d.5.3.!report!on!the! sustainabilityofthe!! renew!school ......in this paper we report on the...

Renew School sustainability report

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D.5.3. Report on the Sustainability of the Renew School action

The RENEW SCHOOL project’s mission is to significantly downsize the energy use in schools through renovation of the buildings’ shell with the use of prefabricated timber modules. While at the same time creating comfortable, healthy conditions for the pupils and teachers, through the implementation of technologies that save energy, reduce CO2-emissions and improve indoor air quality. The use of prefabricated timber elements is at the core of the Renew School renovation process, aiming to greatly increase the building quality, while reducing construction costs and time. The Project wants to motivate and to give municipalities, school owners, companies as well as end-users appropriate tools and solutions for renovating existing school buildings to nZEB standard. The integrated and multifunctional solutions are based on:

• Timber prefabrication (integrated facilities) • Ventilation (indoor air quality) • Intelligent Daylight / Shading (control) • Renewable energy (integrated in heating, DHW)

In this paper we report on the sustainability of the action of the Renew School project after it’s conclusion in March 2017.


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Great! Renovation during summer holidays...

... but a culture gap has to be overcome.

This will motivate for energy saving attitude

1. General conclusions on the sustainability of the project As a result of the survey with 400 respondents and interviews we gathered in WP 5 and the international working meetings and workshops, we detected the main strengths and weaknesses of the method as well as threats and opportunities for further market uptake and thus sustainability of the action of the Renew School project. A full report on the data and data analysis is available on the website www.renew-school.eu Summarizing the S.W.O.T. analysis we can conclude that this method of prefabricated retro-fit using timber modules according to users, owners & maintenance personnel and the industry has the following strengths and weaknesses, while offering certain opportunities but will also encounter a number of threats. The main strengths are:

• Pupils and school teams do not have to change school during the renovation. • The method results in a huge difference in energy consumption as compared to the

original building envelope. • This type of on-site renovation with prefabricated façade elements is very fast, can be

done during summer school holidays and in doing so, a costly move of pupils to temporary lodgings can be avoided.

• There are no time and money losses thanks to the pre-construction off-site in a weather-protected environment.

Important weaknesses we could define:

• The system is hardly known by owners and investors and in most regions has hardly been used by architects and construction companies. In many regions wood based panels are not frequently used for façade constructions. There is a ‘culture gap’ to be overcome in regions where brick and concrete buildings are the standard.

• Certainly in these regions there exist questions about the durability: what is the life span of the wooden modules?

• For owners and investors it is difficult to compare quality and price of this system with traditional on-site renovations.

• The real cost – profit outcome is still unclear because of lack of local / regional experience in many of the regions covered by the Renew School project.

The Renew School method offers also important opportunities:

• Users (pupils, teachers and principals alike) are very enthusiastic about getting a “new” school during the holidays.

• Maintenance personnel suggest that renovated buildings will extra motivate teachers and pupils for energy saving.


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Urgent need for a specific public procurement model

• The owners and investors are interested because of the standardized construction, which would lower the renovation cost for several similar buildings. Many schools are indeed very regular in their construction with standardized sizes for classrooms and windows making the pre-production of longer series of identical modules feasible.

• The wood industry can promote wooden prefabricated construction for being very sustainable & ecologic and thus in line with national and EU standards.

Threats for broad market-uptake are:

• In many of the member states there is not enough budget for the renovation of a large number of school buildings.

• If retrofit with wooden modules would be considered there needs to be certainty about structural prevention of moisture and molds and a guaranteed low maintenance cost.

• In order to be able to compete with traditional renovations, there must be clarity about construction and fire regulations, possible higher insurance costs and regional subventions for this type of retrofit.

• To put the Renew School method in the larger market, there is need for a standardized

public procurement model and regional lists of quality SME contractors for the modules.

Kalmthout school – Belgium

Neumarkt school – Austria


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2. Specific measures best to be taken to sustain the Renew School action Taking all the above into consideration, we can conclude that a number of measures should best be taken to make the Renew School method for energetic retrofit of school buildings with prefabricated wood based modules sustainable in the EU market for school renovations. 2.1. Actions best to be taken by the owners and local governments

• To attract pupils & students and provide a healthy learning environment, owners and local governments should invest in modular renovation during school holidays. This will result in high savings in energy use, good indoor air quality for better learning and modern attractive looking school buildings. And all this can be done within one and the same budgeting (and election) period.

• If schools want to stay ahead in the “education market” they have good reasons to

choose for a fast retrofit: which parent or student will choose an “old” school if a modern looking one is also available?

• But also, which parent or student will choose a school in an outdated school building

if they know that the school will be moved for at least one school year to temporary housing while the school building gets an “old fashioned” on-site retrofit?

2.2. Actions best to be taken by local and regional wood construction industry

• Local and regional wood construction industry should, in accordance with local and/or regional government, create a reliable cost / profit model to compete in the market with existing traditional renovation methods & construction companies in their region.

• To be successful in public procurement the construction industry should keep

amortization of this type of retrofit under 20 years.

• The wood construction industry should invest in reliable regional information for investors on how the Renew School method can comply with standing regulations (energy savings, fire prevention, ventilation and indoor air quality, seismic safety, etc.).

• Industry should find ways to ensure and guarantee life long quality while significantly

lowering the initial building cost under the level of traditional on-site renovation. This is certainly a necessity in regions where wooden construction is not a tradition and as to overcome a “culture gap”.

• In close contact with the governments and their administrations who are granting

subvention for school building renovation in each EU member state, regional industry should create standardized models for public procurement and a permanent link with regional investors and research institutes.


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3. Further initiatives of the partners The partners in the Renew School project will individually support the long-term goals of the action in their respective EU member-states with specific initiatives, most of them aimed at providing information and support based on the above analysis. In alphabetical order per country: AUSTRIA AEE - INTEC Will:

• Establish demonstration projects to increase the number of nZEB school buildings in Austria such as the new Primary School in Gleisdorf / Austria which is in planning stage by also trying to implement the wooden prefabricated systems we learned from.

• Initiate different activities in schools with the aim to increase the IAQ such as projects to meter CO2-‐concentration, temperature and humidity in classrooms where pupils will learn from – e.g. one project will be proposed for 5 Austrian schools in December 2016 to the national Research and Development Agency FFG.

• Plan regular visits to school and other public nZEB buildings like we did in the past to convince public decision makers and financiers of nZEB and prefabrication quality, also of renewable energy sources to be important parts of it.

• Organize events and presentations like e.g. 6th October 2016 in Graz where mechanical ventilation and IAQ was an important topic – to show technical solutions which increase ability to learn and concentrate for pupils and users

• Distribute the video, folders and frontrunner descriptions, brochures and articles elaborated during Renew School project in these events, school projects and amongst stakeholders next years

• And last but not least use the contacts set up during the project to go beyond with more activities in prefabrication and school renovation

Rainbach school - Austria


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HCS Will support the sustainability of the Renew School action through:

• Continuous screening for frontrunners and report on them in the Renew School database of frontrunners on the website

• Organizing of excursions to frontrunner buildings • Workshops and trainings on prefabrication (new buildings and renewals) in

Austria and South East Europe • Further promotion of the Renew School approach and networking activities in

Austria and South East Europe • Targeted measures to overcome market barriers, identification of gaps in

knowledge and skills Belgium AGSO - Stedelijk Onderwijs Antwerp Will support the sustainability of the Renew School action with:

• Further dissemination of the Renew School results towards school owner organizations such as “OVSG”, the Flemish organization of cities and communities’ education providers and AGION, the Flemish Community administration for subvention of school buildings (new builds and renovations).

• Further dissemination of the results through e.g. Fedustria, the federation of wood construction SME’s.

• Further actions and educational projects with pupils and teachers on energy saving behavior in primary and secondary schools in cooperation with the regional ESCO’s EANDIS and INFRAX.

• In collaboration with the University of Antwerp faculty of architecture during academic year 2016-‐17 research

o Into the possibility of using the Renew School renovation technique within the difficult confinements of inner city construction sites (lack of space for construction site & for cranes)

o On the possibilities to enhance school buildings’ architectural quality as public icons using Renew School prefabricated retrofit.

o On three specific buildings in order to pre-‐research the possibilities for a Renew School renovation of large school buildings owned by Stedelijk Onderwijs.

• During the school summer holiday 2018, depending on the outcome of the 2016-‐17 research: Renew School type prefabricated retrofit of a large school building owned by AGSO in the city of Antwerp.


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Pixii (Former Passief Huis Platform)

• Pixii will keep organizing trainings on indoor air quality, the implementation of renewable energy, the possibilities for renovation of school buildings, including prefab wood construction and lightning.

• Pixii will also distribute the folders and frontrunner descriptions, brochures and articles as well as the video created during the Renew School project

• Furthermore Pixii is constructing an “Axii -‐ renovation planner” that will allow users to create relatively fast a master plan for the renovation of residential buildings. Provided extra funding can be secured, the renovation planner will also become available for school buildings. Lessons learned from the Renew School project will then be included in this renovation planner.

Denmark DTU / Danish Technical University Will provide the following for a sustainable Renew School action:

• Once a year we will continue to organize training on “low energy ventilation in school buildings”.

• Development of decentralized ventilation integrated within a suspended acoustic ceiling for noise-‐ and draught free ventilation supply. This integration will be tested as of fall 2016 and through 2017.

• This work and its results point towards integrating decentralized ventilation units with façade renovations because major issues with decentralized ventilation (noise and draught risks) can thus be eliminated. This work is done in cooperation with the public municipal body “Gate 21”.

• DTU will be the Danish hub for the distribution of material created during the Renew School project.

Vibeengen school – Denmark


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Germany Fraunhofer

• As Fraunhofer Institute for Building physics we will keep being active on the Renew School project aims, because it is very important that pupils get the good and healthy learning environment that they deserve.

• As one of the leading research institutes in energy-‐efficient school renovations we are frequently asked for advice for school renovation or new construction of schools. If in the future we will be asked for a quick and affordable way of school renovation we will surely get back to the project results and spread the word through our well acknowledged advice.

• The other important aspect of the Renew School project, the good indoor environment, is of the utmost importance for us and we will keep on convincing building owners to invest in good indoor environment quality through mechanical ventilation, regenerative cooling methods and well-‐designed building acoustics.

• As the organizer of the “Zukunftsraum Schule Kongress” (Future space school congress) with more than 300 participants every two years we are able to disseminate the project results on a large and professional scale, where we are able to reach planners and building owners as well as administrative employees.

• Fraunhofer is planning to have a presentation of the results on the “Zukunftsraum Schule Kongress” on 14-‐15 November 2017.

• Fraunhofer will be using the data from the work packages when advising school owners or investors, as far as the data suits the requested advice of the school owner or investor.

• We will implement the Renew School information in the lectures for students that are attended by many different study courses related to the building sector.

• To wrap it all up, we will disseminate the results of the Renew School project on a small scale through personal advice and support as well as on a large scale through events and presentations.

Italy eERG-PoliMi Future possible actions as impact of the Renew School project:

• Renovation and reconstruction of school buildings planned and projects on it to be started by the municipality of Milano.

• Support by eERG-‐PoliMi to municipalities and designers for renovations of schools.

• Further training activities with pupils in schools about window openings using our concentration display in cooperation with the cultural association “Energia di classe”.


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Capriva school - Italy

• Possible dissemination in university courses for architects and engineers in the

politecnico Di Milano University and during the post-‐degree master. • Contacts have been placed for future cooperation and information exchanges

with SME’s in the field of timber construction and wooden components, and with designers and experts in the field of nZebs and passive houses.

DTTN DTTN will be active to keep the sustainability of the project after its end with these focused actions:

• Continue with the activities in schools with the aim of sensitize pupils and their teacher on the themes of sustainability and RES;

• Organize courses, workshop and specific training about the use of wood as particular element of construction, with all the specific technologies related to its use;

• Continue in distributing the folders of the project and the frontrunner descriptions, also the output of the project and the successful activities done in these years;

• Sensitize more the Public Administrations and the owners of the schools on the specific topic and technology of renovating with wood, which could be sustainable and healthy, focusing on the useful impacts and the return of the investments and with the improvement of the quality of these renovated schools for pupils.

INFORMEST

• Will promote the main core and concept of the Renew School project with their regional administration for the inclusion in the new financing funds that will be made available for school renovation of criteria for best scoring based on the application of the RS model to the renovation process.

• In addition, thanks to good networking created with other regional stakeholders in the energy saving field and stakeholders devoted to education, Informest is currently working for further activities and inclusion of presentation of the RS model in annual events and workshops.


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Norway

Asplan

Risør school - Norway

The Renew School technology approach will be supported in future through: • A permanent internal working group focusing on facades. The Renew School methodology will be implemented in the strategy.

• BREEAM-‐NOR, an arena for promoting sustainable and energy effective buildings, will be used to promote the Renew School approach of modular prefabricated retrofit.

• Further dissemination of the results and material created in the Renew School project after the end of the project.

Poland

NAPE Will provide the following to sustain the Renew School efforts:

• NAPE established and carried out training through a course on indoor air quality, ventilation strategy and energy modernization of school buildings. This course is available to be repeated.

• Disseminating and promoting the Renew School approach through discussion panels on conferences and fairs.

• Promotion of the Renew School methodology across stakeholders in Poland. • Commercially use of the Renew School tools during energy consultancy and auditing for local authorities.

Siemianowice school – Poland


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Slovenia: WIC Will promote further the Renew School project and modular retrofit of schools with the following activities:

• Keep running the website for an additional 5 years with the support of the partners

• WIC will involve on a permanent basis the Section of Slovenian manufacturers of prefabricated housing who will assure:

o Promotion activities o Awareness actions to the general public to explain the benefits of

prefabricated wood construction

Kekeç school - Slovenia Sweden Chalmers Chalmers will continue its efforts for sustainable development of the Renew School approach of school building renovation by:

• Involvement in the Bio-‐Innovation project developing a Swedish climate specific prefab wood panel in collaboration with companies and producers.

• Possible continued work with the Siren project and school renovations in Växjö.

• Continued development and simulations & design of open vapor prefab wood façade assemblers for the 3 different Swedish climate types.

• Possible development of novel prefab wood module prototypes and testing them in the HSB living LAB.


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4. Summary table of the main sustainable activities per country

Dissem

ination of RS results

Networking activities

Distribute RS material

Advice on prefabricated renovation

New dem

onstration projects

Educational Projects schools

Visit frontrunners

Events & advice on IAQ

Plan additional school renovations

Screening frontrunners & input database

Workshops & training prefab

Research & training on IAQ -‐ ventilation

AEE-‐INTEC x x x x x x x x

AGSO x x x x x x x

ASPLAN VIAK x x x x x

CHALMERS x x x x x x x

DTTN x x x x x x

DTU x x x x x x

eERG-‐PoLiMi x x x x x x x x

FRAUNHOFER x x x x x x x

HABITECH x x

HCS x x x x x x x

INFORMEST x x x x x x LESARSKI WIC x x x x x x x

NAPE x x x x x x x x

PHP-‐PIXII x x x x x x x x


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Acknowledgements AG Stedelijk Onderwijs M. Van Praet With support from the project partners: AEE - Institut für Nachhaltige Technologien (AT) Holzcluster Steiermark GmbH (AT) Trentino Technological Cluster (IT) Wood Industry Cluster (SI) Technical University of Denmark (DK) Asplan Viak AS (NO) National Energy Conservation Agency (PL) Chalmers University of Technology (SE) Fraunhofer - Institut für Bauphysik IBP (DE) Informest - Centro Di Servizi E Documentazione Per La Cooperazione EC (IT) Autonoom Gemeentebedrijf Stedelijk Onderwijs Antwerpen (BE) Pixii/Passiefhuis-Platform (BE) Politecnico di Milano, Dipartimento di Energia (IT) Sources of the photographs: please see on our website. For more in-depth information, please visit our website:

www.renew-‐school.eu

The sole responsibility for the content of this paper lies with the authors. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union. Neither EASME nor the European Commission is responsible for any use

that may be made of the information contained therein.

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