Energy Renovation of Buildings the Skin of a Building 70’s Housing Developments in Barcelona Montbau’s Housing Developments Renovation

Abstract

This study, considering the current conditions of our planet, proposes to analyze how efficient is to renovate building skins to meet energy, economic, and CO2 emission criteria. A building envelope is the part of a building that is most exposed to weather conditions and therefore it has an impact on the internal energy demand of its inhabitants so that they can comfortably there. Studying building skins and their status in terms of energy, economic costs, and CO2 emissions will allow renovation to produce benefits in the medium and long-term. This study was conducted in the neighborhood of Montbau, a housing development of around 30 buildings, each with different characteristics, built in the 70’s and currently having energy losses through their skins, which results in a high demand of internal energy for heating and cooling purposes, in addition to doubled emission of CO2e released into the atmosphere. Improvements are proposed to adapt the conditions of these buildings. Two solutions are proposed in addition to evaluating energy costs caused by CO2e emissions and any other economic costs year 2012. Other studies analyze the behavior of buildings already implementing such solutions and their corresponding energy, emission, and economic reductions. The importance of such studies lays on the need to analyze options such as renovation instead of considering demolition as an alternative, and to suggest the future building of housing developments in pro of the sustainability of our planet and offer an alternative for a sustainable future, housing and shelter under optimal conditions. The figures herein offer solid results in terms of expenses, costs and energy savings, as well as the reduction of CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere. The graphs and tables here contained offer a clear reading and suggest topics for further research and even for starting up building projects, both locally and worldwide.