Demolish, recycle, build new or renovate – energy use throughout the life cycle.

Abstract

The building industry has a major impact on the global carbon emissions, the use of natural resources and generation of waste. A drastic change is needed for this industry to be a part of a sustainable future. Within this research, a case study is performed to investigate how cultural values of a building can be preserved when energy efficiency measures are taken, with a low global warming potential (GWP). Keeping the cultural values of the red brick façade, the original window shape and the natural stone in the plinth, there is still an energy saving potential of halve the energy use for space heating. The GWP of the measures taken is strongly dependent on the energy mix in the district heating system.