KNAUF ENERGY SOLUTIONS’ MASS RETROFIT IMPROVES THE LIVING CONDITIONS FOR HUNDREDS OF RESIDENTS AND RECORDS ANNUAL ENERGY SAVINGS OF CLOSE TO €100,000.
A renovation of 166 social houses by Knauf Energy Solutions (KES) in the Gijmelbergwijk district of the town of Aarschot in Belgium has recorded energy efficiency improvements of 37% — a total of almost €100,000 in annual energy savings.
Guy Dumst, chairman of the social housing company Cnuz which manages the homes, says: “As a housing company, we are faced with a major challenge to renovate our building stock with energy saving in mind.
“This project is a great example of how we can efficiently improve living conditions for those who live in these homes and also demonstrate real energy performance savings not theoretical estimates.”
Prior to the work, KES monitored the homes using its own online cloud technology to enable it to measure the pre-renovation energy performance of the buildings and develop an effective programme of work.
Following the renovation, the monitoring continued and revealed the 37% improvement which added up to around €600 in annual energy savings per house or €99,600 for all 166 homes.
In addition, the renovation resulted in a reduction in CO2 emissions and improvement of interior comfort and humidity level in the homes.
Residents also reported better living conditions and a feeling of being less cold than before.
Renilda van Vlierberghe, a Gijmelbergwijk resident, says: “The entire renovation process was smooth and efficient, supported by constant communication and a dedicated project coordinator to manage queries.”
“It’s important for me that my heating works well. I’ve noticed since the renovation that heat inside my home is retained better than before.”
Barry Lynham, Managing Director of Knauf Energy Solutions, says: “By partnering with KES, Cnuz was able to significantly reduce its risk, because the energy refurbishment was evaluated on real outcomes not theoretical aspiration.”
As KES offers a one-stop shop service, managing the entire process from start to finish, the renovation was seamless — from optimising the design, tackling challenges in advance and carrying out the work to liaising with the residents, ensuring quality control and ensuring excellent results.
KES also maintained constant communication with the association and residents to ensure any queries were effectively handled immediately.
“Using our monitoring technology KES could also demonstrate in real terms the savings achieved as a result of the work,” says Barry. “For social housing associations and the residents they serve, this is a significant real performance milestone in the world of renovation.”
Photo: Halle homes during renovation
Historic retrofit
Knauf Energy Solutions (KES) completed the biggest ever real performance deep retrofit in history in 2020 when it renovated 184 homes for the social housing company Woonpunt Zennevallei in the Belgian town of Halle.
Energy saving improvements of 26% were recorded by KES following the installation of Knauf Insulation loft insulation alone.
Power of a virtual energy infrastructure
We need to take a revolutionary new approach to energy.
At Knauf Energy Solutions (KES) we believe that renovating 400,000 homes would save the same amount of energy as would be generated by a one-gigawatt power station at a fraction of the cost.
Using KES technology, energy efficiency can be measured in the same way as energy generation — this means a kilowatt of energy saved — ‘a negawatt’ — is now equivalent to a kilowatt hour of energy supplied.
KES reverses the traditional energy infrastructure model by focusing on mass infrastructure projects that save vast reserves of energy rather than building power plants.
Photo in the header: Gijmelbergwijk district of the town of Aarschot, Belgium.
