BUILD UP

With almost 75% of the existing building stock estimated to be energy inefficient, the building sector represents a tremendous potential for energy savings that still needs to be unlocked. To that end, buildings need to transform from passive isolated elements to become energy-efficient, while responding to the needs of occupants.

Every month BUILD UP highlights publications covering specific topics. April’s Topic of the Month is ‘Integration of Renewable Energy Sources in Buildings’. The website is already available for your contributions, and BUILD UP’s editorial board is eager to receive your discussion papers, exciting news, and thought-provoking articles.

Graduated Architect from ISAVH in Brussels, Michael Moradiellos also holds a PHD in sustainable urban planning and has co-founded several companies. He is an expert in Circular Economy and Cradle to Cradle, with a focus on innovative co-creation with stakeholders. His aim is to develop good practices that have a positive impact for humans and the planet, while demonstrating their economic viability.

Seven Czech new training courses created within the international CraftEdu project were presented along with five Slovak, two Bulgarian and one Austrian. This confirms the benefits of the appropriate education of construction craftsmen, and the advantages of co-operation between EU member states and joint initiatives in the construction sector.

The EU-funded RES4BUILD project is working to improve the performance while reducing the cost of the most innovative components. The project aims to increase the uptake of renewable energy solutions for heating and cooling, decarbonising energy consumption in buildings, and contributing to EU energy and climate goals.

Mariënheuvel is a residential building for elderly people located in Soest and owned by the social housing agency Woonzorg Nederland. The 4RinEU intervention consisted of the installation of timber prefabricated façade modules with integrated sun shadings, and the placement of an upgraded HVAC system which couples mechanical ventilation and heat recovery.

The aim of the project Better data for better buildings - understanding the role of big data is to carry out a holistic analysis of big data usage in the EU built environment, focusing on the identification of possible challenges. The following questionnaire aims to bring a wide range of the most important stakeholders and map their needs and experiences in order to develop solutions supporting the future development of big data in the EU built environment sector.

Delivering the vision of climate-neutrality by 2050 as defined in the Paris Agreement is only achievable if the whole building stock, including retail real estate portfolios, is thoroughly renovated and sustainable design of new buildings is adopted. The UNEP 2020 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction shows that decarbonisation efforts and energy efficiency improvements are being outpaced.

This paper offers a review of EU energy policies spanning over the last half century with a focus on policy instruments to encourage measures on energy efficiency in new and existing buildings. The review also explores the progress made over the last 50 years in addressing energy efficiency in buildings and highlights successes as well as remaining challenges.

This restoration was concerned with the preservation of the overall appearance of the building, while repairing the roof, facades and surroundings and carefully restoring the prestigious south facade. From a technical point of view, the building is solidly stabilised and energetically brought up to the latest standards.

The 'Bale House' is the new Visitor Centre in Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve, funded by Hastings Borough Council with grant aid from the Interreg NWE programme. From the foundations to the facade, it is constructed from natural and recycled materials which are healthy, fireproof, breathable, and they lock up carbon from the atmosphere by creatively recycling agricultural by-products.

The main objective of the EU-funded HIPERMAT project is the empowering of future low carbon technologies with new materials and components, by their enhanced environmental impact reduction across the value chain.

The overarching objective of the EU-funded RE-FRACTURE2 project is to develop new computational models for refractory materials that should enable for the first time the simulation of their behaviour over the entire working temperature range.

Thermal insulation of construction and building elements has become the most important measure to enhance energy savings in new and existing buildings. This proposed project deals with the improvement of cementitious lamellae of concrete foams for buildings insulations.

Concrete is one of the most consumed materials on the planet. It is cost-effective and efficient for the construction of buildings, but it has an enormous carbon footprint, emitting large amounts of CO2 during its production. The EU-funded ngCon project aims to address this challenge by researching and introducing several disruptive cement production processes that are better for the environment.

The building sector represents a tremendous potential for energy savings. Buildings need to transform from passive isolated elements to energy-efficient and smart-grid ready buildings. A number of EU funded projects are currently developing and testing solutions that will further push the smart readiness of buildings and their interactions with the environment. This webinar gives you the opportunity to meet 10 of these exciting projects.

Watch this webinar and know more about the amazing VEEP project. VEEP received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme to develop and demonstrate a series of technological solutions for the massive retrofitting of our built environment, aiming at cost-effectively reducing building energy consumption.

Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) is a well-tested and successful tool that has been helping building owners reach their energy and climate targets, and much more quickly than with the traditional implementation of energy saving measures.

Use the HARP online tool to find out where your installed heating appliance fits on the energy label. The tool is also there to help you find a replacement! Fill in a few details about the characteristics of your dwelling and get an overview of the possible suitable alternatives and their benefits, as well as contact details of installers and an overview of available subsidies.

The SBE21 Heritage Conference brings together scholars and practitioners working in the fields of energy efficiency and historic building conservation to foster multidisciplinary dialogues and find new retrofit approaches to save our vital common heritage and guarantee a sustainable future.

The main purpose of this conference is to disseminate research results, exchange experiences and identify key issues and challenges in the thematic areas of the forum. The conference will provide a platform for an active dialogue of participants.

BEHAVE 2020-2021 is the 6th version of the biannual EnR event that focuses on the application of behavioural insights in energy efficiency. As an important conference for national energy agencies across Europe, BEHAVE provides a unique forum for policymakers, academia, industry, and practitioners to share ideas and experiences in promoting effective solutions for energy efficiency improvements and climate mitigation.

The Euroheat & Power Congress focuses on topics related to District Energy. The congress provides a unique forum for discussing and enhancing knowledge on major issues of importance for European and Global District Energy sectors.