Objective
The project is intended to demonstrate the viability of incorporating optimal energy conservation technology in a city centre commercial development. The building has been designed to minimize undesirable heat gains and losses and to maximise the use of solar energy both directly in the form of heat, light and wind energy and indirectly by using wind, stack effects and night-time radiation to aid ventilation and cooling. Cooling will be aided by the suppression of core temperatures using ground water and by "canyon" convection effects. Use will be made of specially selected indoor plants to condition the interior environment and to clean, filter and condition ventilation air at the point of intake. Construction materials are being selected on the basis of minimum environmental impact of raw material production and manufacturing processes. These objectives have been a fundamental part of the design process from the outset of the project.
The project will involve the construction of a 1600 square meter commercial building that has been designed to demonstrate the commercial viability of integrated advanced energy and environmental conservation technologies.
The basement floor will incorporate a large water filled thermal reservoir. This will be used to store hot and cold energy generated at night using an electric heat pump and roof mounted radiant panels. External walls are massive block and brick construction with 100 mm insulation fixed to outer leaf. The roof is a complex construction incorporating a large opening roof-light system and an array of solar photovoltaic, solar thermal, radiant emission and wind generating devices. The large roof-light will open up automatically in warm and dry conditions converting the heavily planted sunspace into an external courtyard. In cold or wet conditions the roof-light will close to protect the interior from rainfall and to conserve energy. Air will be drawn into the building through zones of specially selected densely planted vegetation designed to entrap particulate material and "refresh" incoming city air. The central sunspace will contain racks of vegetation designed to naturally maintain optimal relative humidity and CO2 levels.
A heat pump will be used to generate hot and cold energy at night during extreme conditions using low cost night-rate electricity operating at a coefficient of performance of between 2.5 to 4. This energy will be stored in a short term thermal reservoir for release during the day-time. The energy stored in this reservoir will be distributed throughout the structure of the building using a system of large diameter embedded pipes. This thermal reservoir and energy distribution system will double up as a sprinkler fire control system.
30% window to wall areas are used to optimise solar gain/heat loss ratios and daylighting. The windows be very high quality double glazed argon filled units in timber frames designed to minimize thermal bridging. Shading, light shelves and inverted venetian blinds will be used to make use of daylight.
Ventilation will be achieved primarily by wind and stack effect-aided internal pressure gradients. The basic components of this system are a roof mounted air movement system, an active full height sunspace, electronically controlled vents through internal walls, fenestration units and a photosynthetic air "reconditioning" system. It will consist of banks of specially selected foliant species with high CO2 to O2 conversion capacities. They will be fed and watered automatically. Their output will be "controlled" by adjusting lighting levels. The air movement system uses a combination of wind pressure, stack effect and electric fans to draw in and extract air at high level during winter.
The electric lighting installation features advanced energy-efficient technologies designed to compliment daylighting. High-frequency fluorescent lamps will provide background illuminationof 160 lux.
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Programme(s)
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Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
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Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
2 Dublin
Ireland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.