Assessment of the effects of thermal renovation of detached houses. 1. Reduction of heat consumption and pollutant emissions into the air

What is it about?

One of the measures allowing to reduce the emissions of pollutants into the air from the housing sector is decrease in the energy demand, which can be most easily achieved by thermal renovations. This paper analyses some possible variants of thermomodernization of a residential building typical for single-family housing construction of the 1970s and 1980s in Poland (replacement of window frames, insulation of external walls, flat roof insulation and all of the above-mentioned measures together with heating system replacement). Each of the considered variants was assessed in respect to the heat demand and emission of basic pollutants into the air. The assessment also considered heat consumption for heating purposes, ventilation and preparation of domestic hot water assuming that the analysed building is coal-fired and situated in the 3rd climatic zone (the projected outside temperature -20˚C, the annual average outside temperature +7.6˚C). It was assumed that outside of the heating season the boiler runs daily for two hours to produce domestic hot water. The calculations of pollutant emissions into the air were made for SO2, NO2, CO, PM10, B(a)P and PCDD/F with the use of respective emission indicators recommended by the European Environment Agency. The achieved reduction in total heat demand in the fuel and in the emissions of pollutants into the air was at the level of ca. 3% for replacement of windows only, over 26% for insulation of external walls or the flat roof and ca. 59% for all of these measures done at the same time along with the use of a more efficient boiler.

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