Introduction - Nearly Zero Energy Building Refurbishment - page 10

'' A Multiple-Case Study of Passive House Retrofits of School Buildings in
Austria '' covers the refurbishment of four Austrian schools towards the energy-
efficiency level of the Passivhaus standard.
'' State of the Art on Retrofit Strategies Selection Using Multi-Objective
Optimization and Genetic Algorithms ' ' reviews ''the research and development in
the decision support processes in building retrofit. The advantages and drawbacks
of the various methods in each category are also discussed''.
'' Multiple-Criteria Analysis of Life Cycle of Energy-Efficient Built
Environment '' describes a life cycle of energy-efficient built environment model
as well as two systems (Energy Efficient House DSS for Cooling and Decision
support system for assessment of energy generation technologies).
'' Toxicity Issues: Indoor Air Quality '' reviews ''main indoor pollutants and
their sources. Considering existing World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines
for IAQ and toxicity, the pollutants considered here are: asbestos, biological
pollutants, benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, naphthalene, nitrogen
dioxide, particulate matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, radon, tetrachlo-
roethylene, and trichloroethylene''.
'' Toxicity Issues: Radon '' is related to radon as a source of indoor air con-
tamination. It shows that post-construction remediation like soil depressurisation
systems seems to be more cost-effective than the use of protection measures
installed during construction like radon-barrier membranes which have a signifi-
cant failure rate. Since radon concentration is very dependent on the air change
rate (ACH), it is important to maintain adequate air ventilation. However, in some
situations, the cost of additional heating to eliminate the heat losses would exceed
the total costs of remediation by soil ventilation as much as eightfold. This chapter
also shows that there are optimum temperature and relative humidity which
minimize radon levels.
'' Ventilation: Thermal Efficiency and Health Aspects '' focus ''on the perfor-
mance of ventilation, both in reducing adverse effects of indoor air on building
occupants and in reducing the energy required for this''. It explores the specific
merits and limitations of ventilation as a strategy to renew air. It discusses the
different ventilation concepts and their performance focusing on ''technologies
that allow to reduce ventilation heat loss without increasing the exposure of
occupants to airborne pollutants, more specifically air to air heat exchangers,
exhaust air heat pumps and demand controlled ventilation''.
'' Insulation Materials Made with Vegetable Fibres '' provides a guide to the
fundamentals and latest developments in building insulation technology based on
vegetable fibre materials.
'' High-Performance Insulation Materials ' ' addresses two classes of superinsu-
lation technology: vacuum insulation panels (VIP) and microporous thermal
insulations. The chapter discusses he special features of these thermal insulations
and presents best-practice examples. The chapter also includes an overview on
future trends in R&D for thermal insulation.
'' Thermal Energy Storage Technologies '' gives a general overview on thermal
energy storage (TES) technologies.