IEA ECBCS Annex 50

Prefabricated Systems for Low Energy Renovation of Residential Buildings
IEA research has contributed substantially to concepts and technologies suitable for new buildings. Many of these concepts and technologies have not yet been adapted or optimised for retrofitting of existing buildings. But building renovation has a high priority in many IEA countries.

Standard concepts for energy efficient buildings and an increasing level of prefabrication have substantially enhanced the quality and comfort of new buildings, e.g. low energy and passive houses. Advanced measurement technologies allow new quality standards in prefabrication. IEA ECBCS Annex 50 aims to translate these successful concepts and methods for new constructions  to new standard solutions for building renewal.

The project focuses on typical apartment blocks representing approximately 40 % of the European dwelling stock.  The project concentrates on:

  • Minimising the primary energy consumption (in the range of 30-50 kWh/(m²·year) for heating, cooling and hot water, per gross floor area),
  • Optimising the integration of solar energy use,
  • Increasing living comfort by better space use,
  • Assuring good thermal and acoustical comfort, good indoor air quality and daylighting conditions,
  • Assuring a fast, high quality and cost-effective construction process.

The objectives are the development and demonstration of an innovative whole building renovation concept for typical apartment buildings based on:

  • Prefabricated roof systems with integrated HVAC, hot water and solar systems,
  • Highly insulated envelopes with integrated new distribution systems for heating, cooling and ventilation.

The working phase started on January 1, 2007 with a duration of 4 years until end 2010.  The last working meeting was held September 17-17, 2010 in Zurich (Switzerland). The final publications are expected to be available at this homepage March 2011. The deliverables of the project will be:

Renovation Strategies and Design Guide
A building renovation guide documenting typical solutions for whole building renovations, including prefabricated roofs with integrated HVAC components and for advanced facade renovation. The report is supplemented by the Retrofit Simulation Report and an electronic ‘Retrofit Advisor’ that allows a computer-based evaluation of suitable renovation strategies.

Retrofit Module Design Guide
Guidelines for system evaluation, design, construction process and quality assurance for prefabricated renovation modules. This publication includes the technical documentation of all developed renovation solutions.

Case Study Building Renovations
Case studies of six demonstration sites in Austria, Netherlands, and Switzerland.

Summary Report
A summary report for a broad audience, demonstrating the potential of prefabricated retrofit (soon available).

Additional publications are:

-           Annex 50 Fact Sheet, offering a short overview of the project and its achievements

-           Building Typology and Morphology of Swiss and French Multi-Family Homes

-           Retrofit Simulation Report on energy efficiency of renovated buildings

Contact
 mark.zimmermann@empa.ch, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Operating Agent on behalf of Swiss Federal Office of Energy

Participants

•  Austria: AEE - Institute for Sustainable Technologies  (AEE-Intec)
•  Czech Republic: ENVIROS / Brno University of Technology
•  France: Saint-Gobain Insulation, Centre Scientifique et Technique du Bâtiment CSTB,
   Arcelor Research Centre Liege/University of Liège (Belgium)
•  Portugal: University of Minho / Porto University
•  Sweden: Lunds tekniska högskola / Christer Nordström Architects
•  The Netherlands: Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands
•  Switzerland: Empa / HS Luzern / FHNW Basle


last revision: November 24, 2011