Water damages in HVAC, tap water and sewage systems in cold climates

Christian Mattsson,Hans Bagge,Birgitta Nordquist,Petter Wallentén,Dennis Johansson,J Kurnitski,M Thalfeldt

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/202124612001

Abstract

Water damages in buildings in the Nordic countries results in costs amounting to several billion Euros each year as well as a great deal of unpleasantness. The vast majority of the water damages cost in Sweden is caused by leaks from buildings services in the form of piping such as tap water, sewage, drainage and heating, as well as through insufficiently waterproof layers in wet rooms. The economic potential for making measures to prevent water damages on building services and wet rooms is enormous and savings could be used for other sustainability measures in the built environment. The aim of this paper is to review statistics of damages caused in cold outdoor climates. This is done by an analyse of empirical damage statistics by a literature review of both scientific literature and in retrievable cases from practical experience. The result will be a help to focus on the right damage types in colder climate and will make a foundation for future research on how to prevent water damages. The cold climate in the Nordic countries seems to be a factor for the number of water damages due to freezing that are described in the statistics and it could be established that the impact of the climate should be considered and that it need to be constructed and designed for in a larger extent.

Highlights

Water damage in buildings in the Nordic countries is a problematic area and amounts to a cost to society of some 1 billion EUR for homeowners and insurance companies each year [1]
This study aims to review statistics on water damages and costs in cold climates such as in the Nordic countries and add research about damages that could be related to cold climates; freezing damages and to examine to what extent cold climates do impact the number and costs of water damages
It could be established that the organisations and the design and construction of the buildings that have been found in the literature seems to be one of the main problems and it could be regarded as the one of main problems for water damages

Summary

Introduction

Water damage in buildings in the Nordic countries is a problematic area and amounts to a cost to society of some 1 billion EUR for homeowners and insurance companies each year [1]. In Sweden, the cost for just homeowners 2019 amounted to some 3,9 billion SEK (approximately 0.39 billion EUR) in insurance reimbursements from water damages in buildings [2]. To reduce the amount of water damages in the Nordic countries, there are ongoing projects and incentives to educate builders and to stipulate rules and codes to build buildings with less water damages. These incentives have probably had a positive effect on the number of water damages in buildings in the years prior to this study [1]. In Sweden, the cases of water damages were, according to Svensk Försäkring [2], in 1985

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