Towards the EU emissions targets of 2050: Optimal energy renovation measures of Finnish apartment buildings Member countries of the European Union have released targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80% by the year 2050. Energy use in buildings is a major source of these emissions, which is why this study focused on the cost-optimal renovation of Finnish apartment buildings. Apartment buildings from four
To mitigate the effects of climate change, the European Union calls for major carbon emission reductions in the building sector through a deep renovation of the existing building stock. This study examines the cost-effective energy retrofit measures in Finnish detached houses. The Finnish detached house building stock was divided into four age classes according to the building code in effect at the time of their construction. Multi-objective optimization with a genetic algorithm was used to minimize the life cycle cost and CO2 emissions in each building type for five different main heating systems (district heating, wood/oil boiler, direct electric heating, and ground-source heat pump) by improving the building envelope and systems. Cost-effective emission reductions were possible with all heating systems, but especially with ground-source heat pumps. Replacing oil boilers with ground-source heat pumps (GSHPs), emissions could be reduced by 79% to 92% across all the studied detached houses and investment levels. With all the other heating systems, emission reductions of 20% to 75% were possible. The most cost-effective individual renovation measures were the installation of air-to-air heat pumps for auxiliary heating and improving the thermal insulation of external walls.
Effect of apartment building energy renovation on hourly power demand Optimal energy renovations of apartment buildings in Finland have a great impact on annual energy demand. However, reduction of energy demand does not necessarily translate into similar changes in peak power demand. Four different types of apartment buildings, representing the Finnish apartment building stock, were examined after optimal energy retrofits to see the influence of retrofitting on hourly power demand. Switching from district heating to ground-source heat pumps reduced emissions significantly under current energy mix. However, the use of ground-source heat pumps increased hourly peak electricity demand by 46 to 153%, compared to district heated apartment buildings. The corresponding increase in electrical energy demand was 30 to 108% in the peak month of January. This could increase the use of high emission peak power plants and negate some of the emission benefits. Solar thermal collectors and heat recovery systems could reduce purchased heating energy to zero in summer. Solar electricity could reduce median power demand in summer, but had only a little effect on peak power demand. The reduction in peak power demand after energy retrofits was less than the reduction in energy demand.
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