My research is a part of syn.ikia, which is a European research project funded by Horizon 2020. The overarching goal of syn.ikia is to develop sustainable plus energy neighbourhoods, with four demonstration projects across Europe in different climate zones. Each demo project responds to its local context of climate, policies and regulations. There is a strong focus on reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, generating renewable energy, increase energy flexibility, and ensuring high quality indoor environments. Further, the project considers social sustanability, and seeks to provide social benefits for the inhabitants, such as shared services and infrastructure.
The word syn.ikia comes from Greek, where «syn» means plus and «ikia» means «house». Together it means both «neighbourhood» and «plus house», refering to neighbourhoods with a surplus of renewable energy generation.
Syn.ikia seeks to demonstrate that sustainable positive energy neighbourhoods are affordable and a means to decarbonize the building stock. The project is lead by Niki Gaitani and NTNU, and consists of 13 partners in the EU.
Read more about the project at syn.ikia’s website.