On 11 October, there was an interesting interactive session with the participants of the oPEN Lab project in Genk, Belgium. The City of Genk, together with Stebo and VITO, gathered in the Nieuw Texas district in one of the 33 houses that will become part of the living lab. Discussion and Q&A sessions were organised in three themes: the monitoring campaign, the renovation concept and community engagement. In these sessions, the participants got the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the advantages and burdens of being part of the project.
One session included a small demonstration of the measurements that will be performed in the houses, showing amongst others, CO2 and temperature sensors, an IR camera and blower door test infrastructure. In a second session, the renovation concept and timeline of the construction works were discussed. A third session contained a brainstorm on how to strengthen the community spirit in the neighbourhood.
The oPEN Lab team in Genk is already planning the next session for the participants. At the end of November, we invite everyone to the educational centre for technology near the district, where people can learn more about the techniques that will be installed in their dwellings, such as heat pumps, solar panels etc.
