Thermal Modernization Cost and the Potential Ecological Effect—Scenario Analysis for Thermal Modernization in Southern Poland

Abstract

Air pollution is one of the important environmental problems in Poland. The main cause of its occurrence is emissions associated with individual heating of buildings. The reduction of the primary energy demand in a building is influenced by its proper thermal modernization, including in particular insulating. In view of the above, this article presents the results of studies on the possible environmental benefits of thermal modernization of single-family houses for the area of Southern Poland. The analysis was limited to determining the impact of measures to reduce air pollution emissions by insulating the building envelope of single-family houses. The research was conducted for two voivodeships: Śląskie and Małopolskie. Its aim is to identify the financial costs and achievable ecological effects of the thermal modernization of single-family buildings. The geographical selection of the research area was based on the fact that it covers the most polluted region in Poland. This region is characterized by many features that influence poor air quality. Among these features, the most important are: diversified building structure, a diverse topography, and very high population density. To limit multiple variables, we have selected a scenario method that has already been used in similar research. Four scenarios were established to show the relationship between the value of emission reductions and the level of funding for thermal modernization. The analysis allows a comparison of the effectiveness of individual variants and the transposition of their results into the possibilities of action in the region. This research will help to supplement the knowledge of the impact of insulating building envelopes on reducing pollutant emissions by reducing the energy demand of a building. They also identify a possible link between the level of this reduction and the grant amount for thermal modernization. As a result, it was found that a high share of external funding—stimulating the tendency of the inhabitants of the analyzed voivodeships to effective thermal modernization, and thus reducing the buildings’ energy consumption—has a significant impact on the improvement of air quality.

Thermomodernization as a Mechanism for Improving Energy Efficiency and Reducing Emissions of Pollutants into the Atmosphere in a Public Utility Building

“…In turn, other works in the field of thermal modernization concern the assessment of activities aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings made with prefabricated technology. One study assessed whether a change in the method of central heating control from a traditional one, taking into account only the change in the external temperature in relation to the weather, would contribute to an increase in the energy efficiency of buildings [29]. Another publication presented the results of research on the possible environmental benefits of thermal modernization of single-family houses in the area of southern Poland.…”

“…The research was conducted for two voivodeships: Śl ąskie and Małopolskie. Its purpose was to determine the financial costs and possible environmental effects of thermal modernization of single-family buildings [29,30].…”

Renewable Energy Sources vs. an Air Quality Improvement in Urbanized Areas - the Metropolitan Area of Kraków Case

“…Research studies are carried out in relation to both renewable energy sources and thermal modernization of buildings. (Dzikuć and Adamczyk, 2015;Blazy et al, 2021). At the same time, most of the scientific works on similar topics concern countries in which the development of energy generation using photovoltaic cells is significant -mainly China, and in Europe, Germany or the Czech Republic (Roos (2021), in Poland, e.g., rural areas (Piwowar and Dzikuć, 2019), or the western part of the country.…”

“…This problem is particularly visible in the southern part of the country. (Blazy et al, 2021). According to the report illustrating the air condition in Małopolska in 2020, the highest levels of pollution are mainly related to PM10 and benzo (a) pyrene.…”

Optimization of Modernization of a Single-Family Building in Poland Including Thermal Comfort

“…It is necessary to create regulations and an advisory system for end-users of single-family buildings that include the process of increasing energy efficiency, which will be beneficial from not only an economic point of view [39]. The importance of this segment, single-family houses in Poland in the context of thermal modernization, was shown in [40,41]. Improvement of the energy quality of existing buildings together with the increasing of thermal comfort and reduction of greenhouse gas and dust emissions, can be achieved using the optimization procedure and appropriate definition of the objective function and decision variables.…”