CRAVEzero – lessons learned from 18 nearly zero energy buildings, Figure: CRAVEzero
Via EUREC Memberes, EURAC research
What does it cost to construct, run and maintain a nearly zero energy building? What steps need to be taken in the design stage? What energy efficiency and renewable options could work best for a given project? Answering these and other questions is the aim of a new interactive online platform called CRAVEzero. It supports architects and planners during the construction process by offering a set of software tools to see how much money one will have to spend on an NZEB over its lifetime.
Starting in 2021, almost all new construction projects across the European Union will have to comply with the nearly zero energy standard. At that point, planners, architects and construction companies will have to aim for cost-effective, low-energy buildings as set out in the EU’s energy performance of buildings directive 2018/844. Because some developers and building services firms have already had years of experience in putting up NZEBs, they have now joined forces with several research institutes to establish CRAVEzero, a platform on which they will share their know-how with the entire industry, with the focus being on multi-storey residential and office construction in Europe.
CRAVEzero examined the cost structure and planning processes of 12 demonstration projects in Austria, France, Italy and Sweden to identify a cost base for the purchase, maintenance and operation of different components, including heat recovery systems, solar thermal installations and building envelopes. Using real-world data on the demonstration projects, the project partners created models for half a million variants, which can be searched online by going to the Interactive Case Study Dashboard. Dashboard users can filter by a combination of technologies or set a limit for primary energy demand or capital expenditure, for example, to visualise costs over 40 years and across multiple stages, from planning to implementation. A great plus of the tool is that it lets you compare your building project with the models available online, so that you can see where you stand regarding life-cycle costs and heat and primary energy demand. Planners and investors who want to see life-cycle cost estimates when working offline can download the tool in the form of an Excel spreadsheet from CRAVEzero.eu. The CRAVEzero consortium has also created a video tutorial to explain how to navigate the program. The tool can be found on the CRAVEzero Pinboard, which is available in English and is currently being beta-tested.
Project website: http://www.cravezero.eu
Tobias Weiss at AEE INTEC: t.weiss@aee.at Telephone: +43 3112 5886 ext. 371
 This project has received funding by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 741223 |