Experts from 13 countries discussed the importance of high technologies for improving living conditions in buildings

The difficulties of the shortage of personnel in the construction sector can be overcome with a strategy for the realization of more projects with fewer people, but smarter and with the application of digital technologies in the design and management of buildings

The international seminar "Skills and knowledge for intelligent and highly efficient buildings" was held in the National Palace of Culture. The event was organized by the Center for Energy Efficiency EnEffect as a joint initiative with the international projects OutPHit, nZEB Ready, SMART2 and DiVIRTUE. The focus of the workshop was on the skills and knowledge for certification, design and construction of smart and high-performance buildings - a topic that is becoming more relevant with the growing importance of energy efficiency and smart technologies in construction.

The seminar brought together in Bulgaria some of the most established European experts in the field of construction and sustainable energy from 13 countries, including Jan Steiger (Managing Director of the Passive House Institute, Germany), Horia Petran (Executive Director of the PRO-NZEB cluster, Romania), Paris Fokaides (CEO of Euphyia, Cyprus), Thomas Meservi (CEO, R2M, Italy), Stefan Palantzas (CEO, HPHI, Greece), Dragomir Tsanev (EnEffect, Bulgaria), who presented practical project implementations for energy efficient and smart buildings and energy consumption monitoring results from across Europe. The event is a natural continuation of the 61st session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) held at the end of July in Sofia and aims to show how the conclusions of the political discussions can be implemented with real projects to improve the urban environment.

The conference at NDK focused on how we can achieve significant improvements in existing buildings through careful planning and the use of innovative methods. "With the right approaches and technologies, it is possible not only to reduce energy consumption, but also to improve living conditions in buildings. This is of particular importance in the context of climate change, which requires new solutions to ensure sustainable and comfortable conditions for all of us, including our children in kindergartens, schools and hospitals," commented Dragomir Tsanev, executive director of EnEffect.

One of the aims of the seminar was to support the transformation of the educational system in Bulgaria, both in vocational education at the high school level and in continuing education for adults. “We are experiencing extreme staffing difficulties, with at least 50,000 people needing to enter the construction sector. And precisely given this fact, the strategy of everyone in the industry should be to learn to realize more, but smarter and with greater participation of high technologies", said Dragomir Tsanev. "Under the starting project DiVIRTUE, for the first time in Bulgaria, educational aids in the field of construction will be developed that use virtual reality. They will be provided free of charge to all educational institutions in support of the national qualification system in support of the Roadmap for increasing the qualifications of construction workers, which we developed together with KSB, NAPOO, AUER and BAIS. This is also in line with the current reform of professional education, which is led by the Ministry of Education and Culture," he added. Within the framework of the event, guests had the opportunity to personally test virtual reality applications, which demonstrated the potential for them to enter the educational process quickly and efficiently.

The seminar participants also demonstrated how the Passive House Institute's proven research methods lead to the achievement of planned results and investor satisfaction. An important part was the review and discussion on practical tools and real-life projects that improve efficiency and comfort in buildings, presented by Stephane Palantzas, Jan Steiger, Paris Fokaides and Thomas Meservey. The latest training programs paving the way to near-zero-energy buildings were presented by Horija Petran, Damir Mandić (REA North, Croatia) and Jiri Karasek (SEVEn, Czech Republic). "Smart technologies work and we have to trust them. AI has great potential in building management, although the process is not entirely easy," shared Thomas Meservi, adding that implementing research results in the market is a challenge, but is key to the success and profitability of any project. In the presented pilot project from Italy, the savings realized just from automation using AI equaled 70,000 euros per year.

A number of good examples were shared at the conference, one of the new passive buildings in Athens being particularly impressive, designed by the Hellenic Passive House Institute. “This house maintains a constant 26-27 degrees in the 40+ degree heat in the city this summer without using a cooling system (although it does have one). It is interesting that all the neighbors of the owner go to seek protection from the heat inside this passive building, because in fact this is one of the other effects of energy efficiency - apart from reducing our heating bills, it also protects us from overheating in the summer. And we see that this is exactly what we need more and more," shared Dragomir Tsanev. The results of the monitoring of the first passive building in Athens over a period of seven years were also presented, proving that the savings actually correspond to what was predicted at the design stage, in contrast to the situation when renovating according to the most common national and even international standards at the moment.

The event ended with an exhibition of products and technologies for achieving energy efficiency in buildings. Exhibitors were: Passive House Shop; Soudal Bulgaria; Alukönigstahl Bulgaria; Sonnis Energy GmbH; Knauf Insulation Bulgaria, and all participants had the opportunity to test the intelligent readiness of their buildings at the EnEffect stand. The guests also had the opportunity to visit the Bulgarian Passive House Shop, where they got to know the latest products and components of over 20 global manufacturers, suitable for buildings meeting the highest energy efficiency standards.

About EnEffect

Center for Energy Efficiency EnEfect is a non-governmental non-profit organization founded in 1992 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Through intensive participation in international and national initiatives to improve energy efficiency, EnEfect has been supporting the efforts of the Bulgarian central and local authorities and the private sector for sustainable energy development for more than 30 years. Currently, EnEffect acts as the secretariat of the Municipal Network for Energy Efficiency EcoEnergy, and as part of the international consortium EEE (Econoler – EnEffect – Elana) manages the Bulgarian Fund for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Sources, created with the support of the Global Environmental Fund, the World Bank and the Bulgarian government.