Energy efficiency: Advances in pilot buildings with almost zero energy consumption

The consortium partners of REZBUILD have laid the foundations of the three energy efficient demo sites that will be tested during this European Project. This major advance was achieved by setting the processes that will manage the sites in Madrid (Span), Oslo (Norway) and Martellago (Italy) during the recent meeting celebrated in Rome. Among other progresses, partners also shared the improvements in the collaborative refurbishment ecosystem that will optimize the execution time of the works and boost rehabilitation processes using BIM technologies.

Experts from several European countries gathered in the Italian capital to share the advances being developed within the framework of REZBUILD, a project based on strategies such as the fight against climate change, the energy transition and the creation of quality and qualified employment in the construction and refurbishment sectors.

Funded by the Horizon2020 Programme of the European Commission, it also addresses social aspects and challenges such as the energy poverty or the gentrification through citizen empowerment, and aims to define an innovative and collaborative refurbishment ecosystem for Near Zero Energy Building in Europe.

The developments and technologies of the REZBUILD project will be tested in 3 multiscale demo sites covering 3 out of 4 of the most usual residential building typologies in Europe and representing the most prevalent European climates (North-Continental, Central-Atlantic and South-Mediterranean). Residential buildings located in Madrid (Spain), Oslo (Norway) and Martellago (Italy) have been choosing by the project´s partners wit this aim.

The event in Rome brought together the partners of the consortium led by por OV Group SpA (Officinae Verdi Group SpA) (Italy): Vias y Construcciones (Spain), CARTIF (Spain), ESTIA (France), Comunidad de Madrid (Spain), Saint-Gobain Placo Iberica (Spain), ONYX Solar (Spain), SINTEF (Norway), OBOS (Norway), University of Nottingham (United Kingdom), Rimond (Italy), and ZABALA Innovation Consulting (Spain). All partners shared the status of each Work Package and the whole team, interacting to facilitate knowledge sharing between partners.

Step forward in energy efficiency

During the meeting, that took place 18 months after the kick-off of the project, participants discussed in several workshops technical issues regarding innovative advanced technologies to be applied in demos, lab testings, first interfaces of the that optimizes the execution of the works, identification of end-users, achievements in the three demo sites, progress of the monitoring campaign on demos and comfort indicators, among other advances.

The meeting in Rome was an important step forward regarding the challenges REZBUILD considers: to renew and obtain NZEB buildings regarding the technical, economic, social, environmental and legal dimensions. To do this, the Project develops advanced technologies for the renovation of buildings in a platform of common knowledge for decision making. This platform will bring together all interested parties involved in the process of housing renovation, from designers, construction companies, researchers and industrialists, consumers, as well as public/private owners.

The project includes measures of participation, information and commitment for all the value chain of the construction sector and citizens. The initiative will promote innovation in the construction sector with the integration of technologies to achieve the objective of an annual renewal rate of 2.5%, above the current one, lower than the 1%. In this sense, REZBUILD will base its renewal ecosystem on the integration of profitable technologies, business models and life cycle interaction in various types of residential renovation and interconnecting both the renovation stages of buildings and the agents involved in the whole process.