Guideline for setting the goal of application of internal insulation
Deciding whether and how to implement energy efficiency in historic buildings is a complex process that involves technical solutions, heritage value, indoor environment, cost efficiency, interests of stakeholders etc.
Holistic approach
Application of internal insulation is a manifold process composed of either several independent or interlinked variables. The variables include hygrothermal properties of existing and applied building materials, indoor and outdoor climate, energy costs, operation and maintenance costs, human behavior, occupation loads, mechanical and engineering systems in the building, environmental impact, heritage value, financial resources and their availability, location of the building, building regulations, productivity etc.
The decision-making process starts with setting either a single or several parallel goals described by one or more criteria. Definitions of main goal and decision criteria for process assessment, alternative solutions, estimation of performance, evaluation, solutions and proposals are strongly interlinked. Decisions taken in the renovation planning process will therefore determine whether the goal will be reached without compromising hygrothermal behavior of existing wall and heritage value.
Main goals to combine
Reduction of energy consumption
aims at minimizing building energy consumption, expressed as energy spent for either heating, ventilation or cooling of the building regardless the energy source.Reduction of environmental impact
aims to reduce possible environmental impact when applying internal insulation. It can be either reduction of CO2 emissions to lower the impact on climate change during operation phase of the building or reduction of environmental impact considering all three phases of a building lifetime - the construction phase, the operation and maintenance phase and the end of life phase.Reduction of energy and other costs
includes all costs for application of internal insulation, particularly energy, material and installation costs as well as life cycle costs or other case-specific costs.Improvement of indoor climate
aims to improve the indoor thermal comfort. Unsatisfactory thermal comfort is related to low surface temperature of the wall which causes thermal asymmetry.Loss of floor area
focuses on minimizing the loss of the room floor area due to application of internal insulation.
National building regulations
Before setting a goal for the renovation of a building, it is important to check whether the renovation complies with building regulations in the specific country. Building regulations are either laid down by federal or national authorities or set by regional or local authorities that must be consulted before deciding to change the building.
Further restrictions to the expression of the building may be described in district plans covering land use or zoning and needs to be examined before renovation.
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