“Cube house” refurbishment in Hungary - A simulation-based approach

Abstract

About 800,000 of “Cube houses” which date back to the socialist era are still in use throughout Hungary. These houses are considered to be “outdated” and they bring not only energy but also social issues. This paper presents a refurbishment design solution for the cube house, combining vernacular architecture with modern solutions within the framework of Solar Decathlon Europe 19 competition. The paper investigates the comfort and energy improvement of the refurbished design. Thermal simulation results revealed considerable improvements, which can be considered and implemented to a big proportion of family houses with analogous dimensions, under similar climate conditions.