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Pioneering energy upgrade through sponsorships from Greenpeace, the Municipality of Moschato-Tavros and the Hellenic Passive Building Institute
The Tavros Project is in full development, through which a refugee apartment building in the Tavros area will reduce its energy costs to zero. The upgrade of the building at 211 Piraeus Street is progressing with the support of the citizens through donations from the Hellenic Institute of Passive Buildings (EIPAK), Greenpeace and the Municipality of Moschatos – Tavros. As Greenpeace announced, in terms of sponsorship, 100% of the thermal insulation materials of the shell, 70% of the frames and 60% of the ventilation systems have been secured. However, as they point out in their post, “there are costs that are not covered by sponsorships, so just before the renovation works begin, we need everyone’s support to get us on the final stretch.” In particular, the following are missing: solar water heaters for 3 apartments, 20 Kwp photovoltaic system on the roof (without the inverter), air conditioning units for 6 apartments, window frames for two apartments and the communal ones, ventilation systems for 4 apartments and scaffolding of 600 sq.m. perimeter of the building for the works. The eight families living in the old building that will be upgraded are experiencing something familiar to many of the city’s residents: very cold humid winters and unbearably hot summers At the same time, they are burdened by the energy crisis, wasting large amounts of money to air-condition their residence, but to no avail.
Passive house
The Tavros Project aims to bring families from the past… to the passive house, i.e. a zero-emissions building that will also produce its own energy. Technologies that are coming to Greece for the first time will be used, in order to be tested and introduced to the eligible materials in our country, while the entire apartment building will be used as a hub for education, information and innovation support. The building is a typical worker’s apartment building, built in the 70s with an area of ​​approximately 750 m2, which, after its renovation according to the passive building standard, will not only offer conditions of thermal comfort and indoor air quality, but it will essentially eliminate its carbon footprint as well, practically fulfilling the requirements that will have to be applied from 2030. It will operate continuously between 20 and 25°C, simultaneously regulating the relative humidity (35-55%) and the C02 levels (below 1,000 ppm), leading to superior indoor air quality.
Design template
Passive building is a design standard that achieves thermal comfort with minimal heating and cooling using five key principles: insulation, airtightness, appropriate window and door design, ventilation systems with heat recovery and minimization of thermal bridges. A passive building maintains an annual indoor temperature between 20°C and 25°C, a relative humidity between 35-55% and a C02 concentration below 1,000 ppm. The temperature range does not change regardless of the outside temperature.
The idea started in Germany in the 1990s and in 2022 it has been studied and successfully implemented all over the world. In Greece, the passive building concept has been successfully developed and implemented since 2010 through the Hellenic Passive Building Institute.