Implementing adapted Passive House standards in public buildings. Retrofitting of a university building in Brussels, Belgium.

The rational use of energy is a major challenge that today’s societies have to win. A major step in this direction is to reduce the energy consumption of existing buildings. Among present certifications, the Passive House standards set the lowest energy consumption (regarding heating demand). However, the vast majority of Passive House buildings are new residential constructions with some refurbishment projects. This paper uses dynamic building simulations and meteorological data for Brussels (northern part of Europe) to assess the technical and economical feasibilities of implementing adapted Passive House standards in public buildings, retrofitted as well as new constructions. Results show that this could be done. This is however only made possible by using a combination of different heating and, most important, cooling reduction strategies. The use of active heating/cooling systems seems unavoidable as well.