LIFE - Demonstration of the Smart Building Envelope for Low Carbon and High Comfort Buildings

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

BACKGROUND

The building sector is responsible for more than 40% of the final energy consumption and more than 36% of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of European Union (EU) Member States. Efforts are currently being made to renovate existing buildings to improve their energy efficiency, and to build new energy-efficient buildings. In particular, it is important to take into account the carbon footprint of new buildings, as new construction will represent a third of the housing stock in the EU by 2050. One of the main issues is that low-carbon solutions currently lead to extra costs, which are not easily understandable or affordable.

OBJECTIVES

The LIFE-SBE4LCHCB project aims at developing a universal and affordable low-carbon solution that can be implemented on every new building constructed in the EU.

To achieve this, project beneficiary ecoXia will further develop and demonstrate its integrated solution, based on a Smart Building Envelope (SBE), on new buildings in France. The SBE is designed as a complete system that incorporates, among other things, natural materials (e.g. timber frame), very effective insulation, solar panels and a smart panel that controls all the necessary components involved in energy efficiency. The project team will demonstrate an innovative low-carbon building concept that includes delivery and construction through to maintenance, which can be adopted by any professional in the building industry. The SBE can be installed on any type of foundation, be integrated into any type of architecture, and receive any type of finishing.

The project contributes to EU strategies and targets related to climate change mitigation, such as the 2030 climate & energy framework, and the long-term strategy for a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. It also offers a practical demonstration of nearly Zero-Energy and Carbon Homes (nZECH), in line with the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Indirectly, the project contributes to climate change adaptation policy, as new low-carbon buildings tackle urban heat island effects.

RESULTS

Expected results:

Build 20 residential houses during the project within approximately 10 different programmes;

Achieve energy consumption under 30 kWh of primary energy per m2 per year (local energy production excluded), i.e. a reduction of 40% in comparison to standard new solutions and a reduction of 88% in comparison with the average energy consumption of current buildings;

Reduce total lifecycle carbon emission by at least 30% over the life cycle (50 years) and energy consumption by at least 40%;

CO2 emissions less than or equal to 80 t over 50 years;

Reach a decrease in cost of 15%;

Increase company turnover from 200 k in 2018 to 6 m in 2023; and

Create at least 8 direct jobs.