DWM partner Djadadji, which runs activities in the field of clean energy from its formal base in Bulgaria, has concluded its Staccato project. The objective of the project was to demonstrate the use of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures on a neighbourhood level. Although it took a good number of years, Arjan Visser, managing director of Djadadji, is proud of the results achieved. He explains that quite some novelties have been reached with the delivery of the project:
· The work has resulted in the most energy efficient hospital in Bulgaria, at least for each square meter of this very large medical care complex close to the heart of Sofia.
· For the first time, substantial social research has taken place In a retrofitting project dealing with the opinions and views of tenants/owners before and after the retrofitting ‘Plus’ to their buildings
· For the first time in Bulgaria, we were able to integrate block level solar thermal system into the district heating network, both for public as residential buildings.
· The Staccato project has provided numerous inputs to legislation and the promotion of Home Owner’s Associations as key element in the transforming of buildings, neighbourhoods and districts.
· With the Staccato project, the district of Oborishte has the largest number of retrofitted apartment buildings in Sofia. Further, this community now has the largest number of square meters of solar collectors for the whole of Bulgaria.
· For the first time, and ESCO approach was introduced in Bulgaria for residential buildings, but that did not work (well, in 2008) . As follow up, Staccato partners work on introducing new energy services for buildings.
· This demonstration site in Sofia, was the most eastward located in any of the Concerto projects (where sites in Western Europe dominated).
· For the first time, a hospital uses solar power as back-up system or UPS (Un-interrupted Power System).
Apart from the results and such novelties, we have created different tools to promote these results and innovative approaches. Apart from a number of deliverables that can also be found on the local Staccato website, a nice online movie about the process and results in Sofia on YouTube has been produced: see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeakjI6nL1c . Further, we actively promote the use of the robust design for a common solar thermal system for residential buildings in Bulgaria, specific for local (climatological and building) conditions.
