Ecological and Economic Benefits of the “Medium” Level of the Building Thermo-Modernization: A Case Study in Poland

Janusz Adamczyk and Robert Dylewski
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Janusz Adamczyk: Faculty of Economics and Management, University of Zielona Góra, ul. Licealna 9, 65-417 Zielona Góra, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 17, 1-14

Abstract: Energy saving is at the heart of sustainable development in the context of climate change. Saving energy is not only the amount of energy that we save, but also reducing emissions of pollutants to the atmosphere, as well as reducing the consumption of energy resources that are used to produce energy. Reducing pollutant emissions and the use of energy resources can be achieved by increasing the use of renewable energy sources, but at present, this method of obtaining energy in the world is not representative. It should be noted that renewable energy devices throughout the life cycle generate environmental impact. Similar to this situation, the building’s thermo-modernization, which is focused on reducing the pressure on the environment of the building’s user, also has an impact on the environment throughout the building’s life cycle. Determining this environmental impact and ecological or economic benefits or costs is the purpose of the following article. Thermo-modernization of the building, for the purposes of the article, is understood as thermal insulation of walls and replacement of the heat source for heating the building and preparation of hot utility water. The need to replace the heat source with a much more ecological one results in Poland from provincial legal regulations announced by virtue of a resolution. In the study, data from the Ecoinvent data library included in the SimaPro computer program was used for the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) analysis. As a result of thermo-modernization of the representative buildings, large ecological benefits were obtained, while economic costs remain at a high level.

Keywords: thermal energy; thermo-modernization; thermal insulation; heat source replacement; ecological and economic benefits; life cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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