Energiesprong: Net Zero Energy retrofit

Project

268278

Status

Submitted

Award category

You want to submit

NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS AWARDS : existing completed examples

Project title

Energiesprong: Net Zero Energy retrofit

Full project title

Description

Can you imagine a house retrofitted in 3 weeks to reach the Net Zero Energy Level with a guarantee over 25 years? This is real since 2018 in France for 10 tenants of the Social housing Company Vilogia. In 2024, it will be real for more than 800 tenants of Vilogia and for thousands before 2030. The Energiesprong project creates affordable, attractive and net zero energy guaranteed for 25 years thanks to the new digital tools for building: BIM, of-site construction, digital 3D scan.

Where was your project implemented in the EU?

When was your project implemented?

Has your project benefited from EU programmes or funds?

Which programme(s) or fund(s)? Provide the name of the programme(s)/fund(s), the strand/action line as relevant and the year.

Please provide a summary of your project

Energiesprong is an European method developed in the Netherlands in 2008. Vilogia, French social housing company presented an Interreg NWEurope project to implement this method in France on a sample of 10 houses built in 1955. The Energiesprong promise is to retrofit in 3 weeks a house to net zero energy level with a 25 years guarantee! This energy level is compliant with the 2050 carbon neutral goals. Over the amazing environmental performance, the retrofitted houses are affordable and attractive. Those 10 houses belong to social housings sector with a rental of 5 euros per square meters. The energy bill drops from 1600 euros per year to 800 euros per year protecting the tenant form the fuel poverty. The retrofitted houses have news aesthetics facades, new roof, new kitchen and new bathroom. Besides, the new houses are climate resilient thanks to the strong thermal insulation : the indoor temperature stays between 20°C and 26°C even when the outdoor temperature is below 5°C or over 40°C. This miracle is possible with the new digital solutions. The existing building is 3D scan, the data are used for the thermal calculation and the production of facades and roof which are manufactured in a factory located close to the site. The assembly of the components takes only 3 days. An external technical module (the energy pod) is located in the house with an external access facilitating the maintenance. The whole building is monitored to reach the same net zero energy performance over 25 years. Those 10 houses are just the beginning and this disruptive story! Vilogia launched so far 3 other energiesprong projects (380 houses). In 2025 more than 700 houses will be delivered with the same energy performance and with a new attractiveness for the tenants. In 2030, it will be 2000 dwellings delivered. Vilogia will be the biggest solar energy producer in Lille with these projects! All those new façades and design will be the face of the energy transition in Europe!

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of sustainability and how these have been met

The goal of the Energiesprong project is to retrofit existing building to net zero energy level. It means that the retrofitted house will produce annually the same energy as it consumes for all the house needs (ventilation, hot water, cooking, fridge, TV, computers,…). This amazing performance is also guaranteed over 25 years! The energy demand is reduced by 70% coming from 18 000 kWh per year to 6 000 kWh! This decrease is due to the important thermal insulation (30 cm thickness) of the new facades and roofs produced in a factory. The air tightness of the retrofitted house is the same as a new home. The new house does not need heater anymore. The hot water is produced by a heating pump located in a energy pod with external access. The house is ventilated with a ventilation system with heat recovery. The 6 000 kWh energy are produced annually by the photovoltaics panels located on the roof. Those panels are guaranteed over 25 years. The net zero energy performance is reached not only during the first years but also during the 25 years after the delivery which is a real challenge! It means that in 2043 the house will still consume 6000 kWh and produce 6000 kWh. The guarantee is based on a selection of the best components (30 years guarantee insulation, 50 years guarantee air tightness, 25 years guarantee solar panels) and on the off-site and lean approach. The off-site method (i.e production of facades and roof in a factory received the benefits of the quality system of the industrial production. Moreover the whole house is monitored in order to control the performance each day and to maintain the heat pump and ventilation system.

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these have been met

Beyond the environmental aspect, the goal of the project is to create new homes desirable and attractive. A project without any aesthetics and desire consideration could not reach success! People are more interested by their comfort and aesthetics than technic. To reach this goal, during the project we only ask two questions: Is the solution is net zero energy or is the solution increase the comfort of the tenants? An important design work has been done by the architect to use the new architectural tools of the prefabricated panels and roof. Th architect worked with the facades provider in order to hide the junction between the panels and use new materials similar to bricks but lighter and with a long life span. An important work was been achieved to integrate the solar panels and the roof and the energy pod inside the thickness of the wall. Morevoer, the design team developed solution inside the house to hide the ventilation pipes and to create storage space in the inside window sill. Vilogia chose to refurbish also the whole kitchen (painting, floors and furniture) and bathroom (painting, floors and furniture) because those rooms are the most used by the tenants during the day and because in those rooms we use a lot of energy (cooking, washing).

Please give information about the key objectives of your project in terms of inclusion and how these have been met

Vilogia’s Energiesprong project does not leave out anyone. The tenants are old people (more than 80 years old), family with two kids, young people, divorces family. We try to design a solution taking into account all the needs of these different inhabitants profiles. The application on a digital tablet to give the energy consumption is designed to be understood by anyone. For the bathroom refurbishment, people could choose between a shower or a baht tube. Before, during and after the worksite stage we visited the tenants to explain the projects and the new equipment of their houses. We gave them a special document presenting the equipment, their regulation and the environmental friendly behaviour.

Please give information on the results/impacts achieved by your project in relation to the category you apply for

The energiesprong project is a brand new method of massive retrofitting of housings to reach the net zero energy performance guarantee over 25 years. This goal is reached combining off-site production of facades and roof, high technology thermal modeling and up to date digital solutions such as BIM, 3D building scanning and building monitoring. The assembly of the components is driven with lean method and quality process. The design of the components (facades, roof, energy pod) includes DFMA method (Design For Manufacturing and Assembly). The design is user centric : all the solutions are selected to fulfill the tenants need. All those methods and techniques are completely new and disruptive for the building sector.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the project and civil society have been involved in the project and what has been the impact of this involvement on the project

The project protects the tenants from the fuel poverty by dropping the energy bill from 1600 € per year to 800 €. The retrofitted houses are climate change resilient thanks to the strong thermal insulation and the good air tightness. The indoor temperature is always between 20°C and 26°C even when the outdoor temperature is below 5°C or over 40°C. The tenants live after the delivery in a house producing each year the same energy that its annual energy demand. The citizens and the mayor can see that it is possible in 2018 to transform existing buildings in net zero energy buildings in 3 weeks. People walking in the street can see the change of the housings propelling the neighborhood in the next decade.

Please highlight the innovative character of the project

The project is completely disruptive for the building sector. The retrofitted houses are more performant than brand new construction. For the first time in the building sector, a high environmental performance is guaranteed over 25 years! The off-site, design to cost, lean and DFMA methods allow to develop a product approach for a massive retrofitting of homes. Those methods have never been used together in a construction project before. The use of combined digital tools such as BIM, monitoring and 3D scan is also a very innovative approach for the building sector. All these innovative technics and methods are focused only into two points: the net zero energy guarantee for 25 years and the response to the tenants needs.

Please explain how the project led to results or learnings which could be transferred to other interested parties

Those 10 houses are just the beginning and this disruptive story! Thanks to the industrial approach, the product development approach and the implementation of continuous improvement quality process, it is possible to use again the same method for thousands and thousands dwellings! The goal is to develop the same method as the automotive sector. Vilogia launched so far 3 other energiesprong projects (380 houses). In 2025 more than 700 houses will be delivered with the same energy performance and with a new attractiveness for the tenants. In 2030, it will be 2000 dwellings delivered. Vilogia will be the biggest solar energy producer in Lille with these projects! Energiesprong is one the massive European method that could spread all around Europe! Prototypes are now developed in Germany, Italy and Netherlands.

Is an evaluation report or any relevant independent evaluation source available?

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed project has not been proposed for the Awards more than once under the same category and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.