Energy Institute Vorarlberg
We advise, educate and research on meaningful energy use and renewable energy sources.
Research Projects
Since its foundation, the Energy Institute Vorarlberg has been involved in research issues and has participated in numerous projects on behalf of the state, federal government and the European Union – both as a project partner and as project lead. The research is always application-oriented. It covers a wide range of topics from sustainable mobility solutions to knowledge transfer in community development and resource-efficient lifestyles. Some selected projects can be found here.
AN OVERVIEW ON OUR PROJECTS
"Futuregreen" (Zukunftsgrün)
Zukunftsgrün creates training and educational opportunities for laypeople and specialists, builds a transdisciplinary network with experts from the planning and implementation of land design, demonstrates the scalability of biodiversity-friendly, climate-adapted land design using an organisation with 200+ locations and contributes to raising awareness among citizens, administration and business through intensive public relations work.
Wohngesund (healthy living)
The Interreg project “wohngesund” contributes to the development of transnational standards for healthy and ecological residential buildings in the Lake Constance region. In the “wohngesund” project, the standards for healthy and ecological residential buildings in the Lake Constance region were analyzed, harmonized and further developed on a cross-national, integrative and joint basis.
Research on residential buildings in Dafins 2018-2022
In the two-year residential construction research project, various hot water distribution systems were optimised, economically evaluated and tested in practice as an efficient alternative to the 4-pipe system. In addition, the use of PV systems of different sizes and orientations was investigated under the changed legal framework conditions (own use of PV electricity).
Südsan – Exemplary rehabilitation of South Tyrolean settlement
In the project, two multi-family houses of the South Tyrolean settlement in Bludenz are refurbished and the best solution in terms of energy and economy is determined. The building types of the settlement, which was built in 1943-62 with 397 residential units, are representative for large parts of the Austrian inventory. They are mostly preserved in their original condition and are heated exclusively by individual stoves.
RENEWnow – city of the future
In this exploratory project, a new approach for the high-efficiency refurbishment of multi-family houses in Austria will be defined and analyzed. This approach has the potential to mobilize the refurbishment market and to increase the refurbishment rate from currently below 1% by a factor of 3 to 5.
PEMO - Commuter Mobility
More than 50,000 commuters move daily across state borders in our region. Added to this is the national commuter traffic in the Alpine Rhine Valley. The consequences are high CO2 emissions, particulate matter and noise pollution. In the three-year Interreg project “PEMO”, cross-border strategies and measures to promote sustainable commuter mobility were developed and tested in practice.
Low Tech I Interreg Alpenrhein-Bodensee-Hochrhein
Concepts for energy-efficient, climate-compatible “low-tech” buildings in the Lake Constance region.
Low Cost nZEB – Interreg Austria-Bavaria
As part of the project, the project partners are working together with non-profit and commercial developers, planners and funding agencies in Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Bavaria. The international networking of science and the construction industry should contribute to the development of economic offers for nearly zero-energy buildings.
KoProLZK+
Cost and process optimization in the life cycle of ultra-low and plus-energy buildings
IMEAS
IMEAS (Integrated and Multi-level Energy Models for the Alpine Space) will engage different governments and economic sectors, supporting synergies between policies, political actions, disseminated methodologies and goal-oriented framework plans in the Alpine Space beyond 2020.
GreenSan I Interreg Alpenrhein-Bodensee-Hochrhein
Cross-border Resource-conserving, energy-efficient and sustainable Renovate
GO Altbau - Interreg Bavaria-Austria 2021-2027
Cross-border campaign for old buildings: renovation and climate adaptation: GO Altbau is intended to help eliminate the current bottlenecks in energy consulting due to the very high demand and to test and establish new consulting approaches and communication channels.
EUB SuperHub
European Hub for Sustainability and Energy Certification of Buildings: As more and more data on the operational use of buildings is available today and building quality can be tracked through various criteria, it is necessary to expand the certification process in the EU by developing a scalable methodology to consider, assess and monitor buildings throughout their life cycle.
BONUS Optimise use of existing stock, strengthen the environment (2020-2022)
The issue of creating living space is of great importance for cities and municipalities. With limited land availability and increasing settlement pressure, many local authorities are increasingly focussing on internal development and redensification.
ATLAS I Alpine Space
Advanced tools for low carbon and high quality development of historic architecture in the Alpine region The ATLAS project aims to (re)discover all traditional architecture (buildings and ensembles beyond the level of protection). These buildings are often located in neglected areas and offer low levels of energy efficiency and comfort.
AMIGO - Active Commuter mobility
In the three-year Interreg project “AMIGO” (Integrating Active Personal Mobility into Organizations’ Health Programs), measures for active commuter mobility are being developed, tested in the form of experiments in the participating pilot companies and analyzed afterwards.
Our brochure "Sustainable Building in Vorarlberg"
is intended to provide an exemplary view of the many innovative construction projects, products, tools, participants, and know-how used in Vorarlberg. It aims is to make all these elements visible as well as show alliances – in the knowledge that unfortunately only a few highlights can be mentioned. And this insight will hopefully be motivation to take a closer look behind the scenes and also be an inspiration to contact the actors in the region.
If you're about to organize a study visit to Vorarlberg and need assistance, or if you are looking for any information about renewable energy, sustainable building or mobility in Vorarlberg, feel free to