Economic and Energy Analysis of Building Retrofitting Using Internal Insulations

Małgorzata Basińska, Dobrosława Kaczorek and Halina Koczyk
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Małgorzata Basińska: Institute of Environmental Engineering and Building Installations, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Poznan University of Technology, 4 Berdychowo Str., 61-131 Poznań, Poland
Dobrosława Kaczorek: Thermal Physics, Acoustics and Environment Department, Building Research Institute (ITB), 1 Filtrowa Str., 00-611 Warsaw, Poland
Halina Koczyk: Institute of Environmental Engineering and Building Installations, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Energy, Poznan University of Technology, 4 Berdychowo Str., 61-131 Poznań, Poland

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: The energy-saving requirements for most buildings focus on improving the insulation and airtightness of a building’s envelope. In this paper, the authors have investigated the effect of additional internal insulation on energy consumption for heating and cooling in a residential building. Energy performance analyses were conducted for buildings with four internal thermal insulation systems in three locations using the WUFI Plus software. The Global Cost Method and Simply Pay Back Time have been used to assess and compare the economic viability of the retrofit systems. The results show that, in relation to energy, retrofitting with internal wall insulation can be an alternative to traditional external insulation. The assessment of internal insulation for low-energy buildings, however, cannot be conducted based on economic criteria. The usual approach of Simply Pay Back Time has exceptionally long payback time, which is unacceptable. In turn, the Global Cost Method, can only be used to compare the applied materials. With high investment costs, thermo-modernization improvements do not contribute to significant savings. The conditions of thermal comfort and the analysis of temperature and steam pressure play a decisive role in assessing this type of solution.

Keywords: envelope design standards; energy savings; internal wall insulation; moisture effects (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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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