Solar energy in building renovation — results and experience of international demonstration buildings

If the use of solar energy is to mean that significantly less fossil fuel will be consumed, solar systems must be readily adaptable to existing buildings as well as new buildings. Under the Solar Heating and Cooling Programme of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Task 20 “Solar Energy in Building Renovation”, a number of the most promising solar concepts and systems for building renovation were explored. The first activity was a performance analysis of existing solar renovation projects [J.-O. Dalenbäck, Solar Energy in Building Renovation, Energy in Buildings, 24 (1996) 39–50.]. Drawing on the information gained from these case studies, promising concepts with respect to energy savings and replication potential were identified and investigated by simulation studies [A. De Herde, Improved Solar Concepts, Technical Report, 1997, Centre de Recherche en Architecture, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgian.]. Strategies for incorporating these concepts into the renovation process were developed [O.B. Jørgensen, Solar Renovation Demonstration Projects, Technical Report, 1998, Esbensen Consulting Engineers, Copenhagen, Denmark.]. Fourteen demonstration projects mostly focusing on multifamily dwellings featuring solar concepts were initiated, implemented, and evaluated. This article summarises the cross-analysis of the demonstration projects, evaluated between 1995 and 1998. The analysis covers technical, economic, and building physic issues of solar collectors, glazed balconies, and solar walls.