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Research and development in the façade engineering field highlights the need for comprehensive system solutions integrating advanced materials and renewable energy use. The real performance of such solutions is highly relevant issue as they can contribute towards the European energy and environment policies: e.g. the implementation of nearly-Zero Energy Buildings required by the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. Presented study focuses on implementation of Transparent Insulation Materials (TIMs) in a façade concept. The concept is based on sensible use of (renewable) solar energy to reduce the heating demand of buildings. The concept integrates TIMs into a Transparent Insulation Façade (TIF) based on more common ”solar wall” or “Trombe wall” systems. The study presents analysis of thermal, solar energy and environmental performance of the concept on a case study basis. Firstly, thermal analysis based on standard calculation is introduced to describe thermal and solar performance of the concepts. Secondly, energy balance calculations are used to compare the concepts with conventional façade systems. Finally, a Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) evaluating the environmental impacts of the façade concept is introduced. The results show that the proposed concept performs better in both energy consumption and environmental impacts compared to a common facade with external thermal insulation. The TIF has higher heating energy demand than a common façade, however this is offset by up to 178 kWhm-2a-1 solar heat gains. The difference in environmental impacts (up to 80%) is also in favour of the TIF.

"Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme, March 2017", The renovation of the existing building stock represents a huge potential in actions to mitigate climate change, not only by the improvement of the overall energy performance of the built environment, but also by the reduction of resource depletion and minimization of waste production related with new construction. Nevertheless, this potential hasn?t been fully explored. Contributing to this, the evaluation of building renovation measures normally considers only the energy savings and the costs, disregarding other relevant benefits and thus, significantly underestimating the full value of improvement and re-use of buildings at several levels of the economy. In IEA EBC Annex 56 project, the reduction of energy use, emissions and global costs are the direct benefits resulting from energy related renovation measures and the notion of co benefits refers to all the other positive or negative effects resulting from those renovation measures., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

"Energy in Buildings and Communities Programme, March 2017", This brochure is a selection of successful realised demonstration projects within IEA EBC Annex56 partner countries that highlights successful solutions and provides general findings, similarities and differences emerging out of the demonstration projects selected in the participating countries. The ?ShiningExamples? are gathered mainly for motivation and stimulation purposes, highlighting the advantages of aiming at far reaching energy and carbon emissions reductions, being still cost effective. The focus is to highlight advantages and innovative (but feasible) solutions and strategies., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The aim of this project is to calculate the total environmental impacts of a building during its life cycle, and compare which of the three phases of this life cycle (construction, operation and demolition) consumes the most. Reading through literature about this subject [11, 12, 13] I found out that the phases of construction, demolition and relative transportation of materials, all show that the sum of the energy needed for these phases either is negligible or settled at approximately 10-20 % of the total life cycle energy need. I found this huge, since being the phase of operation the one with the highest percentage (80-90%), and the one which we can decrease the most by improving the energetic efficiency of the buildings. Outgoing