Retrofitting

The challenge to create a next generation technology and methods for testing its performance, led to Integration of heating/ cooling and ventilation with wall structures. Passive and Thermo-Active Cluster (PTAC) integrates hydronic heat exchangers with solar panels and underground water tanks (providing thermal storage) for heat pump. PTAC delivers a verified technology with 90 % energy reduction in new buildings and 70 % in retofitted (benchark 2004). It uses:

1) two-stage construction process to modify the pattern of financing.

2) building automatics to control contributions of sub-systems.

3) adaptable indoor climate and HVAC integrated with the building structure, jointly with monitoring and performance evaluation (MAPE) optimizes energy and indoor environment under service conditions.

4) climatic district network, with minimum two (historic buildings), will optimize energy use in the network.

PTAC selects practical improvements to the triangle: occupant-controlled comfort, energy efficiency and the smart energy grid to initiate a discussion on the public-private consortium linked with public education activities to develop the PTAC approach with a view to slow climate change.