Brief Summary
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT:
Article 13 of the 2009/28/EC Directive requires minimum share of renewables for new buildings and major renovations. Given the current very low construction rate for new buildings, renovation play a key role for addressing a large part of the building stock, thus assuring a powerful and fruitful implementation of the Directive. Before the Directive was issued, several cities, regions or even countries already established “renewable building codes”, where minimum contributions from renewables to the energy supply of the building were foreseen. However, these building codes very often do not allow a wide use of renewables, because:
- their scope just include only new buildings and not renovations;
- buildings located in protected areas are often exempted, even though the extension of these areas are actually relevant. Moreover, renovations, especially of large buildings, are complicated from several points of view (administrative/procedural, ownership structure, owner-tenant dilemma, and high investment, technical).
The project aims at allowing a major diffusion of solar thermal, reducing the barriers to its use in major renovations in multi-family buildings located in urban and/or protected areas.
Experienced partners will bring in best practice experiences, to build up a “know-how pool” where to coach “replication partners” from. Moreover, also experienced partners will improve their experiences and models within the project. The development of the project will always be led by and adjusted according to the needs of the target groups (communities, potential local investor, solar thermal industry).
The project foresees the implementation of practical actions in the participating communities, preceded by a study of the local boundary conditions and needs and by the adjustment of suitable schemes. Also EU wide and strong dissemination activity is foreseen, running all over the time frame of the project, in order to assure a proper impact of the action.
In order to reach this goal, the project outcomes and results will accelerate deployment and stimulate investments for solar for heating in large buildings or groups of buildings, by opening new market segments activities for the application of solar thermal, as well as to obtaining commitments by decision makers for developing ST in these same market segments.
The project, during its lifetime, aims at reaching the following main objectives:
- accelerate deployment and stimulate investments for solar for heating in large buildings or groups of buildings, by opening new market segments activities for the application of solar thermal (city centers, large renovations, protected areas and buildings) and obtaining commitments by decision makers for developing solar thermal in these market segments;
- capacity building for target group (communities, local stakeholders, solar thermal industry) regarding models for spreading ST in buildings;
- increase of the specialized know-how of ST manufacturers, which will be able to provide solutions for turn-key plants in demanding situations (e.g. architectural integration needed);
- promote modified and improved building codes or ordinances, which will take into account the results of the project (e.g. agreement between a cultural heritage institution and a Region or modification of a solar thermal obligation).
MAIN CONSEQUENCES OF THE ACTIVITIES FORESEEN IN THE WORKPLAN
- renewable heat obligations will have a wider scope, thanks to the inclusion of renovations and protected areas, which will not be automatically exempted
- communities and local stakeholders will have the necessary expertise to deal with diffusion of solar thermal plants in demanding urban situations
- ST manufacturers will increase their specialised know-how and will be able to provide solutions for turn-key plants in demanding situations (e.g. architectural integration needed)
promote modified and improved building codes or ordinances, which will take into account the results of the project (e.g. agreement between a cultural heritage institution and a Region or modification of a solar thermal obligation)
