The Spanish wine sector has great relevance in economic, social and environmental issues, being the country with the largest area of vineyards and reaching in 2013 the pole into production. In the wine sector is common to find non-sustainable buildings that require powerful air-conditioning systems to maintain suitable conditions for aging and conservation of wine, leading to high energy consumptions. On the other hand, unsuitable aging conditions during the storage will result in loss of quality of wine and evaporation losses.
Specifically, the project is based on the characterization of the constructive aspects and the quantification of the cost, the characterization of the internal hygrothermal environment, the quantification of the energy consumption of the more powerful equipment, and the development and validation of new thermal simulation models. This project aims to promote energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in the wine sector through the process of building the aging cellars in order to achieve near zero energy buildings (NZEB). To this end, we propose a large-scale study based on the characterization of a high number of wineries distributed throughout the country, with a strong involvement of the business sector. The ultimate objective is to determine the effectiveness of different designs and complementary bioclimatic solutions used to provide adequate hygrothermal conditions, determining which are the most profitable. Project results, compiled in a handbook for the promotion and development of the NZEB for aging wine, will lead to momentum towards international leadership in building techniques wineries as well as at improving energy efficiency systems thereof.
Principal Investigator: Ignacio Cañas
Title of the project: Bioclimatic design strategies in wine cellars as nearly zero-energy buildings models
Acronym: COWINERGY