The impact of thermal insulation investments on sustainability in the construction sector

Abstract

Sustainable construction is the only way to ensure the implementation of the principles of sustainable development. The paper presents the importance of the thermal insulating investment of the building in three areas: economic, environmental and social. It shows the influence of the existence of the building on the environment, with a particular focus on the investment process involving thermal insulating of external vertical walls of the building. The paper proposes a methodology for assessing the environmental and economic benefits. The analyses for various combinations were performed, including the condition of the building before thermal insulation, type of construction material of the building, the heat source used, type of thermal insulation and climate zone, in which the building is located. The obtained results indicate that the thermal insulation investment is, for all examined variants, beneficial for ecological reasons and for almost all economic reasons. The highest values of economic benefits were obtained for the variant of the coldest climate, and the variant in which the building before thermal insulation has the worst thermal performance, the most expensive type of heat source (i.e. the biggest costs of obtaining 1kWh of thermal energy) and the least expensive material used for thermal insulation. The highest values of environmental benefits were obtained for the variant of the coldest climate, which is obvious, but also for the variant, in which the building before thermal insulation has the worst thermal insulation, the least environmentally friendly type of heat source and the most eco-friendly insulation material applied. The paper also articulates social benefits resulting from such an investment.