AEGIR

85% of the European building stock was built before 2001 and does not meet low-energy standards.In order to achieve the necessary climate targets by 2050, Europe must accelerate the renovation wave!

For the building envelope, four different renovation concepts are being developed in the project using the example of demonstration buildings, which are tailored to the needs of different building types, climate zones, social classes and user preferences. They can be scaled up and adapted to new or existing buildings throughout Europe.

Fraunhofer ISE is working on the integration of ventilation ducts into the modular, curtain-type and rear-ventilated façades. Based on the experience gained from the initially manual planning in 3D building models, planning software is then developed which automatically outputs the optimum routes for the air ducts in the insulation level of the façade modules.

The main objective of AEGIR is to demonstrate, through a physically and digitally sustainable framework, that a near energy self-sufficient building can be achieved through deep renovation. This approach is supported by (i) innovative, industrialized, high-performance and non-intrusive multifunctional plug-and-play envelope solutions to increase the use of locally available renewable energy sources.

These solutions can be modulated according to the requirements of the target buildings. (ii) A digital ecosystem of services to improve the overall planning process and reduce costs. And (iii) a socio-economic model that provides a financing scheme and business models at the building scale. To demonstrate these objectives, the project will deploy all these solutions in four demonstrators (Spain, France, Denmark and Romania) that will use the renovation measures in four different climate zones. The demonstration projects will look at different types of buildings (apartment building, school building, retirement home, single-family home) to test the concept in buildings and with users with different needs. In particular, the implementation for social and retirement homes as well as offices also includes very diverse and therefore more demanding user groups. For a school as a further demonstration object, the focus is on improving air quality and comfort. The project involves all stakeholders from the construction and energy management value chain, with local and international SMEs, large companies and public authorities. Local and international clusters are also included to monitor developments at European level.

Within this framework, Fraunhofer ISE is developing an integration service for ventilation ducts, which will be integrated into the AEGIR modules. Due to the dimensions of the ventilation ducts, their integration into the modules is a critical planning step with regard to the geometric dimensions and the requirements, especially those relating to fire protection. Furthermore, the geometry of the façade and the existing obstacles must be taken into account when determining the route. Furthermore, this planning module will calculate the heat loss through the façade, the pressure drop and thus the power consumption of the fans. The total length of the ducts and the number of parts as well as the costs (investment and operation/maintenance) of the air duct system will be calculated based on the automated routing function.

Demonstration building with respective designs for air duct routes: