Energy renovation of multi-family buildings in Sweden : An evaluation of life cycle costs, indoor environment and primary energy use, and a comparison with constructing a new building
Sammanfattning: Residential buildings account for 27% of the final energy use in the European Union. In cold climates, space heating represents the largest proportion of the energy demand in residential buildings. By implementing energy efficiency measures (EEMs) in existing buildings, energy use can be significantly reduced. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive states that renovations of buildings offer an opportunity to improve energy efficiency. Renovations that include measures implemented with the specific purpose of reducing energy use are referred to as energy renovations. In addition to improving energy efficiency, an energy renovation can also improve the indoor environment. Sweden, like many other European countries, faces the challenge of renovating an ageing building stock with poor energy performance. Improving energy efficiency and performing energy renovations in a cost-effective manner is central, and optimization approaches are often used to identify suitable EEMs and energy renovation approaches. New buildings usually feature better energy performance compared to older buildings, and one approach for reducing energy use in the building sector could be to demolish old buildings with poor thermal performance and build new buildings with better thermal performance.The aim of this thesis is to evaluate energy renovations of multi-family buildings with regard to space heating demand, life cycle costs, indoor environment and primary energy use. The choice between energy renovation of a multi-family building and the demolition and construction of a new one is also investigated with regard to life cycle costs (LCCs). A Swedish multi-family building in which energy renovation has been carried out is used as a case study. The building was originally constructed in 1961 and has a lightweight concrete construction. The renovation included improving the thermal performance of the building envelope and replacing the exhaust air ventilation system with a mechanical supply and exhaust air ventilation system with heat recovery.The methods used in the studies include dynamic whole building energy simulation, life cycle cost analysis and optimizations, and a questionnaire on indoor environment perception. Extensive field measurements have been performed in the building prior to and after renovation to provide input data and to validate numerical predictions. In addition to the studied building, the analysis of the choice between energy renovation and the demolition and construction of a new building includes three other building construction types, representing common Swedish building types from the 1940s, 1950s and 1970s.The analysis shows that the energy renovation led to a 44% reduction in space heating demand and an improved indoor environment. The indoor temperature was higher after the renovation and the perception of the indoor temperature, air quality and noise in the building improved. The EEMs implemented as part of the energy renovation have a slightly higher LCC than the optimal combinations of EEMs identified in the LCC optimization. It is not cost-optimal to implement any EEMs in the building if the lowest possible LCC is the objective function. Attic insulation has a low cost of implementation but has limited potential in the studied building with its relatively good thermal properties. Insulation of the façade is an expensive measure, but has a great potential to reduce heat demand because of the large façade area. Façade insulation is thus required to achieve significant energy savings. Heat recovery in the ventilation system is cost-effective with an energy saving target above 40% in the studied building. The primary energy factors in the Swedish Building Code favor ground source heat pumps as a heat supply system in the studied building.The LCC of renovation is lower compared to demolishing and constructing a new building. A large proportion of the LCC of demolition and new construction relates to the demolition of the existing building. In a building with a high internal volume to floor area ratio, it is not always possible to renovate to the same energy performance level as when constructing a new building. A more ambitious renovation approach is also needed compared to a building with a smaller volume to floor area ratio.
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