Effect of environmental assessment on primary energy of modular prefabricated panel for building renovation in Portugal

Manuela Almeida,Ricardo Barbosa,Raphaele Malheiro

doi:10.1088/1755-1315/225/1/012047

Manuela Almeida, Ricardo Barbosa + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/225/1/012047

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Abstract

While facing increasingly strict regulations regarding energy efficiency, the construction sector should also adopt sustainable solutions in terms of new constructions and renovations of buildings. In particular, energy renovation of existing buildings has specific technical and economic constraints that are generally addressed through implementation of new materials and building integrated systems, whose environmental impact should be considered when assessing the most adequate solution. Within the context of the More-Connect Project, which aims to develop modular prefabricated solutions for energy renovation of buildings, several renovation scenarios for a pilot building in Portugal were assessed using a methodology to compare the cost-effectiveness of renovation measures. The article explores the use of lifecycle assessment to analyse the effect of considering embodied primary energy in cost-effectiveness calculations.

Highlights

The urgency to act regarding climate change and its devastating consequences is increasingly recognized at a global scale
The renovation measures do not consider the embodied energy of the materials used in calculations, while in the second one, environmental impacts are added to the calculated primary energy
In general, the results suggest that in an environmental assessment, when the embodied energy of the materials is considered in the calculations, it is observed a noticeable increase in the Non-Renewable Primary Energy associated to the building

Summary

Introduction

The urgency to act regarding climate change and its devastating consequences is increasingly recognized at a global scale. In this context, the European Union (EU) established goals to be achieved by the Member States in 2030 [1] and in 2050 [2] that will help them to be more competitive and, simultaneously, more sustainable. European buildings are responsible for about 40% of the final EU energy consumption [3], which is strongly related with an important share of carbon emissions that are released into the atmosphere every year [4]. In order to deal with this issue, the European Commission promoted fundamental regulation and introduced important concepts aiming to reduce energy use and carbon emissions. Despite the efforts to promote building renovation through European directives

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