Roughly half of the energy is consumed in buildings and therefore has high potential to reduce the climate impact and to increase the reliability of energy networks when smart solutions are used. The fastest effictive means to achieve this is the use of numerous energy meters and sensors for smart control of building service systems. In this project, we map smart energy-efficiency and flexibility technologies with the highest potentias, describe the meters and sensors required for the applications and develop guidelines for constructing and renovating buildings for technology readiness. This reduces the cost of integrating the smart services with buildings and increases the overall potential of market uptake. We create models to assess the impact of these smart services for more effective R&D and for reliable assessment of the impact of the services. We will develop new services in cooperation with the companies and students of TalTech to conquer the world.
SIRCULAR intends to create digital tools, technological solutions and non-technical services for the decarbonisation of the built environment, as well as a ready-to-use methodology for assessing the circularity of a given building capable of evaluating the impact of the developed construction technologies in the demos. These features are intended to improve access to information on decarbonisation for end users who are not experts in these fields, as well as to provide professionals working in the construction sector with tools capable of easily evaluating and improving the circularity of this area. The SIRCULAR solutions will take a multidisciplinary approach, integrating technical, economic, and social approaches with a focus on social and policy innovation, delivering valuable information to policymakers and establishing a solid foundation for the promotion of developed decarbonisation methods. The project will also be distinguished by an overall people-centric approach that prioritizes the needs, ambitions, and wellbeing of individuals and communities as critical players in the decarbonization of the construction industry. SIRCULAR will prioritize active participation, inclusion, and ethical concerns to ensure that the project's achievements directly benefit society as a whole. The project will also make special efforts to engage the whole supply chain engaged in all phases of the building's life cycle, with the goal of increasing the circularity and sustainability of each of them. SIRCULAR plans to consider four national clusters to promote a circular and sustainable construction sector using a value chain approach. The clusters will focus on Estonia and Spain, followed by Germany and Greece. The clusters will involve construction companies, housing companies, universities, and local administrative entities, and will include buildings owned or occupied by fragile population groups, in line with the SIRCULAR just and affordable transition approach.
Projekti SOFTacademy eesmärk on toetada, soodustada ja kiirendada naabruskonna põhiselt suurte mitme eraomanikuga korterealmute jätkusuutliku ja energiatõhusat renoveerimist, järgides New European Bauhaus-i ja Pehme Linna põhimõtteid ja hõlmates korraga rohkem kui ühte hoonet.
Projekti eesmärgiks on leida parim lahendus kuidas kaasavalt luua tihedat ja mitmekesist ning kvaliteetset linnalist keskkonda. Selleks võetakse renoveerimisel arvesse mitte ainult ressursitõhusust, vaid ka keskkonnaalast, sotsiaalset ja majanduslikku jätkusuutlikkust. Linnavalitste poolt pakutavad väiksed toetused ei ole piisavad selleks, et motiveerida korterelamuid omavahelisele koostööle hoonete renoveerimisel. SOFTacademy raames loodav kaasamismudel tegeleb sellele probleemile lahendus eleidmisega.
Projektis kasutatakse uudset lähenemisviisi, selleks et näidata, kuidas elanike algatused renoveerimisel aitavad edendada kogu naabruskonna, sealhulgas hoonetevaheliste ruumi, ümberkujundamist. Projektis töötatakse välja linnavalitsuste ja elanike koostööl põhinev innovatsioonimudel, mis motiveerib eraomanike hooneid kiiremini renoveerima, parandades sellega ühtlasi ka linna üldist elukvaliteeti läbi parema mikrokliima ning suurendades bioloogilist mitmekesisust, aidates luua elujõulisi naabruskonna põhiseid kogukondi. Tulemuseks on "hubasem" ja inim-mõõtmelisem elukeskkond elanike jaoks. Projekti lahendusi luues peetakse silmas, et tegemist on demolahendusega, mille raames loodud lahendused peavad olema rakendatavad ka teistele sarnastele piirkondadele, mis ei vaja üksnes renoveerimist vaid ka paremat kohatunnetust ja identiteeti. Lahenduse osana välja töötatud sekkumisloogika ja digivahendid on ülekantavad igale masstoodanguna toodetavale monofunktsionaalsele korterelamurajoonile, mis vajab muudatust, läheb kaugemale lihtsalt renoveerimisest ning suudab luua koha- ja identiteeditunde. Kokkuvõtes on hooned parema energiatõhususega, sisekliimaga, suurendatakse elurikkust, arendatakse kogukonna teket, luuakse hubasem ja inimlikum elukeskkond.
The HeriTACE project brings together a transdisciplinary team of research institutes, authorities, SMEs, and industry experienced in design, technology, and policymaking in the domains of conservation, buildings and energy. A significant increase in deep renovations of heritage buildings has the potential to lead to effective energy demand reductions and readiness for the transition to R2ES. Based on prior research and field knowledge supported by various EU and national projects, bottlenecks have been identified that prevent the futureproofing of heritage buildings and its replication. To overcome them, HeriTACE proposes innovative technical solutions, integrated into a holistic and multi-scale renovation approach, by developing and validating: (1) A replicable holistic assessment model and standardised processes to create a holistic vision and plan on the renovation requirements for heritage townhouses in historical neighbourhoods, (2) Optimal and integrated design approaches for the deep renovation of heritage townhouses, with well-considered, targeted and minimal invasive renovation measures, (3) Durable insulation and air tightness solutions for the renovation of building envelopes, respecting their heritage values and traditional building technology, (4) Optimised and smart controlled HVAC-concepts adapted to heritage townhouses, optimising comfort, and indoor air quality precisely where and when the building users need it, and (5) Integrated R²ES-based energy supply solutions, maximising the share of local R²ES in heritage buildings within historical neighbourhoods. The project will deliver solutions for authorities and designers to envision and govern a sustainable energy future for heritage townhouses in historical neighbourhoods, thus putting the EU Green Deal and New European Bauhaus into practice. Close collaboration between researchers, SMEs and industry shall increase the availability of high-quality solutions for the building conservation sector.
The main objective of HARMONISE is to provide an End-to-End interoperable & hierarchical solution to support, encourage and scale up the transformation of traditional districts to Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) through optimal design, management, and integration in an interoperable, scalable, and replicable manner. HARMONISE will support the management and expansion of multisectoral PEDs, including electricity and heating networks, RES integration, mobility schemes, and energy storage problems by unifying energy transactions. HARMONISE will be demonstrated in 4 physical pilots and 1 digital pilot case.
The Engineering Academy is a project initiated by the Ministry of Education and Research and funded by the European Social Fund, with the goal of improving the quality of engineering education and reducing the labor shortage in technical fields. The project is led by the Education and Youth Board and is joined by five higher education institutions.
The Engineering Academy includes 22 engineering-related study programs, of which ten have been selected as priority focus programs for development.
The project has three focus areas:
• Increasing the number of applicants
• Improving the quality of education and Increasing alignment with labor market needs
• Reducing dropout rates
The Technical University has set a goal to increase admissions in the field of engineering by 15% each year. To improve the quality of education, the action plan includes a significant expansion of project-based and problem-based learning, curriculum development, quality enhancement, and infrastructure upgrades. Additionally, lecturers’ training and the recruitment of teaching assistants are planned.
To reduce dropout rates, individual support for students will be increased, both during the first year and when completing their final theses. First-year students will also be offered additional mathematics courses. The goal is to significantly reduce dropout rates and increase the number of graduates.
TThe EuroTeQ 2030 is the next stage in the European Universities Alliance to deepen, expand and intensify the existing cooperation. Eight partners propose an unprecedented approach to collaborative education that not only brings together various countries but also a broad coalition of stakeholders in industry, society, and both academic and non-academic education. With our partnership, we will enhance today’s engineering study programmes with new core competencies, transversal skills, design methodologies, and structured links to relevant stakeholders. New ideas will occur from merging different perspectives, and new groups of learners will enrich the diversity in the classroom, which leads to innovation.
Participating in EuroTeQ initiatives shall train learners to find answers to societal challenges, human needs, and real-world questions in a collaborative and responsible approach. We strongly believe that this European network will foster and strengthen European values by enabling young citizens to meet their peers and inviting the entire university family to make connections across Europe
DRASTIC aims to accelerate the circular processes of constructing, renovating, reusing, and relocating new and existing products to empower local ecosystems to make the CE transition by implementing Circular Systemic Solutions (CSS), by providing frameworks and a digital platform to assess, trace, and validate the reduction in GHG emissions throughout the lifecycle(s) and by recommending new business models that accelerate market uptake.
DRASTIC brings together: (i) 5 different demonstrators with different innovative designs, construction/renovation methods, and technological circular system solutions, a wide variety of typologies (residential, commercial) and thus distinct target groups (investors, owners), offering scale and diversity, spread across the EU, with distinct local environmental, social, and economic conditions; (ii) product and building process and design guidelines including a multi-cycle LCA (M-LCA) and multi-cycle LCC (M-LCC) approach and circularity and sufficiency indicators, aligned with the EU Level(s) framework for sustainable buildings, to validate performance measurements; (iii) 5 diverse functionalities combined in a toolbox with novel data-driven tools, integrated in a common digital building data platform (including DBLs) also addressing transparency, quality and traceability, to support the integration of results and deliverables; (iv) 12 stakeholders co-creation sessions focusing on the sustainability framework and the user-centric circular business models facilitating faster market update of the solutions demonstrated; (v) 23 participants, consisting of frontrunners in R&D and small to large industrial players that guarantee significant market, including implementation in highly visible digital platforms over the last 5 years; and (vi) substantial opportunities to build and leverage additional exploitation trajectories focused on evolving and scaling the demonstrated solutions towards mainstreamed affordable high life-cycle performance solutions, with improved circularity of buildings in construction and renovation.
LIFE heritageHOME project focuses on the energy performance improvement of residential (single or multi-family buildings) heritage monuments and residential buildings located within the borders of national heritage protection areas. The overall objective of the LIFE CET project Integrated renovation services for heritage homes of Estonia (LIFE heritageHOME) is to pilot an integrated renovation service that will support the whole customer journey for owners of Estonian heritage homes who seek to improve the energy efficiency of their properties. We aim to align and improve policy measures for deep renovations for heritage buildings currently being exempted from energy performance requirements. We will set up a coordinated system between different enablers facilitating renovations. We develop and institutionalize the necessary toolset for the integrated renovation service of deep energy renovations of heritage homes. We aim to enable homeowners to participate actively in service design and policy making. We aim to sustain the viability of the developed service and branch out to replicate the service. LIFE heritageHOME solutions will not be relevant only for heritage homeowners in Estonia, but replicable also to other countries in Europe.
RENplusHOMES (REN+HOMES) overall objective is to develop a universal methodology for positive energy homes & residential districts, to facilitate the transition to climate-neutral residential buildings.
The methodological approach will be adapted and tested in 4 EU countries and under different climates (Spain, Estonia, Austria, Romania), both in new construction as well as in renovated buildings. REN+HOMES aims to contribute to a sustainable transition by not only reducing carbon emissions but also addressing resource scarcity and energy poverty. In this respect, stakeholders are involved through education and participation programmes.
The project seeks to empower educators and students by fostering collaboration and enhance digital and 21st century skills. The Focus is on Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) courses to improve the quality of education in the energy sector and promote interdisciplinary perspectives. The project addresses the challenges faced by the Ukrainian due to the war and intends to develop a strategy for building a modern and resilient Ukrainian educational system. The project involves 5 partner organizations from Ukraine and the EU.
In the implementation of Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, Member States exchange information within LIFE concerted action EPBD project that organises two annual plenary meetings every year. Work is organised under eight Central Teams, from which Calculation and Life Cycle Central Team is led by Estonia through Tallinn University of Technology. This Central Team analyses energy calculation frameworks and related problems which have caused a situation where numeric requirements of nearly zero energy buildings are highly different and cannot be compared in Member States. The scope of the work covers for instance energy calculation system boundaries, calculation principles of primary energy, dynamic simulation and monthly calculation methods, self-use of renewable energy and heat pumps calculation methods. Central Team collects and distributes best practices and contributes to harmonisation of energy calculation methods and requirements and to methodology development.