HIT is a proud partner of the RENOZEB H2020 project which mainly aims to unlock the nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) renovation market by increasing property value through a new systemic approach to retrofitting. The RenoZEB holistic approach considers all the phases of the Deep Renovation life cycle (plan, design, construction and management) and the involved value chain and their interrelation and workflows to reach the optimum cost/ benefit ratio. Deep renovation in accordance with the Energy Efficiency Directive, is a cost-effective renovation which leads  to a refurbishment that reduces both the  delivered and final energy consumption of a building by a significant percentage  compared with the pre-renovation levels leading to a very high energy performance.

The main technology of the project will be the modular Plug & Play Façade, which plays a pivotal and technology integrator role in the RenoZEB concept. It has a high potential of introducing new insulation and Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)  technologies into a large-scale renovation market with a significant revalorization of the property. The modular prefabricated unit will have the potential to integrate a significant range of insulation materials, the capability of coupling and connection with different HVAC technologies and energy distribution systems to each other and with solar RES (renewable energy sources). It will analyse the best physical integrate-ability of controlling and monitoring systems that fulfil the requirements of monitoring models, considering robustness, reliability and time in the response. HIT is actively working on the definition of procedures for an optimal management, including operation and maintenance, of the building renovated with RenoZEB solutions and the definition of specific procedures to extend individual building management to a further district extension, taking advantage of synergies. The aim of this work is to optimise the long term, ratio cost/benefit through the management/operation and maintenance of the building where RenoZEB solutions have been implemented.

HIT will also lead the set up and integration of a light-weight building automation module that will enable the application of self-corrective actions on major building loads (HVAC and lights) to enable building energy performance optimization (during actual operation) and establishment of a high quality (comfort, health, hygiene) indoor environment. Taking into account the flexibility offered by the different building loads, the automation module will apply direct corrective actions (dimming lights or changing the operation set point of the HVAC thermostat) to enable further improvement of the building’s energy performance, without compromising occupants’ comfort or degrading the quality of indoor environment thus enabling a so called human-centric automation approach.