Page 37 - European Energy Innovation - Summer 2017 publication

Summer 2017 European Energy Innovation
Ramping up deep energy
renovation can boost the economy
(competitiveness and jobs), improve
living conditions (better and smarter
homes, increased indoor comfort
and air quality) and mitigate climate
change. In other words, innovation in
all aspects of the renovation process –
products, services, business models
and policy – offers great opportunities.
TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS AND
PRODUCTS
Innovation in technical solutions and
construction products is one of the
critical elements to speed up the pace
of deep energy renovation. Enabling
the transition towards a full interaction Many innovative projects and solutions
of buildings with the energy system
means considering all the products and
www.europeanenergyinnovation.eu
37
INNOVATION CHALLENGE
services that allow not only reduced
energy consumption and renewable
production, but also smart and flexible
consumption.
Examples of these technologies and
systems are energy storage, smart
control systems, EV charging points
and demand-side flexibility, where the
user can have a more proactive role.
When developing a new service or
product, it is indeed critical to consider materials with reflectance properties,
the requirements of the projected
end-use, such as comfort level, work
performance, flexible use of space, or
entertainment possibilities.
to scale up deep energy renovations
are being deployed across Europe.
Two examples are the KfW case
for PV home-storage solutions in
Germany and the EU-funded project
CommONEnergy.
KFW PUSH FOR PV HOME-STORAGE
SOLUTIONS IN GERMANY
The German government offers a
30%-investment-grant on equipment
purchased with low-interest loans
provided by the German State-owned
development bank KfW. The scheme
has helped boost the residential
energy storage market from almost
zero installations two years ago to
around 1,000 per month. By the end of
2015, around 35,000 households and
commercial operations in Germany had
invested in a PV-battery system.
THE COMMONENERGY PROJECT
The EU-funded project
CommONEnergy is another best
case to demonstrate the benefits
coming from the development of
innovative technologies. The project
aim is to re-conceptualize shopping
centres through deep retrofitting. The
innovation lies in the development
of a systemic approach made of 25
new technologies and solution-sets
(implemented in 4 demo cases) as well
as methods and tools to assess their
environmental and social impact.
Solutions to improve the harvesting of
natural sources for shopping centres’
envelope were studied, while introducing
new functions for reducing the energy
demand of the whole building. For
example, greenery in building envelope
and multifunctional smart coating
thermal behaviour and anti-moulding/
antibacterial activity were studied and
integrated. To make the lighting system
more sustainable, innovative light domes
using the passage of sunlight through
solar tubes were also deployed.
With its innovative approach,
CommONEnergy helped making big
steps forward in the renovation of
shopping centres, previously perceived
as icons of a consumerist society.
The success of the newly-developed
technologies is shown by analysis of the
renovation projects in three European
countries: Italy, Spain and Norway.
COLLABORATION AND POLICY
MEASURES AS KEY TO SPUR
INNOVATION
Despite good progress at small
scale, Europe is not entirely ready to
take advantage of the benefits a full
energy transition scaling up the rate
of renovation could bring. To create a
fertile ground for the development of
innovative solutions and technologies,
an enabling environment must be
ensured. This can be possible, for
example, through strong collaboration
between industry actors and local
governments, this way speeding up the
development of innovative projects.
Demand for renovations can also be
created by ensuring a set of innovative
policy and support measures. At the
end of 2016, the European Commission
released important pieces of European