Funded Projects 2014-2020

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Project Energy Pathfinder

Project Acronym Energy Pathfinder
Project Title Approaching Near Zero Energy in Historic Buildings
Project subsite

Summary

Energy Pathfinder aims to support owners of historic buildings in the NPA region and in Europe, by building and demonstrating an on-line Toolkit, which enables the culturally and socially appropriate energy retrofit of historic buildings. To support this Toolkit, Pathfinder! Will draw experiences from the application of co-design processes (involving users and residents), from relevant retrofit measures and renewable energy installations, and from user-engagement and improved energy behaviour experiences. The Toolkit and component actions will allow building owners to consider working towards Near Zero Energy (NZEB) standards.

Pathfinder will monitor actual energy use in 5 demonstrator historic buildings, both before and after retrofit, and establish the benefit of different measures. This will include both centralized and decentralized energy management and improved energy behaviour. Energy Pathfinder will evaluate the business case for retrofit and for energy management in historic buildings, demonstrating that they can be sustainable from and energy and CO2 perspective, economically viable and socially and culturally relevant. Energy Pathfinder brings together Partners from 5 NPA regions, encompassing a comprehensive range wide range of skills, building types, climatic conditions, and cultural and regulatory environments.

Associate partners will help integrate local authorities, building owners and other key stakeholders into the Project. 6 demonstrator historic building will be used to demonstrate the key elements of the Toolkit, including co-design, insulation, renewable energy, and energy monitoring and management. These demonstrators will provide data for the on-line Toolkit. The results of the project will be widely promoted and disseminated through a comprehensive communication programme.

Objectives

Identifying the main challenges in improving energy efficiency in historic buildings.

Historic buildings represent one of the biggest challenges for improving energy efficiency in the NPA region. Pathfinder! will work with users, residents and stakeholders in identifying and addressing these challenges.

 Developing a Toolkit for Near Zero Energy Retrofitting of historic buildings

Building owners and users need a replicable Toolkit that can be used to chart how Near Zero Energy standards may be achieved in historic buildings in different regions.

 Demonstrating the Pathfinder! Toolkit in historic buildings in different regions.

In order to develop and demonstrate the Toolkit in practice, we will work with different historic buildings, to show how they can be brought up to Near Zero Energy Standard with the co-design or residents and users.

 

Impacts

Tangible

Reduced environmental impact:

Throughout 7 demonstration sites, the ENERGY PATHFINDER project tested the best heritage-appropriate retrofit options for historical buildings. Retrofits that took place alongside the project in 5 regions provided valuable real-life data, users´ experience, and solutions. As a result of the retrofit, a dwelling house in Bayview in Orkney Islands reduced its CO2 emissions by 34% and a Lighthouse Keeper´s Cottage also on Orkney Islands reduced its emissions by 38%.

 

Intangible

Building institutional capacity:

The project's learning are gathered in an online toolkit and a series of webinars to help owners and users of historical buildings to map out a route towards Near Zero Energy Buildings.

 

Lead Partner

Partners

Project Info

Theme
Renewable energy, eco products
Priority
3 Renewables and Energy Efficiency
Objective
3 Increased use of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions
Project duration
31-05-19 to 30-05-22
Total budget
1 060 208 EUR
NPA co-financing
689 135 EUR
Target groups
local public authority
regional public authority
national public authority
sectoral agency
infrastructure and (public) service provider
interest groups including NGOs
higher education and research
education/training centre and school
enterprise, including SME
General public
Other
Joint Secretariat Desk Officer
Christopher Parker