Eco-Efficient Analysis of a Refurbishment Proposal for a Social Housing

Abstract

In recent years, the building sector has been turning towards intervening in the existing city building stock. In fact, it is generally accepted that the refurbishment of buildings based on sustainability must form the axis of reformulation of the building sector. Although energy refurbishment is commonly accepted and recommended towards decarbonization of the building stock, an integral assessment towards implementing the principles of the circular economy must incorporate the environmental impact of the materials in order to get an eco-efficient refurbishment. The article presents the environmental analysis of a social housing located in Cadiz (Spain) and the improvements achieved by its refurbishment. This intervention is improved by incorporating eco-efficient materials based on the environmental and life cycle analysis (LCA). Those analyses are performed using EnergyPlus, Radiance, LCA standards, and Environmental Product Declaration of the products. The results shown that although an energy rehabilitation intervention can fulfil other eco-efficient aspects, an integral assessment should always be carried out in order to ensure that indoor comfort is achieved, daylighting and solar heat gains are balanced, and the environmental impact at product, use, and end-of-life stages of a building is minimized. Considering the constrains and limitations of the tools and databases, higher efforts should be done to solve them and provide useful resources for a decarbonized and circular building stock.

Analysis and Comparison of Energy Efficiency Code Requirements for Buildings: A Morocco–Spain Case Study

“…These countries have more favorable climatic conditions, but commonly present poorer building insulation, less efficient thermal equipment, and, with regard to the average user, a lack of energy-efficient habits. Added to this is the fact that around 50 million Europeans live in energy poverty conditions, with inefficient homes and, consequently, high energy bills to maintain minimum comfort levels [6]. This high energy dependence and poverty condition situations can be also found in areas near Europe, such as Morocco [7].…”

Sustainability Assessment of a Low-Income Building: A BIM-LCSA-FAHP-Based Analysis

“…Although there is a consensus on the importance of establishing criteria and processes for the selection of suitable construction materials, few studies have been carried out to assess the sustainability of the materials considering the TBL methodology [76][77][78]. An even smaller number employ MCDM techniques associated with computer BIM software such as Revit and Tally [5]. Tally is a Revit plugin used to perform LCA of building materials, where materials parameterized in the BIM model are transported to an existing Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) database, collecting input and output data, including material consumption raw materials, water, energy, and the emission of solid, gaseous and liquid waste [5,79].…”

“…An even smaller number employ MCDM techniques associated with computer BIM software such as Revit and Tally [5]. Tally is a Revit plugin used to perform LCA of building materials, where materials parameterized in the BIM model are transported to an existing Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) database, collecting input and output data, including material consumption raw materials, water, energy, and the emission of solid, gaseous and liquid waste [5,79]. To fill the gap in existing research, this study proposes a BIM-LCSA-FAHPbased analysis, in order to develop a framework to select optimal building materials.…”

“…The construction industry is one of the most significant consumers of environmental resources worldwide [1,2], and one of the biggest industries responsible for giving rise to large amounts of waste [3]. The construction sector uses 30-40% of all-natural resources and primary energy over its lifespan, accounting for 30% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and representing about 6% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [4,5]. Despite the sector's relevance in the international economy, the United Nations (UN) estimates that about one billion people globally still live in inadequate buildings or do not have a place to live [6].…”

Eco-Efficient Ventilated Facades Based on Circular Economy for Residential Buildings as an Improvement of Energy Conditions

“…The objective of these projects is to reduce the environmental impact and pollution generated by the new plant works. Articles such as Eco-Efficient Analysis of a Refurbishment Proposal for a Social Housing [32] are published in which is carried out the environmental analysis of social housing and the improvements achieved with its rehabilitation, Figure 3. Therefore, it can be said that a large part of the current built park requires improvements that would be achieved through rehabilitation.…”