Abstract
Building retrofitting is seen as an efficient method for improving a building’s energy performance. On the other hand, when historical buildings are considered for this procedure, retrofitting gets more complicated. As historical buildings typically consist of low-performance building and energy systems, energy retrofits can be highly beneficial. However, not every retrofit technology can be installed in a historical building. In this paper, the study carried out for the implementation of Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV) solutions in the Historic Centre of Évora is provided, within the framework of the European project POCITYF (Project H2020). The study took into consideration all the observations of the Regional Directorate of Culture of Évora and the administration of the involved schools (including the Association of Parents), the needs of the Municipality of Évora, and the capabilities of technology developers ONYX and Tegola. The proposed solutions aim at fulfilling all the guidelines for preserving the historic centre and achieving the positivity metrics agreed with the European Commission on the challenging and indispensable path to the decarbonisation of European cities.
Highlights
Over the past decades, overall energy consumption demands have been increased due to global population growth and rapid economic development
The Community Solar Farm (CSF) project aims to provide the residents of the historic centre of Évora with the opportunity to access photovoltaic generation solutions, given that they are unable to install this type of solution in their homes, due to the protection mechanisms of cultural heritage that prevent the installation of photovoltaic panels in the walled interior of the city of Évora
To overcome the constraints, five different BIPV (Building(Building-Integrated Photovoltaics) solutions were designed by two entities of the consorIntegrated Photovoltaics) solutions were designed by two entities of the consortium, that tium, that complycomply with the specifications and guidelines imposed by by thethe
Summary
Overall energy consumption demands have been increased due to global population growth and rapid economic development. As cities are responsible for the majority of the global energy consumption and buildings use about 40% of global energy [9], by implementing and testing PEDs and PEBs in the involved cities, POCITYF will support Europe in the race to become the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050 In this sense, POCITYF will demonstrate innovative smart city technologies (to be called hereafter Innovative Elements–IEs) in two lighthouse cities, Alkmaar (NL) and Evora (PT), and replicate them in six fellow cities. This study houses all the guidelines aiming at preserving the historic centre while achieving the positivity metrics agreed with the European Commission on the challenging and indispensable path to the decarbonisation of European cities Under these guidelines, Évora and the rest of the participating cities in POCITYF, that will follow Évora’s example, will make a step towards their transformation to smart cities and preserve their cultural heritage buildings at the same time.
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