Magazine Građevinar published an expert article, "Opening of the nZEB training center”, prepared by Mislav Stepinac, Margareta Zidar, Vesna Bukarica and Dominik Skokandić.
Although the Republic of Croatia has adopted the standardization of Nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB), the authors write in the introductory notes, the actual application of the nZEB standard in the renovation of existing buildings is lacking. In order for the renovation of buildings according to the nZEB standard to be viable, it is necessary to change the established practices in the renovation process.
The cost-optimal selection of technologies and solutions in renovation is not an integral part of common design practice, nor is the consideration of costs and benefits over the entire building service life, which is why the nZEB renovation standard is still perceived as too expensive. It is necessary to improve design methods for both new and old buildings. In the initial design phase, multiple energy supply and energy consumption system options should be analyzed, including not only investment costs, but also future operating costs. This requires knowledge of tools for dynamic simulation of energy flows in a building, which has not yet been introduced into design practice in Croatia, the authors point out.
The PDP-nZEB project (PDP – predefined project) was financed by the Energy and Climate Change program within the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area for 2014-2021. The project started in May 2021. Its goal was to include all key stakeholders in the nZEB building renovation process and show them the benefits of building renovation according to the nZEB standard through a pilot action. The pilot action of the project was a specific comprehensive renovation of the office building of the Energy Institute Hrvoje Požar.
You can read how the project developed and its results on the nZEB training center website.
