The joint community of the two EU projects "School of the Future" and "VERYSchool" gathers and presents information and examples of high performance school buildings within the EU. Besides case studies also guidelines, tools and training material are offered. Additional information such as results from national examples of (nearly) zero energy schools shall be added by the community members.

The aim of the project "School of the Future - Towards zero energy with high performance indoor environment" (www.school-of-the-future) is to design, demonstrate, evaluate and communicate shining examples of how to reach the future high performance building level. School buildings and their primary users pupils - the next generations - are in the focus of the project. Both, the energy and indoor environment performance of 4 demonstration buildings in 4 European countries and climates will be greatly improved due to holistic retrofit of the building envelope, the service systems, the integration of renewables and building management systems. The results and the accompanying research and dissemination efforts to support other actors dealing with building retrofits will lead to a multiplied impact on other schools and on the residential sector, since the pupils will act as communicators to their families.

VERYSchool (www.veryschool.eu) will integrate smart LED lighting, smart metering, BEMS, energy simulation and energy action management software into a platform called the Energy Action Navigator and demonstrate it in four pilot locations scattered in Europe. The platform will be customised and dedicated to schools. It will provide a methodology, approach, and tool for school decision makers, technicians, and ICT professionals alike to collectively address the issue of energy savings in schools. Energy efficient investments to help the EU meet its near and long term commitments will flow into replicable public building segments where they will have high impact. On the leading edge of this trend, VERYSchool will provide a complete set of practical knowledge, as well as cutting edge ICT hardware and software technologies to optimise building performance. In short, the world of energy efficiency in schools will be customised.