Abstract
Various methods can be used to reduce energy consumption in buildings. One of them is the tightening of energy requirements, which, like other methods, cannot result in a worsening of the indoor environmental quality. The article presents a study on the impact of changes in the thermal insulation of the building envelope on the energy demand, heating costs, and emissions. Mathematical models of the dependence of the index of annual usable energy demand for heating (EUH) of a residential house on the thermal transmittance coefficients (Ui) of selected building elements were developed. Values of Ui were adopted at three levels, corresponding to the maximum required values—as approved in Polish law for the periods from 2014, 2017, and 2021. The analyses were conducted for the location of the building in three of the five climate zones of Poland. It turned out that the differences in the energy demand in various locations in Poland amount to 32.6%. The change in Ui in the analyzed period causes a decrease of EUH by almost 27%. Financial savings and a reduction of emissions strongly depend on the fuel used in the building. Increasing the level of thermal insulation of walls increases the perceptible temperature in rooms by 1.2–1.5%.
Highlights
The construction market is responsible for the consumption of around 40% of the energy produced in the European Union (EU) and 37% of pollutant emissions [1]
In connection with the above, the purpose of the work is to examine the index of the annual demand for usable energy for heating of a selected single-family residential building located in different climatic zones of Poland: I: milder in Szczecin; III: national average, in Lodz; and V: more severe, in Zakopane, depending on the thermal transmittance coefficients of external walls (U1 ), flat roof (U2 ), windows and balcony doors (U3 ), roof windows (U4 ), and external doors (U5 )
January 2017, and 1 January 2021, as an implementation of the European directive on the energy performance of buildings [1], have an impact on the reduction of energy demand, heating costs, and harmful emissions as well as parameters influencing the thermal comfort of rooms
Summary
The construction market is responsible for the consumption of around 40% of the energy produced in the European Union (EU) and 37% of pollutant emissions [1]. One of the methods to reduce the energy demand of buildings, used in Polish legislation, is the legal adoption of increasingly stringent requirements for the thermal transmittance coefficient of the building envelope. These requirements were included in the standards (Table 1). The analyses were carried out on the example of a single-family residential building with a typical area and form for Polish conditions. It is a building with a simple structure (Figure 1), referring to the traditional style: one-story, without a basement, with a usable attic. The main building parameters are: Building development area: 105.32 m2 ; Total area: 162.48 m2 ; Usable area: 150.11 m2 ; Clear height of rooms: 2.70 m; Volume: 690 m3
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