Wetenschap

[Video] Second skin to make old houses energy neutral

Everyone knows them: old buildings that are impossible to heat in winter, but way too hot in summer. Demolish the old and build new houses on the same spot would be the easiest thing to do. But there are other solutions.

In Vlaardingen, the Waterweg Wonen housing corporation chose to renovate these old buildings and make them energy neutral. The residents stayed in their houses during the renovations and the rent stayed the same. TU Delft helped the corporation with its communication with the residents and the energy calculations.  


A second ‘skin’ was built around the houses: 20 centimetres of painted styrofoam. It was fitted with new windows; the roof was insulated and fitted with solar panels; and the floor was completely insulated. Any additional units, such as heating and so on, was installed inside the skin.