The Energy transition of the EU building stock from being an energy waster to being highly energy efficient and an energy producer is a prerequisite for Europe’s 2050 carbon neutrality (long term EU target of a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate-neutral economy by 2050 ). Achieving these targets requires shifting the emerging energy renovation market to a plus energy market. This paradigm shift is an opportunity for the construction industry to improve its productivity by industrializing the energy renovation process through the use of modern production technics and innovative technologies (Saheb 2018). While Nearly Zero Energy Buildings are slowly emerging and are mandated by EU legislation for new buildings after 2020.
Main aim of EXCESS therefore are to:
• O1: Advance new materials, technologies and integrated technological systems (TRL5-7) that will be needed for PEB in different climate zone (WP2)
• O2: Optimize the interplay of local generation, storage, consumption at the building and district level enabling interactions with the grid capitalizing on new ICT opportunities and unlocking new revenue streams (WP3)
• O3: Demonstrate Positive Energy residential building solutions for main EU climate zone (WP4)
• O4: Promoting a user centric approach, involving the user aspects in every optimization process (WP3. WP6)
• O5: Co-Innovation, replication and exploitation activities with a wide range of stakeholders to maximize the project technical, social and economic impact and to prepare for a future market roll out of the PEB concept (WP5, WP6, WP7)
The EXCESS project builds upon nearly-zero energy multi-storey building residential concepts towards Energy fleXible user-CEntric poSitive houseS (EXCESS). Important technical developments for plus energy building materials and other individual technologies are required to address specific climate related needs in order to meet the PEB level, especially in harsh climates. Integration is needed for upgrading single technologies to be part of a large orchestra enabling also user-context-aware energy flexible services between utilities and customers. These will unlock additional revenue streams that reduce the lifetime cost of the developed PEB solutions, making them affordable also large portion of the society. Thus, EXCESS advances new materials, technologies and integrated technological systems, promoting a user centric approach, capitalized on new ICT opportunities, for optimizing the interplay of local generation, storage, consumption at the building and district level. The demonstration activities in each of the climatic zones (Austria, Belgium, Finland and Spain) will be accompanied by co-innovation, replication and exploitation activities to maximize the project technical, social and economic impact and to prepare for a future market roll out of the PEB concept by also scouting energy efficiency funding opportunities.
