Experimental nearly zero energy building with green technology - Renovation pilot through passive house expertise

Abstract

The paper presents the preliminary planning of a demonstration pilot for exemplary renovation of an existing building (“Solar House 1 - Campina”) towards nZEB level using Passive House principles and technologies. The "Solar House" was one of the lighthouses of solar energy developments in the '80s in Romania, being built in 1977-1978 in Campina (Centre-South Romania) and represented an experimental building using innovative solar technologies for DHW preparation, active and passive space heating. The decision of transforming the existing building in a demonstration pilot nZEB with green materials was taken and the feasibility study is currently underway. The pilot aims to analyse and test, the cost effectiveness of Passive House (PH) technologies integration in a deep renovation process with the view to achieve the fixed nZEB levels, as an exemplary case study demonstrating the benefits and feasibility of applying PH principles and energy performance evaluation in real context. Both approaches of applying the renovation standard EnerPHit and targeting Passive House criteria are discussed together with the nZEB targets, while the analysis of technical (energy performance) and economic (total costs) feasibility is presented. The proposed building will act as a training and consultancy centre in Campina - created as a model for achieving greater energy efficiency and environmental responsibility in Romania.