Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
control, solar glare control, and thermal gains reduction were designed but not
realised during the project.
4. Prøvehallen, Copenhagen (Total floor area after the intervention: 2,300 m
2
). The
site was an old industrial area that was completely reshaped and turned into a
modern low-energy and multifunctional cultural centre. The retrofit was
essentially characterised by the installation of thermal insulation of the external
walls of the buildings, low-energy windows and a 'demand controlled' system of
mechanical and natural ventilation. Two PV plants were installed: an array of
PV cells on the south gable wall, and an innovative photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T)
solar collector cooled by a heat pump to increase the efficiency of the PVs. The
produced electricity is used in the building or sold to the electricity grid.
5. Nursing home, Stuttgart (Total floor area after the intervention: 2,131 m
2
). The
heating system had an old measurement control system. The boiler system was
not efficient because of the falling insulation and the missing control system.
Opening the windows was the only ventilation source, as no mechanical ven-
tilation system was installed. A cooling system in this habitation-like building
in Germany is not necessary. The lighting system consists of energy-saving
fluorescent tubes and bulbs in the rooms and traffic areas. It was controlled by
manual on/off switches. The lighting system did not work efficiently. The
power of the installed lighting system ran up to 12.5 W/m
2
for 300 lx. The
retrofit project included many integrated renovation actions, including energy
retrofit of structures, wall insulation with mineral-fibre wool, integration in the
façades of high-performance windows, and installation of high-performance
heating and ventilation systems. Furthermore, a thermal solar plant was
installed to provide 32 % of the domestic hot water demand. Moreover, a PV
system with a yearly production of 12.6 kWh/y was installed.
6. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) main building, Vilnius (Total
floor area after the intervention: 8,484 m
2
). The thermal transmittance of the
walls was 1.07 W/(m
2
K). After 30 years of exposure, both the sun and rainfall
impacted the partitioned external sectors. Somewhere, connection junctures of
three-layer panels were already partly crumbled and pervious to moisture. The
juncture in damaged places of the external sectors partitioned off was sealed
with warm sealing material and stopped up with a sealant. The renovation of
the VGTU case study mainly involved: (1) the renovation of old façades and of
the roof; (2) the substitution of old wall insulation with higher thermal per-
formance materials; (3) the installation of high-efficiency windows with
selective glasses and low thermal transmittance; (4) the renovation of the
heating system; (5) the replacement of the old heating and ventilation systems
with fully automated ones.
The environmental assessment of the case studies was performed by coupling
field data with referenced eco-profiles of the main building products and processes
applied in the project. Information about retrofit actions arose from:
