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Examination of Water Damage Statistics in the Nordic Countries to Identify and Suggest Preventive Cost-effective and Sustainable Measures during the Maintenance and Operation Phase

Mattsson, Christian LU orcid ; Nordquist, Birgitta LU ; Johansson, Dennis LU ; Bagge, Hans LU and Wallentén, Petter LU orcid (2023) ASHRAE and SCANVAC HVAC Cold Climate Conference 2023
Abstract
Water damage in the indoor environment is a rising issue within Nordic countries with about 90 000 cases in appx. 6.5 million
insurance is reported annually in Sweden, and corresponding numbers are in Denmark and Norway. The question then
becomes what type of measures residents, building managers, and insurance companies can take in the maintenance and
operation phase to decrease the impact of the water damage. Another question is how the effects, cost, and extent of the water
damage are affected if the measures were executed in this phase as preventive measures. This was done by selecting actions
and measures that could reduce the impact and cost of water damage, examining the action and measures, and finally... (More)
Water damage in the indoor environment is a rising issue within Nordic countries with about 90 000 cases in appx. 6.5 million
insurance is reported annually in Sweden, and corresponding numbers are in Denmark and Norway. The question then
becomes what type of measures residents, building managers, and insurance companies can take in the maintenance and
operation phase to decrease the impact of the water damage. Another question is how the effects, cost, and extent of the water
damage are affected if the measures were executed in this phase as preventive measures. This was done by selecting actions
and measures that could reduce the impact and cost of water damage, examining the action and measures, and finally analyzing
the payback time of the investment of the actions and measures. The study shows average payback times for the actions and
measures studied, for passive investments between 10 months and 8 years, and longer for investments that actively shutting off
the water in case of a leakage, between 18 years and 30 years on average. The study demonstrates the potential benefit of
implementing cost-effective measures, such as waterproof underlays beneath the fridge and the dishwasher. This suggests that
introducing effective measures in the maintenance and operation phase will reduce the effect of water damage and also reduce
the effect of water damage in a large portion of the existing buildings and therefore also reduce the immense amount of
resources annually spent on water damage (approximately 1 billion USD each year in Sweden).
(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
pages
9 pages
conference name
ASHRAE and SCANVAC HVAC Cold Climate Conference 2023
conference location
Anchorage, United States
conference dates
2023-03-05 - 2023-03-10
project
Reducing water damage costs in buildings by an holistic approach to technology, users and risks
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
18717179-cc06-4cf7-9356-42cfba67cf77
alternative location
https://rdmobile-palermo-production.s3.amazonaws.com/282e714e-4aa0-4672-9d60-57ba3244b748/event-16161/320860233-C_20.pdf
date added to LUP
2023-03-28 12:18:25
date last changed
2023-05-31 03:08:55
@misc{18717179-cc06-4cf7-9356-42cfba67cf77,
  abstract     = {{Water damage in the indoor environment is a rising issue within Nordic countries with about 90 000 cases in appx. 6.5 million<br/>insurance is reported annually in Sweden, and corresponding numbers are in Denmark and Norway. The question then<br/>becomes what type of measures residents, building managers, and insurance companies can take in the maintenance and<br/>operation phase to decrease the impact of the water damage. Another question is how the effects, cost, and extent of the water<br/>damage are affected if the measures were executed in this phase as preventive measures. This was done by selecting actions<br/>and measures that could reduce the impact and cost of water damage, examining the action and measures, and finally analyzing<br/>the payback time of the investment of the actions and measures. The study shows average payback times for the actions and<br/>measures studied, for passive investments between 10 months and 8 years, and longer for investments that actively shutting off<br/>the water in case of a leakage, between 18 years and 30 years on average. The study demonstrates the potential benefit of<br/>implementing cost-effective measures, such as waterproof underlays beneath the fridge and the dishwasher. This suggests that<br/>introducing effective measures in the maintenance and operation phase will reduce the effect of water damage and also reduce<br/>the effect of water damage in a large portion of the existing buildings and therefore also reduce the immense amount of<br/>resources annually spent on water damage (approximately 1 billion USD each year in Sweden).<br/>}},
  author       = {{Mattsson, Christian and Nordquist, Birgitta and Johansson, Dennis and Bagge, Hans and Wallentén, Petter}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  title        = {{Examination of Water Damage Statistics in the Nordic Countries to Identify and Suggest Preventive Cost-effective and Sustainable Measures during the Maintenance and Operation Phase}},
  url          = {{https://rdmobile-palermo-production.s3.amazonaws.com/282e714e-4aa0-4672-9d60-57ba3244b748/event-16161/320860233-C_20.pdf}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}