Evaluating retrofit options for specific buildings with low energy-performance in Skåne, Sweden, Focusing on energy use, environmental impact, profitability, and thermal comfort
(2024) AEBM01 20241Division of Energy and Building Design
- Abstract
- In pursuit of energy efficiency and sustainable development, goals have been set by the EU and Sweden to improve the energy performance of buildings and reduce their environmental impact. Renovating the existing building stock is a path to achieving the energy and climate goals. This study investigates and analyses various retrofitting options for multifamily residential buildings in Skåne, Sweden, concerning energy performance, life cycle cost, life cycle assessment, and thermal comfort.
Two multifamily buildings in Skåne with the lowest energy performance were chosen from the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning´s database. Information about the buildings was gathered from relevant literature, respective building... (More) - In pursuit of energy efficiency and sustainable development, goals have been set by the EU and Sweden to improve the energy performance of buildings and reduce their environmental impact. Renovating the existing building stock is a path to achieving the energy and climate goals. This study investigates and analyses various retrofitting options for multifamily residential buildings in Skåne, Sweden, concerning energy performance, life cycle cost, life cycle assessment, and thermal comfort.
Two multifamily buildings in Skåne with the lowest energy performance were chosen from the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning´s database. Information about the buildings was gathered from relevant literature, respective building owners, and city planning offices to create an energy model for both buildings, suited for simulation. A detailed parametric analysis was conducted, creating 560 cases for each of
the buildings, and included measures such as insulating the façade and roof, new windows, implementation of mechanical ventilation, and heat pump system. The results from the parametric analysis were used to evaluate the retrofitting options in different categories, namely, operational energy, profitability (life cycle cost), environmental impact (life cycle assessment), and thermal comfort (overheating hours). The energy model was created in Rhinoceros 3D and the parametric simulations were done with Grasshopper plug-in. Data for costs were collected from Wikell´s database and manufacturers, while the input data for environmental impact calculations were collected from relevant EPDs and the climate database of the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building, and Planning.
The results indicate that the best-retrofitted cases are different, depending on what factors are being analyzed and given priority. The best energy performance was achieved when all the measures were combined. Similarly, the retrofitting options with the lowest environmental impact consisted of all measures that reduce the operational energy and its impacts. Moreover, the combination with roof and façade insulation proved to be the most profitable option, due to the low investment cost relative to the energy savings. While other measures were less desirable when economic efficiency was the main aim. The implementation of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery was also a less desirable option from an environmental standpoint, due to its high embodied impact. On the contrary, heat pump systems and mechanical ventilation systems with heat recovery are preferred when prioritizing energy savings. The best thermal comfort can be achieved by using a mechanical ventilation system in combination with window replacement or roof insulation for building A and building B respectively. Consequently, the insulation of the roof proved to be a common measure in winning cases across all categories, while other measures varied across analysis categories. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Evaluating retrofit option for building with the lowest energy performance:
Energy use, profitability, environmental impact, and thermal comfort
Many buildings in Europe and Sweden currently have low energy performance and need retrofitting to become more efficient. To boost energy efficiency and support sustainable development, targets have been set by both the European Union and Sweden to improve the energy performance of buildings and reduce their environmental impact. One way to achieve these goals is to retrofit the existing buildings, but how should the best retrofitting measures be chosen?
This study seeks to find an answer to the question by evaluating how different retrofitting options affect the energy use, profitability,... (More) - Evaluating retrofit option for building with the lowest energy performance:
Energy use, profitability, environmental impact, and thermal comfort
Many buildings in Europe and Sweden currently have low energy performance and need retrofitting to become more efficient. To boost energy efficiency and support sustainable development, targets have been set by both the European Union and Sweden to improve the energy performance of buildings and reduce their environmental impact. One way to achieve these goals is to retrofit the existing buildings, but how should the best retrofitting measures be chosen?
This study seeks to find an answer to the question by evaluating how different retrofitting options affect the energy use, profitability, environmental impact, and thermal comfort of a building. It aims to find the most effective measures by analyzing their performance across each of these categories. The findings of this study reveal that the best-performing retrofitting options vary depending on the building´s characteristics and the specific focus of the analysis. The study also provides valuable insights on how prioritizing one aspect can lead to negative implications on the other analysis factors and therefore, emphasizes the importance of finding a balance between, energy efficiency, cost, environmental impact, and comfort to achieve the best overall results.
This study focused on two multifamily buildings with the most common characteristics in Skåne, Sweden, chosen from a database of buildings with the lowest energy performance. 560 different retrofitting options were evaluated for each building, such as adding insulation to the roof and façade, installing new windows, and implementing a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery and heat pump system.
The results of this study indicate that the best energy savings and lowest environmental impact can be achieved by combining all the retrofitting measures to reduce the operational energy and its impact. The most cost-effective retrofitting options consisted of façade and roof insulation, providing significant energy savings for a relatively low investment cost. The best thermal comfort was achieved by the implementation of a mechanical ventilation system with window replacements or roof insulation.
In summary, this study provides valuable information about retrofitting existing buildings to enhance the energy-savings, improve cost-effectiveness, provide good comfort for occupants,
and contribute to a sustainable future. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9169858
- author
- Hussaini, Rohullah LU and Lundgren, Gustav LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- AEBM01 20241
- year
- 2024
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Life Cycle Assessment, Life Cycle Cost, Energy use, Thermal comfort, Retrofitting, Buildings, Parametric analysis.
- language
- English
- id
- 9169858
- date added to LUP
- 2024-07-30 11:54:07
- date last changed
- 2024-07-30 11:54:07
@misc{9169858,
abstract = {{In pursuit of energy efficiency and sustainable development, goals have been set by the EU and Sweden to improve the energy performance of buildings and reduce their environmental impact. Renovating the existing building stock is a path to achieving the energy and climate goals. This study investigates and analyses various retrofitting options for multifamily residential buildings in Skåne, Sweden, concerning energy performance, life cycle cost, life cycle assessment, and thermal comfort.
Two multifamily buildings in Skåne with the lowest energy performance were chosen from the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning´s database. Information about the buildings was gathered from relevant literature, respective building owners, and city planning offices to create an energy model for both buildings, suited for simulation. A detailed parametric analysis was conducted, creating 560 cases for each of
the buildings, and included measures such as insulating the façade and roof, new windows, implementation of mechanical ventilation, and heat pump system. The results from the parametric analysis were used to evaluate the retrofitting options in different categories, namely, operational energy, profitability (life cycle cost), environmental impact (life cycle assessment), and thermal comfort (overheating hours). The energy model was created in Rhinoceros 3D and the parametric simulations were done with Grasshopper plug-in. Data for costs were collected from Wikell´s database and manufacturers, while the input data for environmental impact calculations were collected from relevant EPDs and the climate database of the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building, and Planning.
The results indicate that the best-retrofitted cases are different, depending on what factors are being analyzed and given priority. The best energy performance was achieved when all the measures were combined. Similarly, the retrofitting options with the lowest environmental impact consisted of all measures that reduce the operational energy and its impacts. Moreover, the combination with roof and façade insulation proved to be the most profitable option, due to the low investment cost relative to the energy savings. While other measures were less desirable when economic efficiency was the main aim. The implementation of mechanical ventilation with heat recovery was also a less desirable option from an environmental standpoint, due to its high embodied impact. On the contrary, heat pump systems and mechanical ventilation systems with heat recovery are preferred when prioritizing energy savings. The best thermal comfort can be achieved by using a mechanical ventilation system in combination with window replacement or roof insulation for building A and building B respectively. Consequently, the insulation of the roof proved to be a common measure in winning cases across all categories, while other measures varied across analysis categories.}},
author = {{Hussaini, Rohullah and Lundgren, Gustav}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Evaluating retrofit options for specific buildings with low energy-performance in Skåne, Sweden, Focusing on energy use, environmental impact, profitability, and thermal comfort}},
year = {{2024}},
}