The Brunck district as a showpiece project at the Renovate Europe Day in Brussels
At the Renovate Europe Day end of 2019 in Brussels, Belgium, exemplary renovation projects such as the energy-efficient Brunck district construction project in Ludwigshafen, Germany, were honoured at the European Parliament by experts in sustainable construction. The workers’ housing estate from the 1930s underwent integrated energy-efficient renovation between 1997 and 2006. At the heart of this renovation in Ludwigshafen was the facade insulation with insulation materials made of Neopor®, which reduces CO2 emissions and cuts heating costs thanks to its excellent insulation performance.
The Brunck district in Ludwigshafen enjoyed well-deserved recognition at the Renovate Europe Day. In a long-term monitoring project spanning 12 years, experts examined the anticipated advantages of the sustainable structures. The result was that the Brunck district performed well in the areas of technical characteristics, living quality, and cost-effectiveness. Its extremely positive energy balance over the long term is another success story. Here you can read more about the results of the study.
The inspiration for the annual Renovate Europe Day was the Renovate Europe Campaign (REC) that was launched in 2011. This campaign is an initiative of the European Alliance of Companies for Energy Efficiency in Buildings (EuroACE). Its aim is to reduce the energy consumption of the EU building stock by 80 per cent by 2050 in comparison with 2005. The REC is calling for the Europe-wide implementation of ambitious renovation strategies to help triple the annual renovation rate for old buildings in the EU from 1 to 3 per cent by 2020 and to exclusively promote full or phased energy-efficient renovations. The REC enjoys the support of more than 40 partners from industry and civil society.
At Renovate Europe Day 2019, representatives from politics and business from the whole of Europe spoke about current renovation projects and their financing. A three-day exhibition was held in the European Parliament around Renovate Europe Day to provide background information about the showpiece projects to all interested parties. These examples demonstrate the important contribution that insulation of the building envelope makes to the energy consumption of a building and that energy-efficient renovation is not only possible but already common practice for many years.