 Energy use and indoor climate of a building are studied before and after a renovation  The study numerically predicts, validates and evaluates energy use and indoor climate  Energy demand is reduced by 44% after renovation and indoor climate is improved  Assumed user behavior has significant impact on estimated energy-saving potential  System boundary affects climate and resource impact from selected renovation measures

Improved energy efficiency in the building sector is a central goal in the European Union and renovation of buildings can significantly improve both energy efficiency and indoor environment. This paper studies the perception of indoor environment, modelled indoor climate and heat demand in a building before and after major renovation. The building was constructed in 1961 and renovated in 2014. Insulation of the façade and attic and new windows reduced average U-value from 0.54 to 0.29 W/m2·K. A supply and exhaust ventilation system with heat recovery replaced the old exhaust ventilation. Heat demand was reduced by 44% and maximum supplied heating power was reduced by 38.5%. An on-site questionnaire indicates that perceived thermal comfort improved after the renovation, and the predicted percentage dissatisfied is reduced from 23% to 14% during the heating season. Overall experience with indoor environment is improved. A sensitivity analysis indicates that there is a compromise between thermal comfort and energy use in relation to window solar heat gain, internal heat generation and indoor temperature set point. Higher heat gains, although reducing energy use, can cause problems with high indoor temperatures, and higher indoor temperature might increase thermal comfort during heating season but significantly increases energy use.

A significant reduction in energy use in the building stock is a major challenge for the future, and doing this in a cost-effective manner is important. This study uses an optimization approach to identify life cycle cost (LCC) optimal energy efficiency measures (EEMs) to implement as part of a renovation of a multifamily building in Sweden. The studied building is a multifamily building with a lightweight concrete construction and an exhaust air ventilation system, built in 1961. The optimization tool OPERA-MILP is used.The energy renovation approaches are compared to both the performed energy renovation of the building and a validated dynamic energy simulation model in IDA ICE 4.8. The results show that under the given framework conditions and assumptions it is not cost-optimal to improve the thermal performance of the building envelope or to implement a balanced mechanical ventilation measures to reduce the space heating demand in the building when considering a life cycle of 40 years. Balanced mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery is cost-effective when an energy saving target of 40% is introduced. The energy renovation of the building has a slightly higher LCC than the cost-optimal level, and it would have been more cost-effective to add more insulation to the façade instead of the attic to achieve the same level of energy saving. A sensitivity analysis has been performed to reveal the effect of the discount rate, energy price, cost of EEMs, thermal properties of the building envelope and windows' solar heat gain factors on the LCC.

In Sweden, 90% of multifamily buildings utilize district heat and a large portion is in need of renovation. The aim is to analyze the impact of renovating a multifamily building stock in a district heating and cooling system, in terms of primary energy savings, peak power demands, electricity demand and production, and greenhouse gas emissions on local and global levels. The study analyzes scenarios regarding measures on the building envelope, ventilation, and substitution from district heat to ground source heat pump. The results indicate improved energy performance for all scenarios, ranging from 11% to 56%. Moreover, the scenarios present a reduction of fossil fuel use and reduced peak power demand in the district heating and cooling system ranging from 1 MW to 13 MW, corresponding to 4–48 W/m2 heated building area. However, the study concludes that scenarios including a ground source heat pump generate significantly higher global greenhouse gas emissions relative to scenarios including district heating. Furthermore, in a future fossil-free district heating and cooling system, a reduction in primary energy use will lead to a local reduction of emissions along with a positive effect on global greenhouse gas emissions, outperforming measures with a ground source heat pump.

This study addresses the life cycle costs (LCC) of energy renovation, and the demolition and construction of a new building. A comparison is made between LCC optimal energy renovations of four different building types with thermal performance, representing Swedish constructions from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, as well as the demolition of the building and construction of a new building that complies with the Swedish building code. A Swedish multi-family building from the 1960s is used as a reference building. LCC optimal energy renovations are identified with energy saving targets ranging between 10% and 70%, in addition to the lowest possible life cycle cost. The analyses show that an ambitious energy renovation is not cost-optimal in any of the studied buildings, if achieving the lowest LCC is the objective function. The cost of the demolition and construction of a new building is higher compared to energy renovation to the same energy performance. The higher rent in new buildings does not compensate for the higher cost of new construction. A more ambitious renovation is required in buildings that have a shape factor with a high internal volume to heated floor area ratio.