There is urgent need for Europe to transform into a low-carbon economy to reduce the risk of climate change. The building sector is responsible for nearly 40% of the total energy consumption in Europe. In order to achieve substantial energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, low-energy retrofitting of existing buildings becomes a very important challenge/opportunity in both domestic and non-domestic buildings. A considerable number of existing buildings are either protected or contain hazardous materials limiting the potential for conventional retrofitting approaches for improving the existing façades. Retrofitting Solutions and Services for the enhancement of Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings (RESSEEPE) is an EU-funded research project that focuses on the refurbishment of existing public buildings in different European cities. A case study approach is used to implement and monitor the performance of a range of building fabric materials. The case study focuses on a demo building in Coventry University, located within the city centre of Coventry. The paper documents the materials selection and the low-carbon refurbishment, monitoring and simulation process followed. As asbestos was found in the building, it was necessary to ensure that the materials and technologies selected didn't interfere with the existing elements of the façade. The materials finally installed were specifically selected to work as an addition of layers rather than substitution of elements. The living lab nature of the demo-site aims to set an example for low carbon refurbishment in protected or existing buildings with hazardous materials, with a non-invasive approach based on state-of-the-art materials and technologies. Keywords: existing buildings, energy performance, non-destructive testing, building performance diagnostics, innovative materials, passive design.
INTRODUCTIONBuildings account for 40% of total energy consumption in the EU and generate 36% of the greenhouse gases in Europe [1]. The construction sector is on its critical path to decarbonise the European economy by 2050, reducing its CO 2 emissions by at least 80% and its energy consumption by as much as 50%. As the replacement rate of the existing stock is very small (1-2% per year), one of the most cost-effective measures to meet energy reduction targets is to address the existing building stock across Europe, which offers one of the most significant challenge for meeting the energy and environmental targets [2]. Annually new non-domestic buildings represent less than 1.5 percent of the total building stock across, therefore the improvement and management of existing non-domestic buildings offer significant potential for achieving energy and environmental savings compared to the construction of new buildings [3].Retrofitting Solutions and Services for the enhancement of Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings (RESSEEPE) is an EU funded project which aims to develop and demonstrate a replicable methodology for designing, constructing, and managing public bu...