"Local energy for the future" - is the slogan of the 2nd Distributed Energy Congress, which will take place in the fall of 2024 in Krakow. The city will once again become a space for discussing the future of the energy transition in Poland and the role played in it by local energy initiatives and the RES industry.
The 2nd Distributed Energy Congress will consist of two events - the 7th Distributed Energy Forum and the 2nd Distributed Energy Scientific Conference. The former will take place at the ICE Congress Center in Cracow on October 28 and 29 this year, where participants will be treated to, among other things, lectures delivered during 4 plenary and 15 thematic sessions, expert discussions, a literary scene and a coworking zone. Also planned are workshops, access to the catering area and a banquet with the presentation of the New Energy Creator award. The day after the Forum, on October 30, 2024, the Second Distributed Energy Science Conference will be held, with topics including distributed energy source and storage technologies, the interaction of distributed energy sources with urban power grids, or environmental and social issues related to the use of RES.
On the role of construction in distributed energy, we ask Dr. Eng. arch. Tomasz Wieja, one of the speakers at the 2nd Distributed Energy Congress.
Dr. hab. inż. arch. Tomasz Wieja
© photo from the interviewee's archive
Przemek Ciępka: How can buildings fit into the idea of distributed energy?
Tomasz Wieja: Buildings can fit into the idea of distributed energy in many ways, contributing to local energy production, storage and management. These include: renewable energy sources (photovoltaic panels, wind turbines or heat pumps), energy storage (e.g. lithium-ion batteries and intelligent energy management systems), energy efficiency (automation of energy infrastructure management to optimize energy use and thermal insulation of building structures of facilities), grid integration through the use of microgrids that allow local energy exchange between different units such as other buildings, local renewable energy sources and storage systems, and design with green roofs and walls to reduce the urban heat island effect, among others.urban heat island effect, among others. Examples of buildings that are already implementing these technologies include so-called "passive houses" and LEED or BREEAM-certified buildings that combine different technologies to maximize energy efficiency and minimize carbon footprint.
Przemek Ciępka: What are the characteristics of zero-emission and plus-energy construction?
Tomasz Wieja: Zero- and plus-energy construction are advanced approaches to designing and operating buildings to minimize their environmental impact. The goal of zero- and plus-energy construction is to reduce the negative environmental impact of buildings by reducing energy consumption, carbon emissions and water use, as well as promoting sustainable building practices and the use of renewable energy sources. One of the hallmarks of zero-carbon construction is that buildings produce as much energy as they can consume in a year. This means that their energy balance is zero. The factors that make this possible are the use of renewable energy sources, high energy efficiency achieved through insulation and airtightness of buildings, passive design and reduction of energy needs (intelligent energy control systems). An additional environmental factor is the minimization of the carbon footprint in terms of low emissions and the implementation of building materials with a low carbon footprint, often recycled or locally sourced. In the context ofPlus Energy Building, the difference with zero-emission building is that buildings produce more energy than they consume in a year. So they are energy sources, which means they can contribute to stabilizing local energy grids by providing surplus energy during periods of high demand. In addition, building facilities determine the stability of the energy grid by reducing dependence on external energy sources. This makes it possible to promote the development of local energy systems based on renewable sources. Zero- and plus-energy buildings are a key component of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote sustainability in the building sector.
Przemek Ciępka: In the context of distributed energy, we increasingly hear about the circular economy. Does architecture also have something to say in this regard? What are the assumptions and goals of circular architecture?
Tomasz Wieja: The concept of circular economy, known as Circular Economy, is a holistic strategy to address the problem of environmentally destructive waste while wasting raw materials. The focus of circular architecture is on the life stages of buildings, referred to in professional terminology as A and C (A - extraction of raw materials, transportation and production; C - demolition and disposal). This is thinking of architecture as a resource that can be reused in the future by decomposing the components of a designed building structure, translocating them to another location or transforming an existing building for new functions. The 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) principle is at work in the modern circular economy . Reduce is the reduction of production waste to the maximum. Reuse is the use of products, materials and reprocessing. Recycle is to segregate waste and recycle it. Circular architecture is embedded in the 3Rs principle, which is one of the key elements in the planning and implementation of the circular economy. The design of circular buildings aims to minimize the negative impact on the environment by applying the principles ofcircular economy. Buildings designed according to the principles of circular economy not only use recycled materials, but also the entire buildings are shaped so that in the future it is possible to recover, after demolition or adaptation, their structural elements. In this context, the intention to design perpetual architecture should be replaced by the idea of determining, at the design stage, the duration of a building object. This innovative approach to architectural design, withlife cyclethinking, avoids transferring environmental burdens from one stage of a building's life to the next. The use of green solutions in architecture, based on secondary materials and renewable sources, is therefore an indispensable part of circular economy.
Przemek Ciępka: What actually characterizes circular design and what difficulties does it pose for architects? What are the most important trends in such design?
Tomasz Wieja: Circular design is mainly about determining reasonable market ways to extend the life of a building and consciously planning the date of its death. Since the design of circular architecture is a new ideological concept subordinated to contemporary building development strategies, it requires architects to take a holistic approach to design. This generates new challenges due to the complexity of the design process. The essence of this type of design, and perhaps the greatest difficulty in the material and functional areas, is to anticipate the possible transformation of the spatial structure of the building to new unknown functions, and to determine the technology of implementation in the context of maximum recovery of building materials. This determines the complexity of the design process, including the acquisition of new skills by architects, such as knowledge of sustainability, life cycle analysis, materials science and recycling technologies. The importance of developing public awareness through education, especially investors and future users of facilities, should also be emphasized here. Among the significant design problems we can also include the lack of legislation responsible for the possibility of implementing circular projects. As for the trends in the design of this type of objects, meeting the ideological assumptions, in the area of functional and formal guidelines we can enumerate, among others.: structural adaptability, modularity (the principle of blocks), biomimicry (inspiration from nature), collage aesthetics, additivity and component separations (tolerances between structural elements and legibility of assembly), and simplicity and anticipatory statics of the structural system. Meanwhile, in the material area, these include layering (the use of materials that do not meet contemporary technical parameters), locality (the use of local resources), reconfiguration and encoding of meaning, i.e. the implementation of old elements in new contexts, and ensuring product durability and reparability or upcycling. Circular architecture is an approach that poses many challenges to architects, but also opens up new possibilities for creating sustainable, innovative and striking buildings. By integrating advanced technologies, sustainable materials and flexible solutions, circular design can significantly contribute to the goals of the circular economy and sustainable development.
Przemek Ciępka: What is urban mining and what implications does it have for construction processes?
Tomasz Wieja: Urban mining is the process of extracting recyclable materials from existing urban infrastructure, such as buildings, bridges, roads and other structures. It results in the creation of organizations and projects aimed at creating databases of construction materials and components and granting them so-called material passports. These are so-called "banks" of building components. The resources collected in such banks are the result of the activities of demolition companies, as well as design studios recognizing both the architectural and economic value of cataloging and distributing recovered materials. In Poland, precursor activities in this field are being carried out under the BUDO project, co-created by NIAiU. The consequences of introducing the idea of urban mining into the economy, in terms of the 3R principle, include: sustainable resource management, reduction of resource exploitation and construction waste management. In the context of the architectural design process, it is primarily design for dismantling, which requires knowledge of the application of advanced sorting and recycling technologies, the consequence of which can affect the cost and time of construction projects. It is also important to emphasize the social aspect of the development of urban mining, which can generate new jobs related to the dismantling, recycling and processing of materials. Urban mining has a significant impact on construction processes, promoting sustainable resource management and waste minimization. While urban mining comes with some challenges and upfront costs, it also offers numerous environmental, economic and social benefits, supporting the transition to a circular economy and a more sustainable future.
For more information on the 2nd Distributed Energy Congress, visit the event page.
