Innovative Technologies
Energy efficient building design - the biggest energy savings for new build and renovation projects can be achieved during the design phase. Following some basic principles can help achieve significant savings.
Sustainable construction materials - as well as the environmental impacts caused by the production of construction materials, the choice of material also affects the health of the indoor climate. As buildings become more energy efficient, the primary energy demands of the materials themselves become ever more important.
Multifunctional facade systems offer additional functions compared to conventional facades, like advanced thermal insulation, energy generation and in the case of green facade systems an improvement of the microclimate. They are mostly used in new large-scale buildings and in the fast thermal refurbishment of buildings from the 1950's to the 1970's. Their main sustainable benefit lies in the reduction of energy demand.
Innovative cooling concepts are mainly passive cooling strategies (like a building design that reduces solar gains, innovative sunblinds, natural cooling with passive night ventilation) and active cooling strategies with solar energy. The main sustainable benefit of innovative cooling concepts lies in their low energy consumption.
Mechanical ventilation systems with heat recovery ensure a continuous air exchange and control the indoor air quality. The mechanical ventilation systems help saving energy by recovering heat from exhaust air and by using energy efficient ventilation equipment.
Heat pumps potentially offer a potentially highly efficient way of generating heat in a building. They extract low levels of heat from one medium (for example, the air, water, ground or waste heat), and convert it into the high level of heat (30-50°C) necessary for water or space heating.
Solar heating and cooling - Solar water and space heating is well established on the European market. Increasingly solar power is also being used to power cooling systems. As cooling needs tend to be in regions with high solar gains, the potential benefits are clear.
Photovoltaic/Thermal hybrid systems - Solar power has typically been used to provide either direct heat (solar thermal) or to generate electricity (photovoltaic). New systems are now appearing on the market which provide both. Potential efficiency and space saving gains are significant.
