Energy Retrofit of Social Housing with Cultural Value in Spain: Analysis of Strategies Conserving the Original Image vs. Coordinating Its Modification

Abstract

<jats:p>Two renovation strategies were considered and compared in this paper for the energy renovation of social housing in condo buildings built in 1945–1969, situated in residential estates that have been declared urban areas of interest. One of the strategies, named here the image conservation approach, consists of renovating the building with very efficient solutions, except for the brick-facing walls, which will only have insulation in the existing cavities. The other strategy, the image coordination approach, consists of renovating the whole building with efficient solutions, including external insulation for existing brick-facing walls, and drawing up coordination plans for each of the residential estates in order to guarantee a coordinated new image of the residential estates. By means of three case studies in the city of Zaragoza and four scenarios of improvement, the two strategies are compared regarding the regulation compliance, the energy use, the emissions reduction, the thermal comfort, and the cost-effectiveness of the measures. The results show that the image coordination approach is the best strategy in regard to the studied aspects, achieving a 69%–79% reduction of CO2 emissions and a 75%–97% reduction of heating use, as well as being the only one capable of transforming these buildings into nearly zero energy buildings (nZEBs).</jats:p>

Renewable Energy Deployment and COVID-19 Measures for Sustainable Development

“…It is unknown to what extent the observed slowdown in the spread from March 2020 to September 2020 due to the policy's impact and not the interaction between the virus and the external environment. All renewable energy producers decreased the volume of renewable energy supply in 2020 (except China) [59][60][61][62][63][64][65]. The results expand the literature and show that various COVID-19 restrictive strategies led to a reduction in sustainable demand for renewable energy [66][67][68].…”

Decarbonization and Circular Economy in the Sustainable Development and Renovation of Buildings and Neighbourhoods

“…Energy renovation strategies of social housing are addressed in the article written by Belinda López-Mesa, Marta Monzón-Chavarrías and Almudena Espinosa-Fernández [15]. The two studied strategies are compared based on the regulation compliance, the energy use, the emissions reduction, the thermal comfort and the cost-effectiveness of the measures.…”

The nZEB concept and its requirements for residential buildings renovation in Southern Europe: The case of multi-family buildings from 1961 to 1980 in Portugal and Spain

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