Paulina Kanaś, PhD student of the Faculty of Environmental Engineering at the Wrocław University of Technology, took the first place in the 16th Wrocław Magnolia competition. It evaluates master’s theses, which can improve the quality of life of Wrocław residents.

PhD student was awarded for the work “Analysis of the possibility of transforming a single-family building into a zero energy building” written under the guidance of Prof. Jan Danielewicz.

In the award-winning work, the basis for analysis were two models of single-family houses with comparable usable space that meet the basic requirements for thermal protection with gravity ventilation, equipped with underfloor heating and a system for preparing domestic hot water with a storage tank.

The key differences between the two buildings were dormers, balconies and overhangs. This allowed to show the influence of building geometry on the heating energy demand.