The Present and Future of the Use Phase of Social Housing in Tucumán, Argentina: An LCA Perspective

Vanesa Celina Saez (), Alberto Quintana-Gallardo, Fernando Aitor Mendiguchía-Fontes, Beatriz Silvia Garzón and Ignacio Guillén-Guillamón
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Vanesa Celina Saez: Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, National University of Tucumán (FAU-UNT), National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Tucumán 4000, Argentina
Alberto Quintana-Gallardo: Center for Physics Technologies, Universitat Politécnica de València, 46022 València, Spain
Fernando Aitor Mendiguchía-Fontes: Center for Physics Technologies, Universitat Politécnica de València, 46022 València, Spain
Beatriz Silvia Garzón: Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, National University of Tucumán (FAU-UNT), National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Tucumán 4000, Argentina
Ignacio Guillén-Guillamón: Center for Physics Technologies, Universitat Politécnica de València, 46022 València, Spain

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 12, 1-20

Abstract: This research focuses on assessing the environmental impact of heating and cooling systems in public housing projects, built between 2000 and 2020, in Tucuman, Argentina. It considers current and projected climate change scenarios. The study compares existing conditions with improvements suggested by IRAM 11603 for a thermo-energetic transition. Anticipating future energy consumption changes is vital for proposing sustainable retrofitting options to enhance affordability and energy efficiency, while ensuring occupants’ thermal comfort. A public housing prototype in Tucumán serves as the case study. The methodology combines energy simulation and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to analyze current and future energy demands. The results show climate change’s potential impact on housing thermal behavior and the necessity for improvements. In the base case, cooling demand exceeds 11 kWh/m 2 ·year, while heating demand decreases by approximately 4 kWh/m 2 ·year. Rehabilitation could reduce cooling demand by 57% and heating demand by 32.5%, considering future climate scenarios. Active architectural strategies are proposed for enhancing thermal performance and reducing energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. This study underscores the importance of analyzing future scenarios and implementing strategies for the thermo-energetic transition of existing social housing.

Keywords: energy retrofitting; carbon neutrality; climate change scenarios (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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