Circular Reno is an EU-funded project aiming to implement biobased materials in home retrofits and create an action plan to address housing and energy challenges. Natural resources like straw, wood, bio-polymers and miscanthus are developed as building materials for home retrofits, yielding significant outcomes, with participating tenants benefitting from lower energy bills, increased thermal comfort and improved indoor air quality, contributing to overall health and wellbeing. Emissions associated with the extraction, production and transportation of traditional materials are reduced, as is landfill waste at the end of their life cycle. In the farming sector, promoting agri-crops for biobased construction materials provides new income streams for farmers; establishing a value chain for the production of materials and offering opportunities for agricultural diversification.
Two pilot homes, one located in Clonygowan, Co. Offaly and the other at Ballycumber, Co. Offaly, were selected based on their age, condition and suitability for deep retrofit interventions. Circular Reno offers a vision of the future, providing a model for integrating biobased materials into retrofitting practices and allowing stakeholders to share and develop knowledge and learnings.