Full Project Key Objectives (5 years programme) :

Work Package 3 meets the 3 following key project objectives:

➢ Objective 1: Rational Use of Energy (RUE) : The two communities collectively aim to achieve dramatic reductions in energy consumption from a minimum of 39% to a maximum of 71% above current building standards through innovative urban planning, building design, and specification and management practices.

➢ Objective 2: Use of Renewable Energy Systems (RES): The two communities collectively aim to achieve dramatic increases in the supply of renewable energy, from a minimum of 40% to a maximum of 60% of the resultant energy demand for heating, cooling and power, based on the implementation of competitive cost biomass, solar and wind generation systems.

➢ Objective 3: The environmental impact of the remaining energy supply needs in Renaissance communities will be reduced by an integrated approach to energy management involving innovative management practices and advanced energy services to achieve energy efficiency increases and reductions in installation/operating/maintenance costs.

Full Project detailed Objectives under WP3.3.1 & WP3.3.2 :

• WP3.3.1: Rational Use of Energy (RUE) in Zaragoza
See : Full Project objectives, Deliverables & Description of work

• WP3.3.2: Use of Renewable Energy Systems (RES) in Zaragoza
See : Full Project objectives, Deliverables & Description of work

• WP3.3 : Management overview

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WP3.3.1: Rational Use of Energy (RUE) in Zaragoza

WP3.3.1: Full Project Objectives (4 years programme):

• To promote the adoption of high energy performance criteria as standard practice in Zaragoza and further afield by means of direct demonstration in both new build (Valdespartera) and refurbishment (Picarral) building projects at a large scale community level.
• To apply solutions that are attractive and desirable for residents, practical for constructors, possible for public sector responsible for social housing and that therefore have a high instant replicability potential and can make a real ongoing impact in terms of overall energy demand and consumption.
• The City Council expects the demonstration results to provide sufficient evidence of benefits to enable further municipal regulation to promote more sustainable construction.

WP3.3.1: Final Deliverables

• 616 new-build homes in Valdespartera: 54% thermal energy saving, 38% electrical energy saving.
• 358 refurbished homes in Picarral: 44% thermal energy saving, 22% electrical energy saving.
• 1 public building (6.000 m2): 48% thermal energy saving, 74% electrical energy saving.
• 1 Exhibition / interpretation centre in Valdespartera (1.000 m2): 82% thermal energy saving, >100% electrical energy saving.


WP3.3.1: Description of work (4 years programme)

Specific demonstration foci are on:
• Valdespartera (616 new bio-climatic homes)
• Picarral Area (refurbishment of 358 homes)
• a School building (6 000m2 refurbishment & solar PV installation)
• the construction of a permanent exhibition and interpretation Centre (1.000 m2) , dedicated to energy use and sustainable urban development (in Valdespartera)


Valdespartera: 616 New Bio-climatic homes distributed in 4 plots of land and 10 buildings.
RENAISSANCE-Concerto project will support the eligible proportion of the following measures:
• 40-50% more insulation than required by national building standards
• Thermally efficient windows (k < 2 W/m2k)
• Passive elements for direct and indirect solar gain (> 40% of openings facing south and > 60% with glazed solar spaces)
• Solar protection (overhangs, canopies, blinds, etc.)
• Efficient lighting in communal areas based o efficient lighting and zoned time and/or presence control.
• Centralised space heating and cooling systems for each block or group of blocks using low temperature, gas fired modulating boilers with impulse temperature control related to exterior temperature.
• Hot water distribution networks (space heating and domestic hot water, DHW) with more insulation than required by building reg.s, correct hydraulic and thermostatic regulation and individual metering for each home.
• Pre-installation of cooling in one of the plots using high efficiency installations and a distribution network compatible with the heating network (note: design to permit possible future conversion to use of solar absorption cooling in the future).
• Solar thermal collector to meet 60% of the annual energy demand for DHW heating.

The building and urban design also includes the following factors that will reduce energy demand:
• Design for predominance of cross ventilation
• Communal gardens with abundance of large deciduous trees (providing summer shade, allowing winter solar gains), water laminas, fountains and sprays (for evaporative cooling).

The expected results represent a 70% improvement on 2006 national standards and 20%-30% more than would be achieved in the Valdespartera plan without Concerto support. In this way, there is a high potential for these extra performance to be achievable and replicated without additional support in the remaining phases of the Valdespartera development (10 000 homes in total).
Investing partner: SMRUZ


358 Homes to be refurbished in Picarral (area) with bio-climatic criteria.
RENAISSANCE-Concerto project will support the eligible proportion of the following measures:
• 40-50% more insulation than required by building standards
• Renovation of windows or improvement of the insulating properties of the glazing with external secondary glazing on the facade
• Solar protection (overhangs, canopies, blinds, etc.) on the most needy facades
• Individual space heating and cooling systems for each block or group of blocks using low temperature, gas fired modulating boilers with impulse temperature control related to exterior temperature.
• Solar thermal collector to meet 60% of the annual energy demand for DHW heating
• Efficient lighting in communal areas based o efficient lighting and zoned time and/or presence control

The area has been chosen due to the active residents association and their explicit pressure on the local authorities to act & to improve their quality of life.
Investing partner: SMRUZ


1 School building to be refurbished (6 000m2).
RENAISSANCE-Concerto project will support the eligible proportion of the following measures:
• Thermally efficient windows
• 40-50% more insulation than required by building standards
• Secondary glazing for wind-exposed orientations (North-West ±30º)
• Solar protection (overhangs, canopies, blinds, etc.)
• Efficient space and water heating systems using low temperature, gas fired modulating boilers with impulse temperature control related to exterior temperature.

There will also be a solar PV installation (see WP 3.3.2 section). The school has an active environmental education programme and, specifically, a carbon control project. The students will be actively involved in the project’s development and monitoring of the results.
Investing partner: Ayto. of Zaragoza


Construction in Valdespartera of an emblematic public building, a permanent exhibition and interpretation Centre dedicated to energy use and sustainable urban development.
The building will be both a demonstration show-piece and an educational tool for dissemination of the results to a wide ranging public. It will include all the measures incorporated in the other three building types. The difference is that the measures will be made visible by cut away sections, displays, transparent panels, interpretation notices etc. In this way, both those living in the high performance houses and those visiting the area will be able to see, touch, feel, sense the difference between an Eco-building and a standard building and hopefully choose more sustainable options and habits as a result.

The building will go further than the other buildings in terms of performance standards in order to demonstrate what the near-future objectives for high performance will be. In line with its demonstration/interpretation function (see WP 3.3.2 section), this Centre will include a biomass boiler, solar/biomass absorption cooling and will be linked to a wind generator with the display of net generation - consumption aspects of the building.
Investing partner: EVZ

WP3.3.2: Use of Renewable Energy Systems (RES) in Zaragoza

WP3.3.2: Full Project Objectives (4 years programme):

• Demonstrate Solar thermal in Social housing on sufficient scale to make possible a solar ordinance “post-Concerto”
• Use wind power as a symbol for the development and increase acceptance to its use in the Zaragoza region.
• Demonstration of visible building integrated solar photovoltaic for educational purposes.
• Small-scale biomass demonstration to enable work towards the establishment of an ESCO to supply future phases of Valdespartera with more sustainable energy.
• Integration of biomass and solar thermal to demonstrate RES for cooling with absorption technology.

WP3.3.2: Final Deliverables

• Generation of 3.270MWh/yr of electricity from wind energy
• Generation of 60 MWh/yr of electricity from solar energy
• Saving of 739 MWh/yr of thermal energy (60% of domestic hot water consumption, 10% of the reference thermal consumption).
• A business plan for the set up of an ESCo with the specific objective of constructing and operating a biomass fired co-gen plant to contribute to the communities energy needs in a highly efficient and sustainable way.

WP3.3.2: Description of work (4 years programme)

• Installation of 1.6 MWe + 35 kWe generation capacity of wind energy (1600MW ENDESA + 35kWe additional in Valdespartera centre) - completion by December 2008.
• Installation of 62 KWp generation capacity of photovoltaic energy (52 kWp educational building + 10kWp Valdespartera centre), completion by December 2009
• Installation of 1 355 m2 of solar thermal collectors (new build + refurb housing + Valdespartera centre):
• 832 m2 in 616 new homes, Valdespartera (SMRUZ), completion by December 2006
• 483 m2 in 358 refurbished homes, Picarral (SMRUZ), completion by December 2007
• 40 m2 in Valdespartera (EVZ), completion by December 2009
• Installation of a 50 kW biomass boiler for space heating (Valdespartera centre), completion by December 2009
• 70kW of cooling from absorption in equal parts from biomass and solar thermal (Valdespartera centre), completion by December 2009
• Preparatory work for the creation of an ESCO to promote and manage a biomass fired co-gen plant for heating, cooling and electricity generation.

WP3.3 : Management overview