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Environmental payback of renovation strategies in a northern climate - the impact of nuclear power and fossil fuels in the electricity supply
University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, Environmental Science. Högskolan Dalarna.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2868-6481
University of Gävle, Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Building Engineering, Energy Systems and Sustainability Science, Environmental Science.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5661-2917
Umeå universitet.
2020 (English)In: Energies, E-ISSN 1996-1073, Vol. 13, no 1, article id 80Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The aim of this study is to assess how the use of fossil and nuclear power in different renovation scenarios affects the environmental impacts of a multi-family dwelling in Sweden, and how changes in the electricity production with different energy carriers affect the environmental impact. In line with the Paris Agreement, the European Union has set an agenda to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by means of energy efficiency in buildings. It is estimated that by the year 2050, 80% of Europe's population will be living in buildings that already exist. This means it is important for the European Union to renovate buildings to improve energy efficiency. In this study, eight renovation scenarios, using six different Northern European electricity mixes, were analyzed using the standard of the European Committee for Standardization for life cycle assessment of buildings. This study covers all life cycle steps from cradle to grave. The renovation scenarios include combinations of photovoltaics, geothermal heat pumps, heat recovery ventilation, and improvement of the building envelope. The results show that while in some electricity mixes a reduction in the global warming potential can be achieved, it can be at the expense of an increase in radioactive waste production, and, in mixes with a high share of fossil fuels, the global warming potential of the scenarios increases with time, compared with that of the original building. It also shows that in most electricity mixes, scenarios that reduce the active heat demand of the building end up in reducing both the global warming potential and radioactive waste, making them less sensitive to changes in the energy system. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI , 2020. Vol. 13, no 1, article id 80
Keywords [en]
Building renovation, District heating, Electricity production, Greenhouse gasses, Life cycle assessment, Radioactive waste, Buildings, Electric power generation, Energy efficiency, Fossil fuels, Gas emissions, Geothermal energy, Geothermal heat pumps, Global warming, Greenhouse gases, Nuclear energy, Nuclear fuels, Radioactive wastes, Radioactivity, Waste heat, Electricity supply, Energy efficiency in buildings, European committee for standardizations, Global warming potential, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Multi-family dwelling, Life cycle
National Category
Environmental Engineering
Research subject
Sustainable Urban Development
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-31399DOI: 10.3390/en13010080ISI: 000520425800080Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85077301830OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hig-31399DiVA, id: diva2:1384943
Note

This work was carried out under the auspices of the industrial post-graduate school Reesbe, which is financed by the Knowledge Foundation (KK-stiftelsen) and Byggpartner i Dalarna AB.

Available from: 2020-01-13 Created: 2020-01-13 Last updated: 2023-09-08Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Energy efficient renovation in a life cycle perspective: A case study of a Swedish multifamily-building
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Energy efficient renovation in a life cycle perspective: A case study of a Swedish multifamily-building
2021 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Energy use in the European Union is increasing. At the same time, it is estimated that by the year 2050 most of the EU population will be living in currently existing buildings. Some of these buildings are or will be in need of renovation, and they have identified a target to reduce overall energy use. The urgency of climate change also makes it highly relevant and important to improve buildings resource and energy efficiency. This thesis aims to explain how different proposed energy efficient renovation strategies affect the energy use at different system levels, the potential environmental impacts of these alternatives, how they are connected to economic impacts and the implications of using a commercial LCA software to answer these questions from a research perspective.

In order to answer the questions above, the effect of different renovation strategies were studied by combining building energy simulations, energy system simulations, a building environmental assessment tool, life cycle assessment and life cycle cost calculations. These tools are used in order to provide an overview of how the different renovation strategies affect the production of district heating, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the environmental and economic performance of the building.

The results show that the selected renovation strategies reduce energy use by decreasing transmission losses, while reducing the total amount of purchased energy by using solar energy or by changing energy carriers. These different approaches have the potential to reduce the environmental impact, mainly by reducing global warming potential, acidification potential and eutrophication potential and to some extent abiotic depletion potential. However, when changing energy carriers there is a burden shift to radioactive waste disposed. When the economic aspects are analyzed, it is shown that there is no simple correlation between financial and environmental impacts.

To analyze a building from a life cycle perspective can help to identify the advantages and disadvantages of energy efficient renovation from the building owner’s perspective as well as from a societal perspective. Applying a life cycle perspective is therefore important for building owners, building companies and practitioners as well for policy makers to avoid suboptimisation.

Abstract [sv]

Energianvändningen inom den Europeiska Unionen ökar. Samtidigt, beräknas att år 2050 så bor merparten av EU:s befolkning i byggnader som finns idag. En del av dessa byggnader behöver renoveras eller kommer att var i behov av renovering, och dessa är identifierade som ett mål för att minska energianvändning. Klimatförändringens akuta karaktär ökar också relevansen och betydelsen av att ha mer resurs- och energieffektiva byggnader. Denna avhandlings mål är att förklara hur olika energieffektiva renoveringsstrategier påverkar energianvändningen på olika systemnivåer, vilken är den potentiella miljöpåverkan av dessa alternativ, hur detta är kopplat till ekonomisk påverkan och vika är implikationerna av att använda en kommersiell mjukvara för att besvara dessa frågor ur ett forskningsperspektiv.

För att svara på dessa frågor studeras effekten av olika renoveringsstrategier genom av kombinera byggnadsenergisimuleringar, energisystemssimuleringar, system för miljöcertifiering av byggnader, livscykelanalys och beräkningar av livscykelkostnader. Dessa verktyg används för att ge en överblick över hur olika renoveringsstrategier påverkar produktionen av fjärrvärme, utsläpp av växthusgaser och byggnadens miljömässiga och ekonomiska prestanda. Resultaten visar att de valda renoveringsstrategierna minskar energianvändningen genom att minska transmissionsförlusterna, och minskar behovet av köpt energi genom användning av solenergi och genom att byta energibärare. Dessa olika strategier har potential av minska miljöpåverkan i termer av klimatpåverkan, försurning, övergödning och till viss del utarmning av abiotiska tillgångar. Ett byte av energibärare medför dock att bördan skiftas till deponerat radioaktivt avfall. När de ekonomiska aspekterna analyseras visar det sig att det inte finns en enkel korrelation mellan dessa och miljöpåverkan.

Att analysera byggnader utifrån ett livscykelperspektiv kan hjälpa till att identifiera för- och nackdelar med energieffektiv renovering från fastighetsägarens perspektiv, men också från ett samhällsperspektiv. Att använda livscykelperspektiv är följaktligen viktigt för att fastighetsägare, byggföretag, konsulter och beslutfattare ska kunna undvika suboptimering.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Gävle: Gävle University Press, 2021. p. 62
Series
Doctoral thesis ; 18
Keywords
Buildings, renovation, greenhouse gas emissions, district heating, energy efficiency, building environmental assessment tools, energy use, space heating, life cycle assessment, life cycle costing, payback, scenarios simulation, Byggnadsrenovering, växthusgasutsläpp, fjärrvärme, energieffektivitet, system för miljöcertifiering av byggnader, energianvändning, byggnadsuppvärmning, livscykelanalys, livscykelkostnader, återbetalning, scenariosimulering
National Category
Energy Systems Construction Management
Research subject
Sustainable Urban Development
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hig:diva-34484 (URN)978-91-88145-60-4 (ISBN)978-91-88145-61-1 (ISBN)
Public defence
2021-02-24, Room 322, Borlänge, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Available from: 2021-02-02 Created: 2020-12-01 Last updated: 2025-02-14Bibliographically approved

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Ramirez Villegas, RicardoEriksson, Ola

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