Suchergebnisse

The use of solar energy constitutes a great concern of national and international bodies, as a result of a strategic policy towards green energy consumption. The Portuguese regulations on building thermal behaviour and energy efficiency, recently enacted by the Portuguese Government, in line with the European Union Directive 2002/91/CE, have introduced the obligatory use of solar collector technology for hot water production applied to new building projects and to some important retrofit works. To cope with the prescriptions of these regulations, the solar technology market is been growing and the Portuguese project designers and construction professionals are founding new challenges. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyse the major problems and initial impacts of the obligatory implementation of solar collector technology in buildings and provide contributions to improve solar energy use in the future. The results show that, as almost all new technology implementation, some obstacles have always to be faced initially.

In the beginning of this decade, the Portuguese Program E4 – Energy Efficiency and Endogenous Energies have proposed an ambitious goal of 1 million m2 of solar collector area in Portugal until 2010. To cope with this, it was implemented in 2001 by Portuguese Government the National Program Solar Hot Water for Portugal (IP-AQSpP). The Portuguese new Thermal Regulations (RCCTE) opens to all constructions partners a new opportunity for implementing more strongly renewable energy technologies in buildings.

The use of solar energy constitutes a great concern of national and international bodies, as a result of a strategic policy towards green energy consumption. The Portuguese regulations on building thermal behaviour and energy efficiency, recently enacted by the Portuguese Government, in line with the European Union Directive 2002/91/CE, have introduced the obligatory use of solar collector technology for hot water production applied to new building projects and to some important retrofit works. To cope with the prescriptions of these regulations, the solar technology market is been growing and the Portuguese project designers and construction professionals are founding new challenges. The purpose of this study is to identify and analyse the major problems and initial impacts of the obligatory implementation of solar collector technology in buildings and provide contributions to improve solar energy use in the future. The results show that, as almost all new technology implementation, some obstacles have always to be faced initially.

The legal framework concerning the construction industry is closely related with the industry's specificities in each country. With the increasing globalisation of the economy, particularly in the European Union, there is a trend for a normalisation of the legal framework related to construction practices. In terms of professional practice in construction in Portugal, the graduate professionals are architects, civil engineers and technical civil engineers. In order to legally practise in the field, architects must be registered in the Order of Architects, civil engineers with the Order of Engineers and technical civil engineers with the Professional Association of Technical Engineers. The legal framework for the activity of these different professions has long been established by the Decree Law 73/1973. As regards the construction management profession, these professionals are not obliged by law to fulfil any specific educational requirements nor are they subject to any legal regime regulating their activities. However, it is generally recognised that the Institutions of Higher Education in Portugal do not provide the competencies required for an efficient practice in the area of construction management. The Bologna Model establishes that the definition of the objectives of the course subjects be centred in terms of the learning outcomes. It appears that with the new curricula structure, which emphasises competencies to be acquired, the institutions of higher education are better prepared to mach their educational activities with the needs of business community.

Nowadays, the energetic rehabilitation of buildings constitutes an increasing concern of national and international bodies, as a result of a strategic policy towards energy efficiency. In Portugal, one of the most current problems in buildings is thermal bridging. This is a significant source of heat building loss. The prevention of these types of pathologies is essential, for there are an enormous number of existing buildings that reveal such problems and therefore require rehabilitation. New building regulations on thermal behaviour and energy efficiency were recently enacted by the Portuguese Government, following the European Union Directive 2002/91/CE. To cope with the prescriptions of the new regulations, a better thermal quality in the building envelope is required. The rehabilitation of buildings is becoming a great issue. This study is part of wider research to investigate cost-effective constructive solutions of rehabilitation for the improvement of envelope thermal behaviour. From the results of previous studies which characterized the most current and problematic envelope zones, a simulation computer program was used to test the behaviour of several different solutions in order to minimise pathologies caused by thermal bridging. Preliminary results show that it is possible to get adequate solutions that fit harmoniously with the architecture of façades and with decoration of the internal spaces. Further studies will be needed to provide construction designers and builders with appropriate solutions to make the rehabilitation process even easier.

Local level energy policies are gradually being seen as a main driver to raise energy efficiency in the housing sector which is claimed to have a high potential for energy savings. Local initiatives are already part of energy policies aiming to go beyond the usual top-down government's approach that stems from the interlinkage between national and international policies. Hence, a shift from government to governance is in transition, grounded not only but also in dialog and partnerships involving multiple local actors from different levels in networks rather than in hierarchical organizations. However, little research has been carried out so far regarding the understanding of the specific challenges and the potential of such local governance strategies, as well as their support by national policies. Semistructured in-depth interviews with different stakeholders involved were conducted to make emerge key subjects to this critique. The research outcomes shed some light on the fact that proximity with the homeowners in energy policies is an ultimate key to pursue their success. Municipalities interweaved with other local organizations seem to have promising abilities and structures to be facilitators and intermediaries in order to act as policy vehicles to engage the homeowners in a house renovation practice. The results also suggest that strengthening the sense of neighbourhood, community and cooperation pave the way to empowering network-based programmes. Insights about how local public and private parties together could collaborate in innovative local policies schemes to promote house energy-related renovations are revealed. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

In Portugal there are many heritage buildings with patrimonial, historical and cultural values in an advanced degradation process. Generally, the manor houses and small palaces were built mostly in villages and away from areas with more population. In many cases they have areas and space above conventional ones which required extensive maintenance costs. On other hand, these heritage buildings has unparalleled architectural features and uniqueness in addition to all the wealth and associated history. The architectonical valorization and rehabilitation works of this type of housing has generally some constraints that are not only related with their work specificities but also with other factors many others related with misunderstandings among owners, inheritance problems, lack of money for investment, and others. These manor houses and small palaces were generally occupied by affluent families whose economic and societal position ended up being lost over the years and due to changes in political regimes. However, it is possible to adapt this kind of buildings to new typologies of use, compatible and not disturbing the original occupation, such as the use for the tourism sector. The article describes a case study that involves the surveying of constraints and other problems concerning the rehabilitation works of manor houses and small palaces. The definition of adjusted and compatible solutions are duly balanced and weighted for each case. These solutions are based on the adoption of sustainable practices that allow a certain speed and certainties in the rehabilitation works of the built heritage. Also, the rehabilitation solutions are focused on the principles of sustainability and are adjusted for this purpose using some measures and ideas of a management system to support the rehabilitation works in buildings, which was developed in a former research project. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

In a time where there is a need for learning and sharing experience in policies across the EU, local level strategies are gradually seen as a main driver to increase energy efficiency and reduce primary energy demand in buildings. Policies which are closer to the individuals represent an easier way of communicating the benefits of building energy renovation. Recent studies demonstrate that people consider local authorities better than national ones at responding to their needs and when it comes to getting important things done. In some countries, information centres and energy advice programmes operate at local level providing expertise and independent advice. In addition, local initiatives and leadership networks are reported as one of the most trusted sources of information by many householders, with social network and strong local leaders having an important role. An analysis is conducted of local policies implemented in Portugal and a comparative assessment is made based on best-practice examples considered in policy evaluation reports from European countries. This study shed more light to the fact that the central governments and agencies needs to be closer to householders and work together with municipalities and local organizations to implement available advice for householders. Working at the local social environment can be cost-effective with the municipalities playing a front stage role. Some recommendations are provided for the improvement of the current policy instruments and implementation of new ones in Portugal. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion