Assessing impacts of climate change on the energy and hygrothermal performance of detached houses in Sweden

Abstract

Climate change is one of the most significant challenges that building sector is confronting. For example, Climate change and associated extreme events are posing a significant challenge for the building sector. Buildings should be prepared to withstand the climate changes and extreme weather that will happen in the future. Designing buildings based solely on past or average weather conditions, while neglecting the possibility of extreme weather events, is not a sustainable approach for the future.
Detached houses constitute 72% of Sweden's residential buildings, but they are more sensitive to climate fluctuations than apartment buildings. Moisture and energy performances are two key aspects that helps to identify the ability of the house to holdout extreme weather.
This study aims to investigate the hygrothermal and energy performance of detached houses in Sweden under current and future climate conditions, by using verified future weather data and past weather data. The investigation was conducted in three cities across Sweden: Lund in the south, Stockholm in the central region, and Luleå in the north. The reference detached houses were an illustration of detached houses from 1940s, 1965s and modern construction types.
For hygrothermal and energy simulations the WUFI and Rhinoceros data tools were used, and the building modelling were based on the fact obtained from literature study.
The hygrothermal results showed that all construction types were moisture safe. Despite occasional instance where the relative humidity (RH) exceeded RH critical, a thorough analysis confirmed the moisture safety of the constructions. While the energy results showed that there was a consistent behaviour of energy usage when it came to the buildings’ location. An overall observation of energy load in distinct weather scenarios (past, ECY, EWY, TDY) indicates that the decrement of heating load and increment of cooling load by time in all scenarios. The obtained result showed that the cooling demand in modern construction was higher than the elder construction types, which is caused due to their high insulation material. It is the major argument for cooling system need in Swedish buildings.
Although the extreme weather conditions will never occur, still investigating these scenarios can provide building designers with a reference point for situations where climate change may cause similar conditions.

Popular Abstract

These are the impacts of climate changes on detached
houses in Sweden
Habibullah N. and Duran B.
Article’s title: Assessing impacts of climate change on the energy and hygrothermal performance of
detached houses in Sweden
Popular science summary
Climate change is one of the most significant challenges that building sector is confronting. For
example, Climate change and associated extreme events are facing a significant challenge for the
building sector. Buildings should be able to withstand the climate changes and extreme weather
conditions that will happen in the future. Designing buildings based solely on past or average
weather conditions, while neglecting the possibility of extreme weather events, is not a sustainable
approach for the future.
This master's degree project investigates the effects of climate change on the energy efficiency and
thermal performance of detached houses in Sweden.
To address this issue, three different cities across Sweden: Lund, Stockholm, and Luleå were chosen
as reference cities in this study. Where hygrothermal (moisture) and energy performance of
detached houses under both current and future climate conditions was studied. The houses selected
for this investigation represented various construction types, including those built in the 1940s,
1960s, and modern construction types.
Based on a comprehensive literature research buildings were modelled in WUFI and Rhinoceros data
tools, where the hygrothermal and energy performance of buildings were simulated. The results
indicated that all construction types were moisture safe.
In terms of energy usage, the study showed similar trends based on the location of the buildings.
The findings of this study indicated, was the decrement of heating load and increment of cooling
load across all scenarios. The obtained results from this study showed that the modern building
constructions are more suitable and sustainable in an energy performance perspective. But as the
climate changes challenges buildings, the high amount of insulation causes overheating in this type
of constructions.
This study serves as a valuable reference for building designers to anticipate potential challenges in a
changing climate, although the extreme weather conditions may not occur. The building industry in
Sweden especially in Southern part, should be alert to the need for accommodating building designs
that can withstand future climate changes. This may require incorporating adapted cooling systems
into building designs to ensure that they remain habitable and comfortable in the face of rising
temperatures.

• author: Habibullah, Najma and Duran, Busra
• supervisor: Vahid Nik
• organization: Department of Building and Environmental Technology; Division of Energy and Building Design
• course: AEBM01 20231
• year: 2023
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Technology and Engineering
• keywords: Detached houses, Hygrothermal performance, Energy performance, Extreme weather conditions, Climate change
• language: English
• id: 9141628
• date added to LUP: 2023-11-24 08:25:03
• date last changed: 2023-11-24 08:25:03