The building sector is the single largest energy consumer in the EU and it has been observed that 75% of the EU’s buildings are energy inefficient. Modernising and refurbishing building stocks is therefore pivotal to the transition to a smarter, renewable-intensive and decarbonised energy system, and in the longer term to a climate-neutral economy.

4RinEU in collaboration with BuildHeat and UIPI invites you to a webinar to discover innovative approaches, lessons learned and results achieved in the retrofitting of multifamily houses at EU level.

Register here!

Webinar Agenda

Moderator: Alice De Ferrari (youris.com)

In consideration of the large dimension of the 4RinEU consortium, there is an important focus on the Communication strategy of the project, which is concretised in the Project Meeting. This strategic event takes place approximately every six months with the overall aim to establish a smooth and continuous internal communication and to ensure an effective hierarchical coordination, an asymmetric participation to the different project activities, and a clear division of responsibilities and tasks.

The 5th 4RinEU Project Meeting was held in Oslo (Norway), at the headquarters of the housing association Boligbygg, who provided our first project Demo-Case. Thirteen participants from 6 countries attended the meeting: from Italy, project coordinator Eurac Research and partners in Italy ADERMA, THERMICS and R2M; from Norway, partners SINTEF and BOLIGBYGG; from the Nederlands, partners TRECODOME and WOONZORG; from Spain, partners AIGUASOL, ACCIONA and AHC 3; from Germany partner GUMPP & MAIER and partner IES from UK. The project coordinator, Roberto Lollini, presented the results achieved in terms of technologies and methodologies as well as Demo-Cases implementation.

With a project’s result-oriented approach, each work package leader presented results, expected final output and strategy for market uptake of each robust technologies for deep renovation developed in the project:

• Prefab multifunctional façade, by partner GUMPP & MAIER
• Comfort ceiling fan smart operation, by Eurac Research
• Plug&Play Energy Hub, by partner THERMICS
• Early-RENo by Eurac Research
• Sensible Building Data Handler by partner IES
• Strategies for building components’ end-of-life, by partner ACCIONA

Some of the highlight of the technologies section included the distillation of a self-explanatory manual for a prefab multifunctional façade (1), including guidance about fire safety and anchoring. We hope that this manual will be part of our next coming news. It was also decided to develop a scheme for Early-RENo software (4) optimisation process, presenting the interface, four module (perhaps including irradiation) and their interactions. In addition, the Sensible Data Handler (5) will be developed into a virtual notebook for onsite activities (working also without internet).

In the same vein, during the session of usable methodologies for supporting stakeholders (investors, developers, designers, occupants) of deep renovation projects, all task leaders presented an update on task progression:

• Cost-optimal energy audit, by partner ADERMA
• Investor and building user-oriented design platform based on BIM, by partner IES
• Deep renovation implementation management, by partner ACCIONA

Still under the development, 4RinEU methodologies will provide and audit protocol (7), a project management platform (8) as well as a protocol for deep renovation.

Finally, and focusing on the replication potential (reliable business models), Eurac Research presented their results of building archetypes

• Cost effective rating system, by partner Sintef

Focusing on the demo-cases, and from the Norwegian Demo-Case, it was highlighted that the demo benefited from extensive use of BIM and from the collaborative and inclusive procurement procedure. Particularly the early procurement enabling risk sharing, strong commitment, as well as the chance to withdraw, was a success. The soon to stat the construction site for Dutch-Demo case and Spanish Demo-Case are expected to be opened early next year.

The 6th 4RinEU Project Meeting will take place next February 2020 in Amsterdam (Netherlands).

The research team of 4RinEU within Eurac Research and partner Integrated Environmental Solutions Ltd (IES) delivered a workshop on the topic of building data management at the Sustainable Places Conference, last June in Cagliari (Italy).

In the 4RinEU project, technologies constitute one of the three pillars of the project. In particular, the Sensible Building Data Handler constitutes a technology aimed at gathering, organising and preparing for analysis the large amount of data that is needed in the various phases of a deep renovation project. A major part of the Sensible Building Data Handler is the collection of monitored data, both for the pre-renovation state of the building and the post-renovation performance. This data can be then used for the deep renovation project to ensure that the virtual behaviour of the building represents correctly its real status, but also to evaluate the efficacy of the renovation after it is completed. In addition, the Sensible Building Data Handler allows to communicate to the building users the actual performance of the building. Accordingly, building users can identify which systems are installed in various rooms (e.g. dimming controls for lighting, heating controls, etc.) and to help building surveyors to specify sensor and meter locations in the buildings.

Once data is collected, managing monitoring data requires secure cloud solutions, and 4RinEU partners ADERMA and Eurac Research have deployed a monitoring infrastructure in the 4RinEU pilot Demo-Cases which collects all data (pre- and post-retrofit) into a single database. This database is then connected to a tool for intelligent control and data analysis (called iSCAN) developed by project partner IES. Through interactive data visualisations, flexible idashboards and configurable structure, this cloud-based platform allows to cut through the clutter and make sense of building data. Specifically, in 4RinEU project a series of dashboards are being developed according to the specific requirements of each Demo-Case. This allows to gather specific information needed for the project, such as, visualization of energy and comfort performance of the building in a clear and graphically appealing way.

After introducing these core principles of the project and of the data acquisition from the Demo-Cases, the workshop concentrated in the core innovation of iSCAN, which consists of a tool offering intelligent data interrogation, allowing to cross analyse data from different sources in one platform. Thanks to it, any data source, format and time series can be organised and tagged, and can be displayed through custom dashboards to the users.

The workshop was organised to target reaching local municipalities and managers dealing with deep retrofit and energy efficiency in general. Attendees received a first introduction to the Sensible Building Data Handler tool, including an overview of iSCAN and the custom idashboard that visualises key information (such as key performance indicators, observed trends, etc.) for obtaining quick insights about the building’s data. This first part, more suited to an audience of decision makers, focused on the capabilities; then, a second part of the workshop, addressed to a technical audience, went into detail on the practical use of the tool, to demonstrate the use of the Sensible Building Data Handler into a real case (Helix Building).

The workshop was very successful with high engagement from the attendees, and open discussion. As feedback gained, the audience expressed a wish to receive more background on building monitored data. This does not come as a surprise considering the innovative aspect of monitoring buildings, in consideration of the science behind it as well as the technology to collect it and the IT innovation to process it. The 4RinEU consortium is planning to develop specific training on this area.

Most of the barriers to energy renovation are non-technical, and financing is one of the main barriers. To deepen this issue, this year, at the Sustainable Places Conference (Cagliari, 5-7 June 2019) the topic of discussion was “Exploitation of Business Models for Deep Renovation” [1] as a key issue for ensuring the future implementation of the project results.

The level of confidence of investors in case of renovation is usually low because of the several uncertainties encountered throughout the process of deep renovation. The actual investments are lower than potential because there are no reliable references that assess such uncertainties. During the Sustainable places conference, several H2020 projects, alongside researcher of 4RinEU, discussed their approaches on exploitations to highlight potential synergies among them.

• Nicolas Péraudeau (DOWEL Management) presented the STUNNING project, aimed at collecting and reviewing the results from previous projects dealing with building renovation, highlighting strengths and barriers and proposing novel business models based on systemic, integrated and user-centred approach.
• Simona d’Oca (Huygen), introduced the TripleA-Reno project, whose exploitation plan aims to develop a gamified platform that serves a service for key stakeholders involved in the renovation journey. The platform is intended to facilitate understanding, communication exchange, decision making, practices among the TripleA-reno users. The TripleA-reno platform also gives the chance to small suppliers to have a bigger audience (that they wouldn’t reach on their own).
• Then, Prof. Annarita Ferrante (University of Bologna) described the approach of the proGETone project, aiming at integrating energy-saving solutions to the seismic renovation of buildings. The benefits of this renovation approach are shared between energy-saving, seismic safety and social added value, that should be included properly in the business model.
• Oana Schippers-Trifan (DEMO consultants) went through the results of the P2Endure project. She compared different renovation products within their e-marketplace. The e-marketplace is a simulation platform to provide clear and comprehensive information to compare energy saving options, this way supporting the entire process of planning and buying at a local district market level.
• Roberta Pernetti (Eurac Research) presented the exploitation plan of 4RinEU project. Here, a detailed value proposition for each project result has been developed with project partner R2M. The business model proposed by 4RinEU for the deep renovation is based on the cost-effective rating tool that will support the decision-making process according to the renovation priority selected by the stakeholders. They will drive the investors in deep renovation, supporting them to identify the level of risk of renovation processand enable well-founded investments supported by tailor-made financial tools.

A matching position was found to between the TripleA-reno, ProGETonE, P2Endure, 4rinEU, STUNNING, and TURNkey Retrofit cluster projects:

• the strong focus on marketing and customer needs, and
• because of the mediation role between stakeholders involved in the renovation process, the platforms have an exponential potential of growth (platforms act as old-fashioned middlemen: they offer products and services based on their knowledge and the need of the end-users).

In the following weeks, the presentation of the workshop will be available on the website of the conference SP2019. A detailed paper can be downloaded here.

[1] The term “exploitation” is been defined under the H2020 Rules for Participation as “the use of results in further research activities other than those covered by the action concerned, or in developing, creating and marketing a product or process, or in creating and providing a service, or in standardisation activities”.

The research team of 4RinEU within Eurac Research has delivered a 2-days training at a hosting academic institution in Italy.

As part of the dissemination tasks of 4RinEU, training and skills development is a substantial component. Particularly, such tasks are devoted to developing the necessary skills for a new generation of practitioners in the energy retrofit of buildings. Accordingly, last Spring, researchers from Eurac held a two-day training session on the software Early-RENo last 16-17 May 2019.

Early-RENo is an early design tool under development within the context of the project 4RinEU.  It consists of a set of methodologies developed by Eurac Research and Aiguasol which aims to support the designers in the first phases of the renovation projects. It covers four important topics: photovoltaic systems, solar thermal systems, natural ventilation and daylighting. The modularity of Early-RENo allows the user to design an efficient use of on-site resources. These are case-specific and will increasingly become an important aspect of the design process. For example, it is possible to refine a single optimization without re-running all the other modules. In the long run, the intent will be to extend the ‘users’ umbrella to designers with limited computer expertise.

In this occasion, the main training target group consisted of students from the University Polytechnic of Milan (Italy) and students from the University of Colorado at Boulder (US). These students came from the faculties of architecture and therefore they constituted most suitable -future and worldwide- demographic of project managers, architects and other professionals involved in the design and construction sector, that way successfully targeting and training a new generation of practitioners.

Within a two-weeks global exchange in Italy between the University of Colorado and Milan Polytechnic, Eurac Research as the main partner of 4RinEU has designed and delivered a two-days’ workshop on Early-RENo software.

A 3D geometry was pre-generated and was sent to the training students beforehand. Then, a weather file and the geometry became the input for the Radiance simulation which provided an irradiation map. Students were then able to optimize positions and capacity of PV and check to which degree the optimal system was able to meet the electricity demand. Also, students were able to assess several techno-economic inputs, such as electricity price, technical characteristics of the system. Students were guided by the lecturers in an exploration of these variables impact on the results.

In terms of training contents, the first day consisted of front lectures aimed at providing students with the appropriate background. Among these, there were sessions on (a) an introduction to Early-RENo, (b) a presentation of the three parts of Early-RENo software (i.e. PV, lighting and ventilation), (c) overview of the prerequisites to use the software, (d) a live demonstration, and finally (e) a guided software installation with troubleshooting. The second day, lecturers from Eurac Research delivered a hands-on session, where students used a 3D model to test their PV projects with the software Early-RENo.

Early-RENo and its user interface are still under test phase. Therefore, this workshop has also provided feedback to the developers regarding its use cases and possible development.

In indoor environments, human thermal comfort is affected by four physical quantities: air temperature, mean radian temperature, relative humidity, and air speed. The mean radiant temperature depends on the temperature of the surfaces around a person, and it is usually combined with the air temperature into a unique value called operative temperature.

Thermal comfort and air movement: how does it work?

In warm and hot conditions, thermal comfort is linked to the capability of heat dissipation of the human body. Keeping it simple, this depends on the temperature and humidity difference between the skin and the surrounding environments (hence, how much heat can be exchanged), and on coefficients that tell the rate at which the heat and moisture can be exchanged (hence, how fast heat can be exchanged).

Highly energy-consuming systems such as air conditioners are used to decrease the temperature below a certain value. This value could be simply set by a user or taken from international standards that give operative temperature thresholds. Hence, these systems keep a person comfortable by increasing the amount of heat that can be released from the body to the environments.

On the other hand, elevated air movement can be used to make the heat-exchange process faster: as the air near the body becomes warm and humid, it is quickly replaced by drier and cooler air. Thus, fans keep a person comfortable by increasing the speed at which heat that can be released from the body to the environments.

Smart ceiling fans: achieving the same level of comfort using less energy

Air conditioners are usually designed to guarantee a certain comfort level such as having 90% of the people satisfied with the thermal environments. Since a precise set-point temperature can be set, this appears to be a straightforward task. On the other hand, fans apparently offer fewer assurance. However, within 4RinEU, a novel smart ceiling fan has been developed to address this issue: ensuring a well-defined level of comfort considering the environmental and personal conditions at a specific point in time.

The system is made by a common ceiling fan that can be controlled remotely, and a remote-control unit that includes the temperature and relative humidity sensors, and the control algorithm. This algorithm:

• takes temperature and relative humidity as an input,
• calculates the air speed needed to ensure thermal comfort (90% satisfaction) in warm and hot conditions (26°C – 34°C) for three different activity levels, namely relaxed, seated, and active such as house cleaning, and
• automatically adapts the rotational speed of the ceiling fan.

This algorithm has been developed by Eurac researchers starting from the available literature-based evidence, and it was then implemented into a commercial product by the Italian company Vortice. The final output is a product that can ensure occupants’ thermal comfort while significantly reducing the use of energy and hence related CO2 emissions.

The Norwegian demonstration building is a two-floor building with eight small dwellings in total, located at Haugerud in the city of Oslo. Haugerud is a suburb in the east of Oslo with housing developments and houses built around the metro station.
The demonstration building is only a two minutes’ walk from the metro station. It has a simple geometry with a lot of space around it, which was considered an advantage when looking for a suitable demonstration building for the 4RinEU project. Boligbygg is the partner in 4RinEU that is responsible for the Norwegian demonstration case, and it is a municipal enterprise that owns, manages and leases Oslo’s municipal housing.
This demonstration building is 100% publicly owned by the city of Oslo. The city of Oslo is one of the cities in the world with highest ambitions when it comes to climate action. The target is to reduce climate gas emissions with 95 % by 2030, and Oslo is well on its way and has reduced the emissions by 16 % since 2015. Oslo has been reworded for its effort by being awarded the European Green Capital 2019 Award.

Finding the right supplier
An important target was to find a supplier that saw the potential in the solution and that wanted to develop a solution for a larger market. Norway has a long tradition using prefabricated elements for new buildings. However, this is the first project that uses prefabricated façade elements for a renovation. This is a completely new technology and market in Norway. At last, Boligbygg signed a contract with Lindal treindustri: a multidisciplinary collaboration began amongst a designer, an architect, a construction engineer, a timber-elements specialist, an energy specialist, an electrical designer and an HVAC expert.

Designing the elements
In the design phase, Boligbygg depended on the resources from the 4RinEU team. All the research partners – Sintef, EURAC, and Gumpp&Mayer – were working closely with Boligbygg in this phase. One of the main decisions in the design phase was the choice of renovation package and what technologies to integrate into the solution. Boligbygg had to evaluate the technologies and solutions based on the local building legislation and local climate conditions and needs. BIM was used throughout the whole design phase in order to achieve the level of detailed needed in order to produce the elements at the factory with minimal adjustments on site.

Production and renovation
The elements were cut automatically but built manually. Integration of PV was new to everybody and the design team had to design an original system. Also considering the building height, the elements were joined vertically to reduce the risk of construction errors. This was possible because the demo-case was a low-rise building, and there was enough space around it.
The transportation to the construction site was considered a risk and the driver had to be careful. The transportation time was about 3-4 hours. The renovation phase lasted the summer period. Every detail was carefully thought and designed, as well as the logistics was detailly planned. Good coordination, skilled workers were important success factors. The team used lifts and had to spin the elements around in the air in order to have enough room.

Results
The overall result is an improved building, with improved levels of insulation, PVs and balanced ventilation. The building works period was relatively short, though longer than planned, and the tenants lived within the apartment during the deep renovation process. Lindal is now aiming for a certification of the system and want to introduce it into the market.
One of the main success factors has been the cooperation with the tenants. Especially in consideration to the fact that many tenants stayed at home during the day; therefore, the aspects of good communication and safety were crucial. Information work was very important.

+ READ MORE about the Oslo Demo-Case 

Early-RENo is an early design tool under development thanks to our project 4RinEU. It consists of a set of methodologies developed by Eurac Research and Aiguasol which aims to support the designers in the first phases of the renovation projects. It covers four important topics: photovoltaic, solar collectors, natural ventilation and daylighting. Since one of our goals is to guarantee a user-friendly approach, we are working on a graphical user interface (GUI).

The goal
The goal of the GUI is to simplify the use of the tool and connect the four modules implemented. In our concept, each module will have an independent tab sharing information with the others, giving the possibility of running the complete algorithm or to select a methodology-specific calculation optimizing time resources. In this way, the modularity of Early-RENo allows the user to focus on the interesting resources which can be case-specific and becomes an important aspect of the design process. For example, it will be possible to refine a single optimization without re-running all the other modules. Finally, the intent is to extend the user range also to designers with limited computer expertise.

Let’s see how the user interface is organized
As explained before, the GUI reflects the modularity of Early-RENo. It is divided in six tabs, one for each module, one for interfacing our tool with Radiance and one for general inputs:

1. Settings: the user can select which module(s) will be used in the next calculation, select the inputs file (e.g. weather file) and insert the inputs which are common for all the modules. Moreover, here it is possible to launch the algorithm and export the automatic report
2. Irradiance: this tab shows the results of the hourly irradiance calculated with Radiance. It is possible to choose which sensor the results refer
3. Photovoltaic: here it is possible to insert the inputs required for the photovoltaic optimization. At the end of the calculation it will be displayed a plot of the economic analysis and the most important results
4. Solar thermal: the same as in the tab related to photovoltaic. In this case the plot shows the monthly energy consumption and production
5. Natural ventilation: here it would be possible to choose the final use of the building (residential, office, etc.) and all the other inputs needed for exploiting natural ventilation
6. Daylighting: this tab is the interface for our daylighting module. Here the user will insert the required inputs and at the end of the calculations the most relevant plots and results will be shown

User experience
At the opening, Early-RENo displays the settings tab where it will be asked which modules the user wants to launch. Once all the inputs required will be filled, the optimization can be launched with the Start button. At the end of each calculation, Early-RENo tells the user if the run was successfully completed. Finally, an automatic report which summarizes the inputs and the results can be exported with the dedicated button. This functionality was added to give the possibility of tracking in a better way the workflow of the design process.

The user interface is actually in test phase but has already been used in different studies, so we are confident that we will soon be able to share positive news with you!

On 5 and 6 February 2019, Industry Days have been held in Brussels, at The Egg Congress&Meeting Centre.

The 2 days event has been opened by President Juncker, that in the welcome speech underlined

“how far and wide industrial policies go from investment to innovation, from skills to space, from clean energy to construction. The future of Europe’s industry will depend on its ability to adapt by investing in new technologies and embracing the digital and ecological transitions; funding for research and innovation will be increased by 50% to reach EUR 100 billion: this shows how industry will be central to the future of our economy”.

EU Industry Days gathered around 1,800 participants from across Europe and beyond, including stakeholders representing industry, trade unions, national and regional authorities, and civil society.

The event has been dense of conferences and appointments, reaffirming the role of EU towards a Clean Planet for All, through the transition to digitisation and technological change, a resource efficient and circular economy and the development of less polluting and less energy-intensive technologies.

Throughout the duration of the event, the Grand Hall of The Egg has been populated by visitors attracted by the several stands in which EU funded projects (H2020 and LIFE) have showcased the developed prototypes and solutions.

4RinEU had the great honor to be invited as exhibitor to the event. Eurac, with the support of the technology partners Gumpp & Meier, AdermaLocatelli and Thermics, set up a very rich stand, including a demo version of the prefabricated façade and the anchoring system, the Eq-OX monitoring system and the Energy Hub. Many visitors coming from leading institutions — such as European Commission, EASME and European Bank Federations — academia and industry sector congratulated for the results and demonstrated a wide interest to the marketability of the solutions. On the basis of this interests, the exploitation plan of the results will be crucial and in the next months we’ll work hard to explore attractive business models for each developed technology.

The technology development driven by 4RinEU has reached the goal of defining prototypes, and the first performance measurements are now available. Following these results, 4RinEU started the evaluation of the technologies by mean of the building archetypes, with the definition of the deep renovation packages.

The building archetypes are representative of the building features of the European building stock.  In particular, following the analysis by SINTEF, that selected 24 buildings from the DataTool of the Intelligent Energy Project TABULA, we identified 4 common geometries (envelope dimensions and opaque/transparent ratio) to be adopted as reference. Each geometry will be analysed in each Geo-Cluster, and the specific layers and building features are being implemented (Figure 1).

The renovation packages are based on a set of technologies developed within the project: prefabricated wooden façade with the integration of PV, ST and ventilation devices, Plug&Play Energy Hub, comfort ceiling fans. 4RinEU results are combined with traditional technologies, completing the packages in order to fulfil the requirements in terms of energy saving. In particular, roof insulation, improvement of the efficiency of the heating plant, ground floor insulation and solutions to enhance the airtightness of the building.

Each renovation package is going to be evaluated through a set of Key Performance Indicators dealing with five thematic areas: Energy, Environment, Comfort and Indoor Air Quality, Economic issues and building site management (Table 1).

The results of the simulation set will represent the result basis for the cost effective rating tool under development by SINTEF with the collaboration of Eurac Research, Trecodome and Aiguasol.