If solar energy is to displace a significant amount of fossil fuel, solar systems must be readily adaptable to existing buildings as well as new buildings. Under this task, a number of the most promising solar concepts and systems for building renovation will be explored and strategies for incorporating these strategies in the renovation process will be developed.

The initial activity of this task will be the analysis of the performance of existing solar renovation projects which appear to have broadly applicable design concepts. A variety of building types will be included in the study. Building on the information gained from these case studies, participants will investigate improved and advanced solar renovation system concepts with high potential for energy savings and replication. They will document the design concepts vis-a-vis energy performance, indoor climate, environmental impacts, etc. In addition they will assess the need for improved products for the renovation process.

The IEA researchers will then create designs for new solar renovation projects which incorporate the most promising concepts investigated. They will also develop common performance monitoring procedures and reporting formats. 

To disseminate the results of the project to architects and engineers, the participants will document the solar renovation strategies analyzed and tested, the lessons learned from the demonstration buildings, and guidelines for proper implementation of the tested concepts. Further information transfer will also take place when results of the task are reported at international and national symposia organized on the subject.