Value propositions for business models for nZEB renovation

It is poorly understood what the characteristics are of households who want to engage in nZEB single-family home renovations. This paper addresses the research question: What are customer segments, and what are their customer values and motives to choose for a nZEB renovation of privately-owned single-family dwellings in the Netherlands?...

Supply-side collaboration for energy-efficient renovations

The supply side for nearly zero energy building (nZEB) renovation of owner-occupied single-family houses in Europe is suffering from a severe image problem of lack of knowledge and trust, inefficient construction processes, insufficient quality assurance and communication difficulties with home-owners. Research was done in Austria, Belgium,...

Fix-up the Walk-up: The renovation of 1960’s walk-up flats into social and energy-efficient fix-up dwellings

Walk-up flats (portiekflats) of the 1960's have to cope with multiple problems such as functional, energetic and social problems. This project consists of an generic approach and a case specific design that incorporates an energetic renovation, fix-up dwellngs (kluswoningen) and social spaces wrapped in a facade of reclaimed brick into a...

COllaboration for Housing Nearly Zero-Energy RENOvation: Publishable Report

The building stock has a big importance in reaching Europe’s climate goals. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive therefore states the need for nearly zero-energy buildings. Nearly zero-energy buildings are a key aspect to reduce the energy use of the built environment. Since a large share of the building stock of 2050 currently already...

How to integrate natural air-conditioning in the transformation of structural vacant office buildings to apartments in the Netherlands?

The Earth Wind and Fire system (EWF), designed by Ben Bronsema, is a system that creates natural air-conditioning. This is designed for office buildings and the open floor spaces that come with such a function. On the moment of writing this paper, a large portion (7.28 million m2) of the office buildings are structurally vacant in the...

Beyond label C - The proposed policy evaluation of office building adaptation towards nearly zero-energy buildings

The built environment consumes almost 40% of the overall energy consumption. Energy is often produced from the conversion of fossil fuels, which result in CO2 emissions, which in turn cause global warming. Therefore, adaptation of buildings towards less energy use is required to mitigate the effects of global warming. Since the adaptation of...

Summer comfort in energy-efficient high-rise dwellings

Nowadays, the high rate of urban population growth due to immigration and scarcity of land has significantly increased the need for new high-rise dwellings. Meanwhile, the recent building regulations require buildings to be highly energy-efficient to reduce the building’s impact on the environment. However, the inherent characteristics of these...

Institutional Barriers to Near Zero-Energy Housing: A Context Specific Approach

After more than ten years since the introduction of Near Zero-Energy Buildings (NZEBs), the transition towards a zero-energy new built environment can still be considered slow despite European Member States’ various efforts to facilitate, promote and accelerate their implementation and uptake. The barriers to sustainability measures in general...

Long-term evaluation of residential summer thermal comfort: Measured vs. perceived thermal conditions in nZEB houses in Wallonia

In a context of global warming, summer thermal comfort is a key issue for the design and operation of nearly zero-energy buildings (nZEBs). Although there are various methods and benchmarks for the long-term evaluation of summer thermal conditions in free-running buildings, their application to the residential sector is still debated. Based...

Perceived Barriers to Nearly Zero-Energy Housing: Empirical Evidence from Kilkenny, Ireland

In 2010, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive announced that all new buildings are to be nearly zero-energy as of January 2021. Having reached year 2022, it can be said that the transition has proven to be slower than anticipated. Transition research has long acknowledged the potential impact of the human factor in the process of change...

Controlled Environment Agriculture to Renovation: Bio-base Materials from Element to Global Scale

In the global shift towards decarbonization of the built environment, the nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) goals in the Directive 2010/31/EU had been set as an achievable goal for the EU. By requiring all future constructions to utilize the integration of energy efficient services into the building as well as emphasize the reduction of...