SUstainability and PERformances for HEROTILE-based energy efficient roofs

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

Growing urbanisation and more frequent heatwaves due to climate change lead to overheating of buildings in the summer, a phenomenon which is currently addressed by intensive use of air conditioning with consequent increased emissions of greenhouse gases. Among the solutions for reducing buildings overheating are passive cooling technologies, able to reduce the temperature of roofs and walls. The increased number of green and reflective building elements, installed during the last decades, made it possible to see that some of these technologies present durability and maintenance issues thus compromising their environmental performance. In such a context, the use of ventilated and permeable roofs (VPRs), made of clay tiles, can represent a sustainable and low-costtechnology that allows the roof to breathe and disperse the accumulated solar heat, with high performance, which remains stable over time. The previous project LIFE HEROTILE developed new types of roof tiles and demonstrated the effectiveness of the HEROTILE-based roof (HBR) in reducing cooling energy by up to 50% compared to other solutions. However, current EU and national regulations, standards, green rating systems and procurements in the building sector do not fully recognise the cooling potential of VPRs, such as HBR, which mainly focus on winter heating, and exclude calculation methods of VPR performance. Consequently, general public, professionals and building stakeholders are not aware of the environmental and economic benefits of these new technologies.

OBJECTIVES

The overarching objective of LIFE SUPERHERO is to spread and encourage the use of VPRs as an effective solution for climate adaptation and mitigation.

To this aim, the following specific objectives will be pursued:

Production of a standardised roof air permeability test method included in a European Technical Assessment (ETA) and a CEN standard;

Modification of actual credits of the green environmental rating systems and public procurement of buildings to include the environmental benefits of VPRs;

Creation of a Type-II environmental labelling for VPRs;

Modification of CEN standards to include roof ventilation/permeability in the energy calculation methods of buildings;

Renovation of two buildings in Reggio Emilia with HBR, to demonstrate the improved energy/environmental performance of the solution and its cost-effectiveness;

Creation of a best practice for the installation of HBR in the context of the Covenant of Majors initiative;

Release of the SUPERHERO software, as a decision support tool for building consultants and public administrations, to be used in the building design process and for climate planning purposes; and

Upgrading a conventional roof tiles production line into a HEROTILE one, as part of a best practice for tiles producers.

 

In this way, the project will contribute to the implementation of:

The EU Climate Adaption Strategy, by testing and fostering best practices and solutions for climate change adaption and reduction of the Urban Heat Island effect;

The 2020 Climate and Energy Package, by reducing the energy requirements for summer cooling and the related CO2 emissions;

The Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, by improving the climate and energy performance of buildings in Reggio Emilia (a signatory of the covenant) and by developing best practices to be shared with the Covenant of Mayors initiative; and

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, with particular attention to the targets set for Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings, with the aim of accelerating the cost-effective renovation of existing buildings, and by introducing new provisions to enhance smart technologies and technical building systems.

 

RESULTS

Expected results:

Reduction of internal and external surface temperatures of roof by 25%;

Reduction of local temperature in the area near the refurbished buildings (Urban Heat Island effect) by up to 1.5 C;

Reduction of energy consumption for cooling in refurbished buildings by up to 50%, resulting in 126 GWhe saved at project end (at EU level, consideringextrapolation due to technology diffusion);

Reduction of CO2 emissions linked to cooling by up to 50%, resulting in 44 112 tons of CO2 saved at project end (at EU level, considering extrapolation due to technology diffusion); and

Replication of the technology, reaching a total of 3 million buildings covered with VPR/HBR solutions 3 years after project end.