An analysis on energy efficiency initiatives in the building stock of Liege, Belgium

Abstract

Energy efficiency studies of building stock of Liege, Belgium. Energy Performance Building Directive is used as reference for analysis. Buildings age, built-up area and energy consumption data are used for analysis. Identifies the areas to improve energy efficiency of building stock. a r t i c l e i n f o t r a c tBuilt environment is responsible for 60% of total energy consumption in European countries and 128 million BOE of primary energy in Belgium. The average energy consumption in the residential buildings of Belgium is 70% higher than the EU average and stands at 348 kW h/m 2 /year. Energy Performance Building Directive (EPBD) provides guidelines for energy performance analysis of buildings in Belgium.In this study, a holistic approach has been adopted to analyse the building stock of Liege, Belgium. This analysis is based on 'General Socio-economic survey 2001' and 'Housing quality survey 2006 in Walloon region' databases. It considers parameters such as buildings age, built-up area, type of heating system, type of fuel used, adjacency, insulation of roofs and walls and energy consumption etc. for an in depth analysis. This study concludes that about 69% of buildings which are constructed before 1945 needs serious renovation towards the improvement of roof and external wall insulation level. It then successfully identifies specific areas which need detailed study to evaluate the comfort status in the existing building stock, improvement of insulation level and its effect on heating energy consumption as well as the economic analysis on energy efficiency measurements.

Assessment of thermal comfort in existing pre-1945 residential building stock

“…In Belgium, the building sector is the third-largest consumer of primary energy. A high percentage of 'old' buildings, i.e., buildings constructed before 1945, in the existing building stock take its toll on the energy efficiency figures [9,10]. The study shows that residential buildings in Belgium have a 70% higher consumption of heating energy than their EU-27 counterparts, and this is reflected in the CO 2 emission figures (the household sector is the second-highest CO 2 emitter) [10].…”

“…Studies on existing building stocks across EU member countries reveal that large numbers of buildings are relatively old [10][11][12][13][14]. This sector has great potential for energy savings, greenhouse gas emission reductions and improvements in the thermal aspects of the built environment.…”

“…International standards such as EN-ISO 7730, ASHRAE 55-2010, ASHRAE 62.1 and EN 15251 focus primarily on new construction and commercial buildings. The existing building stock of EU member states has a very high share of relatively old fully functional (in use) residential buildings and the rate of new construction is very low [8,[10][11][12]. Moreover, there is a lack of understanding about the interaction between the built environment of relatively old residential buildings and their occupants.…”

“…Maison Apartment (apartment house) [10]. These styles can be differentiated according to height and width, window features and built-up area.…”

Constructing an Urban Microsimulation Model to Assess the Influence of Demographics on Heat Consumption

“…promoting energy-efficiency measures in the building stock at a national levelKragh and Wittchen (2013),Singh, Mahapatra and Teller (2013),…”