immo!nvest – Die Plattform für Standorte und Immobilien

Tag: Alternatives

  • 61 million for climate-friendly buildings

    61 million for climate-friendly buildings

    Buildings are responsible for over 40 per cent of energy consumption and 30 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in the canton of Zurich. Since September 2022, oil and gas heating systems in existing buildings must therefore be replaced with climate-friendly alternatives at the end of their service life if this is technically and financially feasible. in 2025, CHF 61 million in funding will be available for this change. These funds will be channelled specifically into measures to improve energy efficiency and promote sustainable heating systems.

    Stronger subsidies for larger heating replacements
    The 2025 subsidy programme places a particular focus on replacing larger fossil fuel heating systems. While the basic contributions for smaller systems have been reduced slightly, larger heating systems with an output of around 30 kilowatts or more will benefit from increased, performance-based subsidies. This takes account of the greater technical and economic challenges involved in such projects.

    Reward for comprehensive building modernisation
    A well-insulated building envelope saves heating energy, reduces heating costs and improves the indoor climate. An additional incentive is therefore provided for complete modernisations. Anyone who modernises at least 90 percent of the insulation area of the roof, facades and floors receives an additional contribution. From 2025, subsidies for modernisations in accordance with the MINERGIE standard will be linked to the additional “ECO” certification in order to take aspects such as recyclability and grey energy into account.

    Support for decentralised heating systems
    Decentrally installed electric or fossil-fuelled heating systems pose a particular challenge. From 2030, electricity-intensive electric heating systems will be banned in the canton of Zurich. Homeowners who replace such systems with climate-friendly alternatives will now benefit from a subsidy of at least CHF 15,000 for the installation of a heat distribution system. This is intended to facilitate and speed up the costly conversion process.

  • Will this environmentally friendly composite material make reinforced concrete superfluous?

    Will this environmentally friendly composite material make reinforced concrete superfluous?

    The production of cement is considered to be particularly harmful to the climate, which is why the construction industry is looking for alternatives to reduce CO2 emissions. Researchers at the German Institute of Textile and Fibre Research (DITF) in Denkendorf have developed such an alternative. The new composite material made of natural stone, carbon fibres and biochar could be an environmentally friendly alternative to reinforced concrete and has an excellent CO2 balance.

    Joint project DACCUSS-Pre
    The use of plant materials such as wood, straw or other plant fibres as building materials enables efficient carbon sequestration. But for the team in the DACCUSS-Pre project, short-term storage is not enough. They are working on a new building material called CFS (CarbonFibreStone), which consists of plant-based carbon fibres, biochar and hard rock. This building material should not only fulfil all technical requirements, but also remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in the long term than is released during its production.

    CFS achieves this carbon sequestration in three different ways
    The conversion of carbon-rich biomass such as algae into carbon fibres makes it possible to store carbon in the building material in the long term. The hard stone in the CFS also contributes to the binding of CO₂. Stone dust is produced during the manufacturing process, which accelerates the weathering of the stone and thus binds carbon dioxide from the air in the stone through chemical reactions. Biochar, another durable and carbon-rich material obtained from plant parts, is used as an insulating layer between the stone slabs.

    Building façade realised
    In close cooperation with the company TechnoCarbon Technologies, the project has already made considerable progress – a first prototype in the form of a building element for house walls has been successfully realised. This consists of the aforementioned components carbon fibres, hard rock and biochar. Two natural stone slabs serve as the outer walls of the building element. The carbon fibres reinforce the side walls with the help of technical fabrics and take on the tensile load, similar to reinforcing steel in reinforced concrete. The biochar in turn serves as filling material and acts as effective insulation.

    BIO-carbon fibres from raw materials
    The carbon fibres developed at DITF Denkendorf consist of lignin, which is obtained from biomass. These fibres are characterised by their cost-effectiveness due to low raw material costs and their efficiency in binding carbon. Compared to conventional reinforcing steel, they do not rust, which extends their service life. Although their production requires more energy than that of steel, the amount used in construction is so small that the overall balance of energy and CO2 emissions is more positive than that of reinforced concrete. The use of solar energy and biomass during production and the natural weathering of the stone powder mean that the CO2 balance of the new building material is actually negative. This means that buildings can be constructed that actively contribute to CO2 reduction.

    Environmental impact of the building façade
    The researchers from Denkendorf report enthusiastically about the new demonstrator for a wall element in building construction. This is made of gabbro, a natural stone from India, which is not only visually appealing but also has a high load-bearing capacity, as load tests confirm. The top layer of the stone panels is made from bio-based carbon fibres, with the biochar coming from the renowned Convoris GmbH, which is known for its excellent thermal insulation values.

  • Scandens presents digital redevelopment planning

    Scandens presents digital redevelopment planning

    With its innovative software technology,Scandens wants to revolutionise digital renovation and investment planning for the decarbonisation of buildings. According to a media release, the Scandens web app provides users – homeowners, energy advisors, financial institutions, public authorities as well as architecture and construction firms – with an analysis of the current climate compatibility of the property with just a few clicks. It is intended to show over 400 different renovation strategies and concrete measures with which the current CO2 footprint and energy consumption of the building can be reduced.

    The spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich(ETH) was founded in 2021 and supported by the Migros Pioneer Fund. The machine learning algorithms were developed at ETH and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, according to the founders. The software reportedly combines them with the latest energy modelling techniques for digital twins and official planning standards.

    It updates the entire planning process, from data collection to feasibility testing and component and building design to economic calculation and CO2 balancing, including grey emissions. According to Scandens co-founder Dominik Bucher, the pilot customers have confirmed in daily use that “with our solution, time savings of 80 percent are possible. Our product will have a lasting impact on the construction and real estate industry.”

  • Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts locates fossil heating systems

    Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts locates fossil heating systems

    Experts from the Thermal Energy Storage Competence Center at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts(HSLU) want to promote the climate-friendly replacement of fossil-fuel heating systems. To this end, the team worked with geoimpact AG, based in Lüterkofen SO, to use machine learning to calculate models that locate fossil fuel heating systems.

    This is because around 80 percent of oil and gas heating systems are currently being replaced by new fossil-fuel heating systems, according to a media release from the HSLU. “A new heating system needs planning,” HSLU energy expert Esther Lindner is quoted as saying. “Of course, if the old one breaks in the winter, you don’t have time for that, and then you just quickly replace what you had before with the same system again.” To counteract this, the project aims to provide these households with timely information about alternatives and counseling services.

    First, a model was created for 1957 municipalities, then one for 158 districts, and finally another for all of Switzerland. At the community level, the model is reported to be the most accurate, with close to 80 percent accuracy. The artificial intelligence of these models was trained with publicly available data from the building and housing register.

    Now the model is being developed into a referral program for a Sweet Edge project supported by the Federal Office of Energy. This is intended to assist communities with energy planning. “Communities that want to use the model and develop it at the same time,” Lindner said, “are welcome.” The project will also be presented at this year’s Evening of Business of the Department of Engineering & Architecture. It will take place on October 20, 2022.