Assessing the Energy Performance of Prefabricated Buildings Considering Different Wall Configurations and the Use of PCMs in Greece

Theodoros Theodosiou,Katerina Tsikaloudaki,Konstantia Papadopoulou,Stella Tsoka

doi:10.3390/en13195026

Theodoros Theodosiou, Katerina Tsikaloudaki + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/en13195026

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Journal: Energies	Publication Date: Sep 24, 2020
Citations: 10	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Abstract

Despite the multiple advantages of prefabricated compared to conventional buildings, such as significant reductions in cost and time, improved quality and accuracy in manufacture, easy dismantling and reuse of components, reduction in environmental degradation, increase of productivity gains, etc., they still share a small part of the European building stock, mainly in the Mediterranean. This paper attempts to highlight the potential of prefabricated buildings to achieve advanced levels of performance, particularly as regards their thermal and energy behavior. More specifically, in this paper the energy needs of a single-family building constructed with prefabricated elements is analyzed, considering different climate contexts. The prefabricated elements comprising the building envelope were developed in order to address specific requirements with respect to their structural, hygrothermal, energy, fire, acoustical, and environmental performance, within the research project SUPRIM (sustainable preconstructed innovative module). The new multifunctional building element, also incorporating phase change materials for increased latent thermal heat storage, has been proven to be beneficial in all the examined climate zones. The results of the relevant studies will highlight the contribution of the new prefabricated element to the sustainability of the overall construction, as well as its advantages when compared with conventional constructions.

Highlights

In the Mediterranean countries, residential buildings represent almost 80% of the total building stock, with the onsite process, and reinforced concrete and brick masonry, being the dominant construction solutions [1]
The analysis suggested that the phase change materials (PCMs) layer, when applied on the outside face of a brick wall, provides better energy performance efficiency compared to its application on the inside, with cooling energy savings rising to
It can be generally seen that the energy needs of the prefabricated building are always lower when the innovative module (i.e., SUPRIM) is incorporated, compared to the respective values for the conventional ETICS construction

Summary

Introduction

In the Mediterranean countries, residential buildings represent almost 80% of the total building stock, with the onsite process, and reinforced concrete and brick masonry, being the dominant construction solutions [1]. For the warm Mediterranean conditions, the establishment of strategies that would further improve the thermal performance of the prefabricated buildings, generally characterized by less thermal inertia, compared to conventional heavyweight ones, is of crucial importance. In this regard, the use of latent heat storage components in the building walls, such as phase change materials (PCMs), could considerably reduce the heat transmission and control the peak cooling loads in summer, while their incorporation could be very useful for indoor temperature regulation during the winter period [20]. To the authors knowledge, the use of the phase change materials as a composite concrete layer has been far less evaluated

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