SUSTAINABILITY AND BUILDINGS – FROM ENERGY EFFICIENCY TOWARDS ECO-EFFECTIVENESS

Miha Tomšič, M.Sc., Civ.Eng.

Building and Civil Engineering Institute ZRMK

GREEN 2nd Centralised Training Session and International Workshop, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, February 24, 2011

Building sector:particularities

High investment costs (new build, reconstruction, major renovation).

Long lifetime of a building as a built structure and of built-in construction products (e.g. facade, windows).

Shorter lifetime of elements and devices, which comprise technical support building systems (e.g. boiler, a/c unit).

Complexity – a building is a constitution of numerous components, which need to be carefully coordinated.

Interdependence – a change in one component or its property can significantly influence performance of other components and entire building.

Building sector:wider aspects

Economic and social framework(global, national and local level; market development; competitiveness; general social standard; workplaces; security of supply; etc.).

Long-term environmental impact(transport, materials, energy, emissions, waste).

Influence on end-users(operational and maintenace costs; health and hygiene aspects; comfort; productivity; etc.).

EU Building sector in numbers

Range: 21 billion m2

Annual level of activities:- new construction 1%- demolition 0,5%- renovation 1,8%

Fact: 40% of final energy demand, 36% of CO2 emissions, almost 50% of waste.

Expenses in the public sector: 40% for products and services related to buildings.

EU Building sector - potential and trends

Estimation by International Energy Agency (IEA):

- new construction:

long-term energy saving potential 70-75%;

- renovation of existing building stock:

energy saving potential 55-80%, depending on the building type, its present condition and geographic location.

Fact: monitoring of progress shows that current dynamics leads only to 11% instead of 20% of energy savings until 2010.

Buildings and sustainability

Flashback:

1987, United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED):

Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report*

1992: Agenda 21; The Rio Declaration; Commission on Sustainable Development.

*Sustainable development:

"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirown needs"

Buildings and sustainability

Many names, many explanations

ECOLOGICAL

ECONOMICAL SOCIAL

ASPECTS:

ENERGY&ENVIRONMENT

GR

EEN

PR

OC

UR

EMEN

T

Most difficult to assess and to quantify

EU Building sector - examples of related legislation

- Construction Products Directive (“CPD”; 89/106/EEC)

- Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings (“EPBD”; 2002/91/EC)

- Directive on energy end-use efficiency and energy services (“ESD”; 2006/32/EC)

- Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (2009/28/EC)

- Directive establishing a framework for the setting of ecodesign requirements for energy-related products(“Eco-Design”; 2009/125/EC)

- Recast of the EPBD (2009->2010)

Architectural design, building envelope

Consumption (energy bills)

RES, energy source, emissions

An example of building energy certificate (Slovenia)

Recast EPBD (18 Nov. 2009) – a step further

– Minimum requirements …• … for energy efficiency (new construction and refurbishment) shall

be cost-effective (assessment of costs during the whole building lifetime - LCC (Life Cycle Costs))

– Energy certificates • indicator: primary energy• selling and renting: energy class announced

– Almost zero-energy* buildings• after 2018: all new public buildings (as an example for private sector)• 2020: all new buildings

* common term replacing/comprising passive houses, low-energy houses etc.; also: zero-emission and zero-carbon buildings

New EU strategy 2020 - sustainable growth and employment (March 2010)

Continuation and upgrade of the “too bureaucratic” Lisbon strategy (economical, social and ecological pillar).

Europe 2020: 5 basic goals- 75 % of population aged 20-64 let employed

- 3% EU GDP invested in R&D- Environmental and energy goals 20/20/20* must be fulfilled- School drop-out less than 10%, at least 40% of

youth with higher education- Reduce no. of people on the poverty verge by 20 million

* Confirmation of the 2007 agreement: Reduction of CO2 emissions by 20% (base: 1990) 20% RES share in final energy Increased energy efficiency by 20%

Member states shall set national targets to support the EU 2020 strategy.

New EU energy strategy “Energy 2020”

Priorities:

- Energy efficiency- Consolidation of the energy market- Technological development and promotion- Access to reliable, safe and competitive enery- International relations

Informal meeting of EU ministers responsible for energy sector, September 2010: efficient use of energy as a starting point, existing buildings are the key to positive results.

New EU strategy for energy efficiency

DG: Energy, Environment, Enterprise and Industry

DG Enterprise and Industry:

A Lead Market Innitiative (2008-2011) – 6 areas with high potential growth and innovation

potential; elimination of obstacles fro penetration of new technologies; “Sustainable construction”.

Action plan for sustainable construction (2008-2011) – Performance based national leislation– Public procurement: guidelines for best economic

offer; use of LCC (Life Cycle Costing); encouragement of use of LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) for construction products (EPD) and buildings.

– Labels, certificates: Development of voluntary performance criteria for sustainable construction (incentives, promotion).

– Upgrade of Eurocodes to include other sustainable aspects of construction, e.g. energy and enviromental

Practical consequences –possible areas of intervention

Reduction of transmission heat losses- new materials and elements; new installation techniques (example: windows), elimination of thermal bridges … (where are the limits?)

Reduction of ventilation losses– Low envelope permeability

– Controlled ventilation with heat recovery

>> Blower door test

Practical consequences –possible areas of intervention

Responsibility of end-users(behavioural aspects, patterns of use)

Larger share of RES(Slovenia: 25% of energy demand to be covered by RES, or energy demand >30% lower than regulation criteria)

Materials with low embodied energy– But they must be functionally and technically

comparable to “traditional” or “standard”materials on the market

Decisions can be made at any particular stage, depending on the scope- design

- construction

- maintenance

- demolition and disposal

… and on different levels

- design and construction procedures

- properties of materials, products, and systems

- overall building properties (performance)

Criteria

Qualitative

- references of design or construction team- description of protocols (e.g. transport, construction, …)

- use of particular calculation methods- …

Quantitative

- thermal and environmental characterists of materials- building energy class- (technical) lifetime of a product- …

Combined

“Green scenario” in this moment

Energy efficiency level of the building(class A, B, …)

RES (source, share)

LCC – life-cycle costs(at least for certain components)

Environmental influence and health(emissions, choice of materials; building in use)

NPV OF COSTS IN BUILDING LIFE TIMECOSTS OF RENOVATION SCENARIOS - INVESTMENT, MAINTENANCE, OPERATION

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0 10 20 30 40 50 60

BUILDING LIFE TIME

NP

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EU

R]

VAR1

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NPV OF COSTS IN BUILDING LIFE TIME (VAR2 - before)

INVESTMENT, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE

€ 0,00€ 100.000,00€ 200.000,00€ 300.000,00€ 400.000,00

€ 500.000,00€ 600.000,00€ 700.000,00€ 800.000,00

2006

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building life time

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VZD STROŠKI

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Hot topics for the present and for the near future

• Holistic approach (system as a whole)

• Development of labels and “open”assessment methods

• LCC; Life-Cycle Costs• LCA; Life-Cycle Assessment (products and

services); also known as “cradle to grave”• EPD; Environmental Product Declaration

(environmental performance of products and systems; based on LCA)

…• New(er) concepts: “cradle to cradle”• Efficiency >>> effectiveness

...

Our sustainable actions do have an influence

Thank you for your attention!Thank you for your attention!

miha.tomsic@gi-zrmk.si