PLEA2009 - 26th Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Quebec City, Canada, 22-24 June 2009 Improvement of Energy Performances of Existing Buildings in Suburban Settlements Prof. Dr. ALEKSANDRA KRSTIC-FURUNDZIC, Dipl.Eng.Arch 1 , VESNA KOSORIC, MA Dipl.Eng.Arch-PhD Candidate 2 1 Department of Architectural technologies, Faculty of Architecture – University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia 2 SEEEA d.o.o., Belgrade, Serbia ABSTRACT: The research on improvement of energy performances of the existing building in suburban settlement Konjarnik in Belgrade, by application of active solar systems: solar thermal collectors and PV modules, is presented in the paper. The case study shows different design variants of integration of solar thermal collectors and PV modules in envelope of a multifamily building. Considering integration complexity of active solar systems, the following aspects of active solar systems integration are analyzed in the paper: energy, architectural, ecological and economic aspects. Keeping in mind all these aspects, parameters and criteria for evaluation of design variants are established. According to the established evaluation methodology, the design variant with the highest evaluation value is selected as optimal. Keywords: building refurbishment, solar systems application, architectural integration, improvement of energy performances, reduction of CO 2 emissions. INTRODUCTION Sustainable approach to building refurbishment represents methodology that includes decision-making based on coordination between demands, aims, building refurbishment technologies and capacity to change indicator. Methodological access includes application of appropriate phases, procedures and measures, depending on aims (Fig. 1). Figure 1: Methodological access to building refurbishment [1] Main target on which this paper is directed is achieving energy savings through building refurbishment, more exactly by application of solar thermal collectors and PV modules, achievement of solar energy gains and reduction of fossil fuels consumption. METHODOLOGY After II World War, lot of suburban settlements had been built in Belgrade. The residential buildings in settlement “Konjarnik“ are selected as the model on which possibilities for improvements of energy performances by application of solar systems are analysed in the paper. Figure 2: Location of „Konjarnik” on the map of city of Belgrade Figure 3: Typical south-west facade The analysis in the paper is hypothetical and it aims to show benefits of active solar systems application on residential buildings in Belgrade climate conditions. Methodological access includes treatments of existing state, consumer, solar system, architectural integration of solar system, reduction of CO 2 emissions, simple