The extensive analysis of building energy performance across the Baltic Sea region

Abstract

In designing energy-efficient buildings, it is important not only to achieve well-balanced energy consumption but to also provide high parameters of indoor quality and thermal comfort, as well as to minimize environmental impact. Comprehensive analysis of many factors, such as thermal insulation, HVAC systems, eco-friendly materials, and sustainable architectural design, makes it possible to obtain such results. This research is devoted to some of the most important parameters, thermal insulation and ventilation, which have an effect on both the indoor air quality and the building's energy efficiency. This study focuses on energy consumption analyses in major cities of Baltic Sea region, including the cities of Riga, Tallinn, Helsinki, and Saint Petersburg. Currently, Saint Petersburg's regional construction market is significantly growing. That city's energy performance requirements are very different from Baltic countries with similar climatic conditions; the main reason for this discrepancy is the low price of fossil fuels. However, international leading construction companies are looking forward to implementing European Union best practices in Russia. The main goal of this study is to prove that the Baltic Sea region's energy-efficiency standards can be implemented in the Saint Petersburg region. This article provides a comparison of the country's requirements for building energy efficiency and how the application of different standards in combination with ventilation alternatives in each analyzed city affects annual energy consumption in the Saint Petersburg region. IDA Indoor Climate and Energy (ICE) 4.7 dynamic simulation software was used to evaluate each country's normative requirement effect on building energy consumption in different areas of the Baltic Sea region.