iNSPiRe Project making good progress
iNSPiRe partners met at Gruppo Industriale Tosoni (GIT) HQ in Villafranca, Verona in March for the fourth project meeting and its first project review by the EC. The meeting was a valuable exercise for the project partners, who were able to get a clear understanding of the work each has completed to date and how this all fits with the overall aims and objectives of the project. As well as all partners delivering an update of the progress they are making with their work within the project, many parallel sessions were also held, during which more detailed planning of the next stages took place. The project is roughly at the half-way stage now, and the work is beginning to deliver prototype products and detailed monitoring data, while plans for the demonstration buildings where the iNSPiRe kits and packages will be tested are also well under way. The partners were given a guided tour of the Tosoni plant during the meeting. Tosoni has installed an impressive test building, where detailed monitoring and assessment of some of the most advanced iNSPiRe solutions is taking place. The meeting started with a plenary session, where, after organizational issues were covered, Insight’s William Davis presented to the whole group an update on the dissemination and communications activities so far delivered for the project as well as those planned for the next phase. He explained that this was an exciting time for the project as the results begin to flow and products emerge. Relevant pieces of information have been disseminated to more than 40,000 target users within the 12 identified target groups following articles in Projects Magazine, conference proceedings and through press releases. This activity will continue and as more results emerge, the iNSPiRe profile will raise considerably. UIPI also presented their role in the dissemination WP, which is to demonstrate clearly to building owners and tenants that by working with iNSPiRe technology, they would be able to save money and be more comfortable in their homes and work spaces. Insight is now working with UIPI in crafting this message. The group then split into a series of parallel technical sessions, which reviewed progress to date and outlined work to be done in all of the key areas of the project. These included sessions on: Monitoring and demo buildings’ models validation – the monitoring systems installed in the three demo cases were reviewed briefly and the discussion turned to how to use monitoring hardware for fault detection and supervision tasks for the heating and cooling and building systems. Read more A report on the exploitation planning and business modeling – non-technical barriers (such as social acceptance, operation and maintenance, construction site share, legal liabilities) are fundamental when tackling renovations. A clear outline of the motivation, process and roadmap for the route to market for iNSPiRe solutions was presented. Business planning for iNSPiRe products will include strategic communications planning, so that potential users can be targeted with commercial information. Metal-glass façade kit – The double skin glass-aluminum façades from Gruppo Industriale Tosoni are the hub for developing renovation products for office buildings. A first prefabricated Kit includes the use of a small-scale air-handling unit integrated in in the façade modules. The second Kit integrates a sorption chiller from Climatewell into the modules. Every aspect of the metal-glass façade was discussed, including the opacity, fire barriers, ducting paths, flat-plate collectors, colour of the glass and insulation. To date, the goals were assessed in terms of predicting performance, and manufacturing the first prototypes of the components. The session also delivered a clear roadmap for the second prototypes and the utilization of the final versions at the demo case in Verona. Timber-frame envelope kits – Three presentations were made on the integration of a micro-heat pump from SIKO Solar into the timber-frame envelopes from Gumpp & Maier. This constitutes a further prefabricated kit for serving single dwellings of renovated buildings. In terms of the Ludwigsburg demo case, it was discussed where on the building’s façade two micro-heat pump prototypes will be set up, to provide heating and ventilation to as many flats as possible. Accessibility, maintenance and air-ducting were the main items discussed. Energy generation kit – A presentation of the Energy Hub and Energy Manager used to deliver and manage fluids for heating, cooling and DHW preparation throughout the building was discussed as well as manufacturing cost. Other issues discussed included the development of the prototype by EURAC and the heating and cooling systems for the Madrid demo case (where the EH will be installed). Madrid demo case – The main focus of this session was the heating demonstration and the radiant ceiling demonstrations in Madrid. A catalogue of ceilings from TRIPAN have been produced and these are now ready for assessment, so the best combinations can be selected. Some simulations for the best layout of heating and cooling systems were also assessed as well as issues of insulation and the use of solar thermal collectors. Verona demo case solutions, lighting solutions – There was detailed discussion of specific artificial and day-lighting solutions to be demonstrated in Verona. These included wing lamella systems as movable shading systems installed into the double-skin façade modules . Building Stock analysis and reference building simulation – Extensive analysis of Europe’s building stock was presented. Discussion focused on iNSPiRe reference buildings. Any gaps in the literature for energy use data found have been filled in through simulation models on reference buildings. Read a full report of this analysis here. Ludwigsburg demo case solutions – Integration of the centralized solar thermal and heat pump system from Vaillant , which provides warm water for the whole building and heating for dwellings where micro heat pumps are not installed, was discussed. The integration of pipes and ducts into the pre-fabricated timber-frame facades was also discussed with solutions for connection with existing radiators. The meeting ended with a final plenary session at which each work package wrapped up the findings from the various parallel sessions and devised a series of statements for discussion and a list of to dos. The project also received a positive initial EC review from Project Technical Advisor Paul Lemmens, who urgerd the partners to “keep up the good work!”.
Keywords
Building retrofitting
Countries
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Slovenia, United Kingdom