Smart Solar Housing Renovation

After World War II, the demand for houses in the Netherlands was enormous. Large housing construction programs were established in the fifties, sixties and seventies. Nowadays, these houses are facing some societal, economic and technological problems. On the other hand, many of the occupants are quite happy with their low rent homes and neighborhoods and do not want to move. As the need for energy efficient housing will increase in the next few years, renovation will become an inevitable strategy for housing associations to improve the overall energy performance of their housing stock. If housing associations decide to upgrade their houses resulting in an increased rent for the occupant, 70% of the occupants have to agree with the measures as planned and the increase in rent involved. If less than 70% of the occupants agree, the renovation cannot be executed. For housing associations, acceptance of the measures taken is therefore an important issue. To improve the acceptance by the occupants, their interests should be taken into account. Two main aspects can be distinguished. First, the nuisance for the occupants should be minimized. With traditional renovation methods, occupants have to leave their homes during a few weeks or even months. Or if not, they cannot use their facilities like the toilet, shower and kitchen. This causes lots of resistance by the occupants before and during the operation and therefore lowers the amount of occupants that are willing to agree with the renovation plans. Besides this, the occupants should be able to influence the exact measures taken and the increase in rent involved. Second, measures regarding energy efficiency like solar thermal and photovoltaic applications, adding thermal insulation and replacing the installations can be beneficial for the occupants, as a reduced energy cost could compensate the increase in rent. This research is focused on the offsite manufacturing of wall and roof elements for renovation offering the occupants freedom of choice, a renovation process with only very limited hindrance and a reduction in energy cost after the renovation. The roof element is designed in order to fit any orientation and yet be able to generate the heating energy need for the dwelling using solar panels. Special attention is given to the possibility of individual renovation process. The design consists of passive house elements like thick thermal insulation, high performance windows, an airtight structure and a heat recovery ventilation unit. The combination of these passive house elements with solar applications can bring a zero heating energy concept.