The European EASI ZERo project aims to create a unique portfolio of easy-to-install envelope components for massive building renovation. The goal: energy and carbon neutrality.
EASI ZERo: envelope components for massive building renovation
Published on 04/13/2023
With 36% of CO2 emissions and 40% of energy consumption, the building industry is still far from being a sustainable sector. In France, the volume of building materials needed to achieve climate-neutral buildings is estimated at about 0.2 m3 of materials for each m2 of floor. This means several billion m3 of materials needed for Europe by 2050, the target date for climate neutrality!
EASI ZERo proposes to develop a global system to reduce the environmental impact by increasing the thermal performance of buildings by 20% with bio-sourced and recycled materials.
The objectives cover all aspects related to the in-depth energy renovation process of buildings:
- An inclusive and versatile portfolio of solutions for efficient and easy building renovation
- Materials with sustainable performance gains in thermal insulation
- Bio-sourced envelope components with low grey energy and low CO2 emissions
- Easy, fast, reliable and reversible installation processes for panels, accessories and finishes
- A circular economy of materials based on eco-design, recycling and material saving
- Demonstration of materials and components on building renovations towards zero energy and zero carbon
- Compliance of all products in the EASI ZERo portfolio with building standards in various European countries
- Short payback period due to low cost materials and installation processes
The solutions will be tested on real cases such as social housing buildings to demonstrate their environmental performance, and their neutral energy balance thanks to the integration of photovoltaic panels.
Consortium
The multidisciplinary consortium (16 partners) that is carrying out this project is composed of academic researchers, technology developers, building material producers and building engineers.
The CEA at INES is coordinating the activities of the project and the consortium of 16 partners.
On the technical and scientific level, it will also participate in the design and testing of integrated retrofit solutions (involving combinations of materials and components). The CEA will work with EDILIANS on photovoltaic envelope components for the production of energy consumed in the building. The PV panels will be advantageously colored and the use of second life panels will be evaluated in order not to increase the carbon footprint of the building to be renovated.
The CEA will use INES buildings and experimental equipment to evaluate the performance of different renovation solutions. Models and simulations will be compared with experimental results to validate the data associated with the EASI ZERo solutions. This includes a life cycle analysis, sustainability, cost and social impact.
After this laboratory phase, the solutions will be tested in real cases, proposed by ELITHIS Solutions. Identified buildings, such as a twenty-unit apartment building in Lyon dating from 1960, or a 1907 brick municipal building in Würtzburg, Germany, will be analyzed and the solutions will be applied virtually by simulation to evaluate the possible gain in environmental performance. Life cycle analysis will also be performed on these renovations at the building level.
Acknowledgements
The CEA thanks all the partners who have contributed to the success of the proposal and will allow a significant gain in renovation solutions.
- TEKNOLOGISK INSTITUT - DTI (DK)
- FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT – ISC (DE)
- ACONDICIONAMIENTO TARRASENSE ASSOCIACION – LEITAT (SP)
- SINTEF AS (NO)
- UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGART (DE)
- INDRESMAT SL (SP)
- MOGU SRL (IT)
- SIEVERT BAUSTOFFE GmbH & Co. KG (DE)
- EDILIANS (FR)
- BOLLERUP JENSEN A/S (DK)
- LEIPFINGER BADER GmbH (DE)
- BUILDINGS PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE EUROPE ASBL (BE)
- HUNTON FIBER AS (NO)
- PINTURES M. VICH, S.A (SP)
- ELITHIS SOLUTIONS (FR)
