The first apartment building participating in the oPEN Lab project in Annelinn was transformed into a modern, energy-efficient building. The integrated renovation increases the quality of life of the residents of the municipality-owned social housing block and reduces their monthly costs.
In renovating the five-storey municipal apartment building, several construction-innovation approaches were used that can help make the renovation process for large apartment buildings more efficient in the future and support the uptake of new, energy-saving renovation methods. The building was renovated using factory-prefabricated panels that already include insulation, windows, ventilation ducting and the necessary structural components. For the end wall of the Mõisavahe street building, an innovative panel-fixing solution was used: the panels on the four lower floors bear on the foundations, while the top-floor panels bear on an intermediate ring beam. This solution can also be applied to a nine-storey building, where the lower five floors would bear on the foundations and the upper four floors on the intermediate ring beam.
The panels were delivered to the site and fixed directly to the building’s wall, meaning there was no need to erect scaffolding around the building and the entire renovation process proceeded quickly and smoothly. As a result, there were also significantly fewer disruptions for residents during the renovation.
With funding from the oPEN Lab project, building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) were installed, which simultaneously serve as façade cladding and as an energy generator. Typically, solar panels are installed on a building’s roof; however, on taller buildings, the roof area is often too small to cover the energy needs of all floors. As a solution, the project tested solar panels integrated into façade panels.
Using the façade surface area made it possible to increase energy generation and achieve Energy Class A. The energy produced by the panels is used within the building or, when production is higher, stored in a battery system. The oPEN Lab project also enabled the installation of system measurement sensors in the building, allowing monitoring of the building’s energy consumption and the effectiveness of the solutions used. As a further construction innovation, the ventilation solution is noteworthy: to save space, the project tested the use of a shared ventilation duct for two apartments.
In addition to the above, the heating, electrical, low-voltage, water and sewerage systems were upgraded; the stairwells and basement floor were refurbished; and the surrounding outdoor space was improved. Two electric vehicle charging points were built in front of the building, available for public use by all residents in the area.
