Year-long scientific study shows that manual operation of shading does not help: human behaviour collides with efficiency. Automation is the answer, both for saving energy and for optimizing natural daylight. Read the summary of the Swiss ESTIA study here.

In general and in particular in nearly Zero-Energy Buildings, there is a very strong tendency to drastically reduce the heating demand. One adverse side effect is that in doing so, it often increases the risk of overheating both in summer and shoulder seasons due to the increased airtightness, insulation levels and solar gains of these high performance building structures. Proper building design strategies can overcome this risk of overheating with little or even no use of active cooling. These strategies include in particular ventilative cooling (i.e. use of ventilation to cool indoor spaces), adequate solar control (dynamic shading) and thermal mass utilisation. In this position paper the Venticool initiative appeals to standard writers and policy makers to provide fair and easy evaluation of the performance of ventilative cooling systems in standards and regulations. Read the position paper 

ES-SO is a member of the Venticool platform, read more in the flyer. 

An event meant to shape the future - First Qualicheck conference - 30 September 2014

The challenges to implement NZEB and achieving minimum shares of renewable energy are tremendous. There are various indications raising concerns regarding the reliability of EPC declarations and the quality of the works. Achieving a signiicant improvement requires strong commitment from authorities and other major players, as well as sufficient broad societal support.  See the conference flyer

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