Summary of the Conipher project

Summary

Origin of the Conipher Project

Much of the existing building stock must be renovated in order to reach climate objectives. About 1% of new building is built each year in Europe, so half of the existing building will still be there in 2050 with poor insulation (R<2 m²K/W). Furthermore, new retrofitting techniques have been slow to penetrate the market due to the lack of experience of the construction work force. Also, their impacts are often lowered due to poor implementation.

Our goal

Make deep renovation more popular and increase its climate positive impact.

Objectives we have set

In order to assess the success of the project, we are commited to meeting the following objectives:

To devise the first “plug ‘n play” panel for easy and fast deep renovation including solar PV, concrete façade, insulation and connections (mechanical and electrical).
To prove the technical feasibility and environmental advantages of the Conipher envelope in a pilot site: one renovated, occupied, collective building shows a reduction of primary energy use by 60% and greenhouse gas emission by 75%.
To reach 60% of electrical self-consumption over one year (versus 30% average for typical solar PV roof installations) via smart PV integration into east, west and south facades.
To define an economical and easy precasting process for industrial fabrication of the Conipher multifunctional building envelope in order to ensure that the adaptable envelope.
To ensure a return on investment below 10 years.
To reach high thermal resistivity - R value of the envelope of 5 m².K/W. To take in a life-cycle approach including easy technology upgrade and component recyclability in existing industries thanks to its plug-and-play and prefab approach - prototype up to 85% (in weight) recyclable.
To limit waste at the construction site to 5% of the total mass. To obtain real energy performance of the envelope that matches forecasts (less than 7% difference) thanks to full integration and reduced human error during installation.
To prove the ease of installation of the Conipher deep renovation panel: only one or two trades and 50% less time required to install.
To ensure applicability to a wide range of buildings across Europe.
To prepare the large-scale market uptake of the Conipher deep renovation panels via licensing of the process and sales of the components throughout Europe.
To facilitate the implementation of European climate and environmental legislation.