure — including water supply, waste management, and electricity retailing — under a non-profit model aligned with its corporate social responsibility commitments and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
As utility costs are borne by the residents, there is a strong incentive to reduce energy and water consumption, making the site well-suited for testing innovative approaches to energy efficiency. Within the settlement, a subset of 50 dwellings will serve as OpenBEP4EU validation cases. These include 24 apartments in a 12-storey building, 16 flats, and 10 recently renovated houses, with an average dwelling size of 105 m². All homes are equipped with electric heating and cooling systems.
The estimated average annual energy use per household is approximately 13.8 MWh, resulting in a CO₂ footprint of 11.3 tonnes per year. A wide range of data — including electricity consumption, sub-metering, temperature, humidity, lighting levels, and occupancy — is already available through the CHRONICLE project. With its mix of old and upgraded buildings, Aspra Spitia offers a diverse and valuable testbed for scalable energy solutions.
Museum of Philhellenism, Athens
Located in central Athens, the Museum of the Society of Hellenism and Philhellenism occupies a four-storey building originally constructed in 1990 and extensively renovated in 2021. The building now hosts exhibitions across 532 m² of floor space, with each floor covering approximately 133 m².
During its transformation into a museum, the building underwent a significant energy upgrade. A high-efficiency central heating and cooling system powered by a heat pump was installed to support sustainability and indoor comfort. Despite these upgrades, the building currently holds an energy efficiency rating of approximately class E, indicating room for improvement.
As part of the FORTESIE pilot programme, a series of advanced energy efficiency measures are planned. These include the installation of smart windows with integrated photovoltaic (PV) panels, designed to generate up to 28,000 kWh per year — enough to cover up to 90% of the building’s energy needs.
In addition, the previously unused roof will be transformed into a green roof, improving insulation and supporting biodiversity. Thirty-six PV panels covering around 70 m² will also be installed on the roof, each generating 550 W, for a total installed capacity of approximately 19.8 kW. These installations are expected to significantly reduce the building’s reliance on external energy sources.
Current monthly energy consumption stands at around 2.5 MWh, making the museum a meaningful demonstration site for how cultural buildings can transition to smarter, more sustainable operations through targeted interventions and intelligent design.