Retrofitting for Improving Energy Efficiency: The Embodied Energy Relevance for Buildings\u2019 Thermal Insulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Abd Alla ◽  
Vincenzo Bianco ◽  
Federico Scarpa ◽  
Luca Tagliafico
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Embodied Energy

RETROFITTING FOR IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY: THE EMBODIED ENERGY RELEVANCE FOR BUILDINGS' THERMAL INSULATION

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Sara Abd Alla ◽  
Vincenzo Bianco ◽  
Federico Scarpa ◽  
Luca A. Tagliafico
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Insulation Materials ◽  
Energy Impact ◽  
The City

Abstract Envelope insulation is a well-known strategy to improve buildings' energy efficiency. This paper considers two archetypes of an apartment block typology largely diffused in the Italian building stock and evaluates the energy savings resulting from the application of three insulation materials: polyurethane foam, rock wool and resin bonded fibre-board. The energy requirements for winter heating and summer cooling are assessed with EnergyPlus and then compared to the embodied energy of the insulation materials. Hence, the energy and carbon paybacks are calculated, and a cost analysis is proposed to provide an insight on the market impact for the retrofit materials' choice. The apartment block model is analyzed in three main cities (Rome, Milan, Palermo) allowing to assess the climatic conditions impact in terms of minimization of primary energy consumption and environmental emissions. Simulations showed that the thermal insulation has a higher impact on winter heating and slightly affects the summer cooling requirement. In Milan, the refurbishment gains relevance as the energy and carbon payback periods are shorter than those of the city of Palermo characterized by a warmer weather. Considering the embodied energy impact, this method allows to estimate the maximum potential for energy savings in existing buildings and provides an estimation of achievable results in short-medium period.

Retrofitting for Improving Energy Efficiency: The Embodied Energy Relevance for Buildings’ Thermal Insulation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Abd Alla ◽  
Vincenzo Bianco ◽  
Federico Scarpa ◽  
Luca A. Tagliafico
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Primary Energy ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Insulation Materials ◽  
Increase Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Impact

Abstract Thermal insulation is a well-known strategy to increase energy efficiency of buildings. This paper considers two archetypes of an apartment block typology largely diffused in the Italian building stock and evaluates the energy savings resulting from the application of three insulation materials: polyurethane foam, rock wool and resin bonded fibre-board. The energy requirements for winter heating and summer cooling are assessed with EnergyPlus and then compared to the embodied energy of the insulation materials. Hence, the energy and carbon paybacks are calculated, and a cost analysis is proposed to provide an insight on the market impact for the retrofit materials’ choice. The apartment block model is analyzed in three main cities (Rome, Milan, Palermo) allowing to assess the climatic conditions impact in terms of minimization of primary energy consumption and environmental emissions. Simulations showed that the thermal insulation has a higher impact on winter heating and slightly affects the summer cooling requirement. In Milan, the refurbishment gains relevance as the energy and carbon payback periods are shorter than those of the city of Palermo characterized by a warmer weather. Considering the embodied energy impact, this method allows to estimate the maximum potential for energy savings in existing buildings and provides an estimation of achievable results in short-medium period.

scholarly journals Attitudes and Approaches of Finnish Retrofit Industry Stakeholders toward Achieving Nearly Zero-Energy Buildings

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7359
Author(s):  
Sadaf Alam ◽  
Miimu Airaksinen ◽  
Risto Lahdelma
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Running Time ◽  
Performance Targets ◽  
Construction Design ◽  
Design Engineers ◽  
Energy Efficient Buildings ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Property Owners

Key stakeholders in industry are highly responsible for achieving energy performance targets. Particularly, this paper assesses the attitudes, approaches, and experiences of Finnish construction professionals regarding energy-efficient buildings, or nZEBs. A three-tier investigation was conducted including surveys and expert interviews with several stakeholders. The structure of this approach was informed by preliminary data and information available on the Finnish construction sector. The questionnaire showed that the stakeholders ranked energy efficiency and embodied energy/carbon as very important. The survey highlighted that the importance of the embodied carbon CO2 in the materials is less important than the energy efficiency from many of the stakeholders’ points of view. “Energy efficiency” is very important for ESCOs, contractors, and facility managers followed by architects, HVAC engineers, and construction design engineers. Nevertheless, the opinions of architects ranked “embodied energy CO2” as the most important regarding nZEB. When it comes to the importance of “running time emissions” toward nZEB, contractors and ESCO companies ranked it as 1 for importance followed by property owners (78%) and tenants (75%). It is very fascinating to see from the survey that “running time carbon emissions” has been ranked 1 (very important) by all stakeholders. This study will enable construction industry stakeholders to make provisions for overcoming the barriers, gaps, and challenges identified in the practices of the nZEB projects. It will also inform the formulation of policies that drive retrofit uptake.

scholarly journals A State of the Art of the Overall Energy Efficiency of Wood Buildings—An Overview and Future Possibilities

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 1848
Author(s):  
Matheus Roberto Cabral ◽  
Pierre Blanchet
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Hybrid Buildings ◽  
Wood Frame ◽  
Mass Timber

The main goal of this study was to review current studies on the state of the art of wood constructions with a particular focus on energy efficiency, which could serve as a valuable source of information for both industry and scholars. This review begins with an overview of the role of materials in wood buildings to improve energy performance, covering structural and insulation materials that have already been successfully used in the market for general applications over the years. Subsequently, studies of different wood building systems (i.e., wood-frame, post-and-beam, mass timber and hybrid constructions) and energy efficiency are discussed. This is followed by a brief introduction to strategies to increase the energy efficiency of constructions. Finally, remarks and future research opportunities for wood buildings are highlighted. Some general recommendations for developing more energy-efficient wood buildings are identified in the literature and discussed. There is a lack of emerging construction concepts for wood-frame and post-and-beam buildings and a lack of design codes and specifications for mass timber and hybrid buildings. From the perspective of the potential environmental benefits of these systems as a whole, and their effects on energy efficiency and embodied energy in constructions, there are barriers that need to be considered in the future.

scholarly journals THE INFLUENCE OF THE METHOD OF LAYING PIPELINES ON THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF THE HEATING NETWORK

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-66
Author(s):  
E. A Biryuzova ◽  
A. S Glukhanov
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Temperature Fields ◽  
Insulation Material ◽  
Design Work ◽  
Heat Networks ◽  
Insulation Thickness

Through pipelines of heat networks, due to their large length, a large amount of thermal energy is lost. Identification of technical solutions related to improving the energy efficiency of heating networks is an urgent task at present. The article is devoted to the consideration of options for laying pipelines of heat networks during design work. In the conducted studies, two main methods of underground laying of pipelines of heat networks with the choice of the most energy-efficient, with minimal losses of thermal energy are considered. Channel and channelless laying methods are investigated with the same design features and technological conditions of operation of pipelines of heat networks using the same thermal insulation material. For each option, the required thickness of the thermal insulation is determined by the normalized density of the heat flow, thermal calculations are performed to determine the heat loss and the value of the temperature fields generated around the operating pipelines of the heat networks. The obtained values of the thermal insulation thickness in the channel method of laying pipelines are 30-50 % lower than those in channelless laying. The heat loss values, according to the results of the heat calculation for the options under consideration, in the channel method of laying are reduced by 47-65 %. The temperature fields formed around the pipelines of thermal networks with channelless laying significantly exceed the natural value of the soil temperature at the depth of the pipeline. What has a great influence on the determination of the distance to adjacent pipelines and other utilities, laid underground, in the zone of the thermal network. A comparative analysis of the results obtained makes it possible to single out the choice of the method of laying the pipeline into a group of measures aimed at energy saving and increasing energy efficiency in heating systems.

scholarly journals Delivering improved initial embodied energy efficiency during construction

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 267-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip J. Davies ◽  
Stephen Emmitt ◽  
Steven K. Firth
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Embodied Energy

Ensuring energy efficiency of refrigeration piping

2021 ◽  
pp. 45-52
Author(s):  
G.I. Petrov ◽  
V.N. Kornienko ◽  
A.G. Donetskikh
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Thermal Insulation ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Thermal Characteristics ◽  
Operational Reliability ◽  
Insulating Materials ◽  
Insulation Materials ◽  
Synthetic Rubber ◽  
Materials Used

Improving energy efficiency and energy saving in refrigeration technology depends largely on the use of modern thermal insulation materials in the thermal insulation structures of refrigeration pipelines. The article presents a comparative analysis of the thermal characteristics and operational properties of heat-insulating materials used in refrigeration. The features of RUFLEX thermal insulation materials based on foamed synthetic rubber produced from domestic raw materials and their compliance with the requirements of energy efficiency, durability, operational reliability and safety are considered.

scholarly journals Technical Performance Overview of Bio-Based Insulation Materials Compared to Expanded Polystyrene

Buildings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Cassandra Lafond ◽  
Pierre Blanchet
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Natural Fibers ◽  
Expanded Polystyrene ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Lower Amount ◽  
Vapor Permeability ◽  
Insulation Material ◽  
Insulation Materials ◽  
Technical Performance

The energy efficiency of buildings is well documented. However, to improve standards of energy efficiency, the embodied energy of materials included in the envelope is also increasing. Natural fibers like wood and hemp are used to make low environmental impact insulation products. Technical characterizations of five bio-based materials are described and compared to a common, traditional, synthetic-based insulation material, i.e., expanded polystyrene. The study tests the thermal conductivity and the vapor transmission performance, as well as the combustibility of the material. Achieving densities below 60 kg/m3, wood and hemp batt insulation products show thermal conductivity in the same range as expanded polystyrene (0.036 kW/mK). The vapor permeability depends on the geometry of the internal structure of the material. With long fibers are intertwined with interstices, vapor can diffuse and flow through the natural insulation up to three times more than with cellular synthetic (polymer) -based insulation. Having a short ignition times, natural insulation materials are highly combustible. On the other hand, they release a significantly lower amount of smoke and heat during combustion, making them safer than the expanded polystyrene. The behavior of a bio-based building envelopes needs to be assessed to understand the hygrothermal characteristics of these nontraditional materials which are currently being used in building systems.

Embodied Energy in Building Construction

2014 ◽  
Vol 70 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Balubaid ◽  
R. M. Zin ◽  
M. Z. Abd Majid ◽  
J. S. Hassan ◽  
Samihah Mardzuki
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Building Construction ◽  
Embodied Energy ◽  
Future Design ◽  
Efficient Construction ◽  
The Common ◽  
Energy Indicators ◽  
Construction Knowledge ◽  
The Right

Building construction systems that come in different forms and types need to be properly selected before being use, this may have different impact on overall embodied energy of the building construction. Hence, in order to achieve and maximize the construction contribution, the designer plays a big role in choosing the appropriate energy efficient construction. The designers need to be equipped with the right knowledge and tool which gathers a possible range of embodied energy indicators in order to select energy efficient construction. This paper aims at confirming the Malaysian common construction systems and compares it with the historical literature while it also explore energy efficiency in building construction. It is based on the common construction knowledge and also on the published literatures through a critical review of the possible range of embodied energy indicators and construction systems. The study demonstrated and confirmed that Malaysian common building construction systems can be categorized into six groups: Structural frame, Slab, Internal wall, External Wall, Roof and Staircase. This finding is highly significant for the future design in the area of energy efficiency.

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