News
Switch2Save project for smart glass technologies was officially kicked-off
On October 16 2019, Switch2Save project was officially kicked-off at the meeting of consortium partners in Dresden, Germany. Coordinated by Fraunhofer FEP and with AMIRES participation, the project goal is to improve the availability and affordability of electrochromic (EC) and thermochromic (TC) smart glass technologies. The Switch2Save consortium includes leading universities, research institutes and industries from six EU countries. Within the next four years, the partners will collectively develop a combination of EC and TC cells – with optimized maximum energy saving potential – based on a switchable total energy transmittance (g-value). They will scale the manufacturing technologies for increased availability and cost effectiveness, assess the performance of the innovative insulating glass units (IGU), and demonstrate the heating and cooling energy saving potential and the lighting comfort in two operational buildings in Greece and Sweden. EffiBUILDING will support Switch2Save project for clustering and dissemination activities.
More information will be shortly available at www.switch2save.eu.
ExcEED platform officially launched
ExcEED platform has been officially launched. The platform provides insights on the energy performances of single buildings and districts in operational conditions, both related to energy consumption and indoor environmental quality. The platform is made of a range of tools allowing automatic calculation of dedicated Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), as well as algorithms for geo-clustering and benchmarking.
ExcEED Consortium is now looking for buildings data to fill the platform and therefore make more comprehensive analyses. If you are interested, do not hesitate to find more information at this link.
ECTP: 8th edition of the EeB PPP Project Review 2019
The Energy Efficient Buildings Committee of ECTP is pleased to share with you the 8th edition of the EeB PPP Project Review. This yearly publication presents the progress and results of 74 projects selected by the 110 European research projects co-funded within the Energy efficient Buildings Public-Private Partnership (EeB PPP) under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) and 64 co-funded projects under Horizon 2020 programme from 2014 to 2018 of teh clustering.
The 2019 edition of the Project Review highlights current results and achieved or expected benefits of the EeB PPP projects. The overall target is to develop breakthrough affordable technical and business driven solutions at building and district scale. The projects demonstrate scientific and technological excellence, across the whole value chain, from early stage conception to demonstration of almost ready-to-market innovations. Categorised into 7 technology-clusters defined according to the construction-related research & innovation value chain from the EeB PPP Roadmap (Design, Technology Building Blocks, Advanced materials and nanotechnology, Construction process, Energy performance monitoring & management, ICT and BIM), the 174 research projects presented in this brochure illustrate the diverse innovation approaches and the importance of embracing all aspects of the building and construction sectors. And this year, the 6 new Horizon 2020 projects all categorised in the BIM cluster spot light on the great tendency toward digitalization of the built environment.
The Project Review 2019 can be downloaded here or in the on ECTP website.
EffiBUILDING presented as dissemination and exploitation platform at the ECTP Conference
Our database for the energy efficiency solutions for buildings have been presented to the ECTP conference on the 13th and 14th November in Brussels.
More than 170 stakeholders from the whole construction value-chain and representatives of the European Commission shared their experience and discussed how the EU construction industry is shaping a high-tech Sustainable Built Environment.
EffiBUILDING was presented as a platform to disseminate and exploit the project results, together with the best case of our Member GOLD Q-Air from Trimo Group, attracting many questions and excellent inputs from the conference audience. Presentation is available for download here.
Q-Air at the international Conference on Advanced Building Skins in Switzerland
The Advanced Building Skins conference sheds light on the significance of the building skin, with a view to putting scientific know-how into practice. Q-Air was presented at the conference programme under title “Modelling 6-pane transparent façade system to optimize daylight and thermal performance” and displayed at the exhibition part of the two-day conference. The conference participants – architects, consultants, researchers, university professors and other experts were totally impressed by the new “technology” of 6-pane glazing system and its performance, which is world´s unique.
Q-Air, the leading European innovation for glass facades and perfect solution for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings or Passive Houses delivers outstanding thermal transmittance of complete curtain wall system Ucw ≥ 0,30 W/m2K at low solar heat gain coefficient Ug = 0,27 W/m2K. Furthermore, Q-Air requires no exterior sun shadings thus enables unobstructed view to the external environment. Living and working comfort for occupants is perfect – no cold draught at the glass wall at cold times and no “sauna effect” inside the building in hot days.
As a result of the research work in the field of multiparametric analysis of daylight and thermal performance an office building model was created and calculated in BIM environment. The results are very promising for the current and future built and environment. E.g.: in case of using Q-Air glass façade system (six-layers of glass) instead of conventional triple glazing (three layers of glass), the reduction of energy need for heating is in the range of 81% to 98% (based on calculations for three locations – Oslo, Munich, Madrid). More accurate, energy need for heating is up to 3,2 kWh/m2a in Oslo and up to 0,2 kWh/m2a in Munich.
Enter the Q-Air Point, an International Architecture Competition
Our member Trimo, together with Kohlbecker, has launched an International Architecture Competition which invites architects and designers, both professional and students, to create a contemporary, vibrant and sustainable urban place for meeting, working and socialising by creating a building pavilion to be called Q-Air Point.
Deadline is on 15th October 2018 and winner will be announced at BIM World MUNICH 2018
What is your Q-Air Point? More information are available in the website: www.q-aircompetition.com
AMIplexus Façade Technology Analysis
Research and developmental efforts have been engaged in the race to develop zero energy and carbon free buildings in European cities. Due to the dual impact on both visual aesthetics and energy efficiency, façade technologies have naturally been a point of increasing interest within the Horizon 2020 framework, predominantly in the RIA and IA (Research and Innovation Action and Innovation Action). Current technologies under study in H2020 include fluid flow glazing and multifunctional ventilated façades, HVAC and ICT systems, integrated PV and, solid-state perovskite solar cells. Other areas of research are focused on the development of novel biopolymer and composite materials, as well as the establishment of an eco-friendly, efficient manufacturing method for mass production.
Research projects within H2020 have been targeted towards the market introduction and acceptance of an end-product, materials and/or manufacturing process that defines the perfect balance between energy efficiency, environmental friendliness, safety, comfort and cost. Additional desirable properties that would set the standard for future state-of-the-art façade technologies include lighweightness, reduced CO2 emissions, adaptability, high performance insulation, low intrusiveness, reliability and durability. The complete market penetration of these products is, however, currently hindered by limitations such as bulkiness, high costs and insufficient thermal energy conversion efficiency. While the focus is mainly on the development of novel technologies, a few of the projects (e.g. LaWin) plan on developing their products based on already existing platforms to enable rapid market access.
Ongoing projects in this technological field: Q-Air, TRACKWAY, InDeWaG, GOTSolar, PoLaRoll, ESPResSo, BRESAER, BuildHEAT, ABRACADABRA, GELCLAD, 4RinEU, Envision, PLUG-N-HARVEST
Past projects in this technological field: LaWin and E2VENT.
EU projects results in the facade technologies are available for consultation in the EffiBUIDING database. More information about the visualisation data tool AMIPLEXUS are available here.
ECTP: 7th edition of the EeB PPP Project Review 2018
The Energy Efficient Buildings Committee of ECTP is pleased to share with you the 7th edition of the EeB PPP Project Review. This yearly publication presents the progress and results of 110 European research projects co-funded within the Energy efficient Buildings Public-Private Partnership (EeB PPP) under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7) and 58 co-funded projects under Horizon 2020 programme from 2014 to 2017.
The EeB PPP Project Review 2018 highlights current results and achieved or expected benefits of the EeB PPP projects. The overall target is to develop breakthrough affordable technical and business driven solutions at building and district scale. The projects demonstrate scientific and technological excellence, across the whole value chain, from early stage conception to demonstration of almost ready-to-market innovations. Distributed into 7 technology-clusters defined according to the construction-related research and innovation value chain from the EeB PPP Roadmap (Design, Technology Building Blocks, Advanced materials and nanotechnology, Construction process, Energy performance monitoring & management, ICT and BIM), the 168 research projects featured in this brochure illustrate the diverse innovation approaches and the importance of embracing all aspects of the building and construction sector.
The Project Review 2018 can be downloaded here or in the on ECTP website.
“Solar-Terra” module: high efficiency together with excellent aesthetics impact
A BIPV modules has been developed by ISSOL applying a layer of color to the inner face of the front glass, both perfectly homogenous and highly translucent, to let pass without much loss of the energy from sunlight, the sole source of power for high-performance solar cells placed underneath. PV module possessing semi-matt and traditional looking colored Terracotta.
Ideally, the "Solar-Terra" module is integrated into the roof and completely replaces the tile roof, its mounting system guaranteeing the same density as a traditional tile roof. A structured glass surface eliminates to a very large extent the reflections of ight considered untimely. In this way, the color is not impacted, even in case of very strong solar radiation.
You can have more detailed information of the Solar-Terra" module, together with the other high aesthetics impact BIPV modules White and Colorful, in the PV session of the database.
Low Emissivity Smart reversible windows developed in A2PBEER project
A smart reversible window prototype has been developed and tested by Bergamo® Tecnoligie Spzoo in the framework of the A2PBEER project. The low emissivity windows have the E coating is either placed on the outer (max. solar gain, desirable in winter) or the inner side (min. solar gain, desirable in summer) of the glazed unit. The smart window can rotate the sash from a winter to summer position and vice versa to change the position of low E coating to select the right configuration. Each window is fitted with an inside and external pane of glass which permit various amounts of solar radiation into the building at different times of the year. Each window can be regulated and controlled manually or electronically.
A detailed information about the prototypes and the technologies tested in the project, including the insulation panel ISO-VAC from Isoleika, are available in the database and in the project website.