IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v80y2017icp421-429.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of thermal insulation investments on sustainability in the construction sector

Author

Listed:
  • Adamczyk, Janusz
  • Dylewski, Robert

Abstract

Sustainable construction is the only way to ensure the implementation of the principles of sustainable development. The paper presents the importance of the thermal insulating investment of the building in three areas: economic, environmental and social. It shows the influence of the existence of the building on the environment, with a particular focus on the investment process involving thermal insulating of external vertical walls of the building. The paper proposes a methodology for assessing the environmental and economic benefits. The analyses for various combinations were performed, including the condition of the building before thermal insulation, type of construction material of the building, the heat source used, type of thermal insulation and climate zone, in which the building is located. The obtained results indicate that the thermal insulation investment is, for all examined variants, beneficial for ecological reasons and for almost all economic reasons. The highest values of economic benefits were obtained for the variant of the coldest climate, and the variant in which the building before thermal insulation has the worst thermal performance, the most expensive type of heat source (i.e. the biggest costs of obtaining 1kWh of thermal energy) and the least expensive material used for thermal insulation. The highest values of environmental benefits were obtained for the variant of the coldest climate, which is obvious, but also for the variant, in which the building before thermal insulation has the worst thermal insulation, the least environmentally friendly type of heat source and the most eco-friendly insulation material applied. The paper also articulates social benefits resulting from such an investment.

Suggested Citation

  • Adamczyk, Janusz & Dylewski, Robert, 2017. "The impact of thermal insulation investments on sustainability in the construction sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 421-429.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:80:y:2017:i:c:p:421-429
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.173
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032117308031
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2017.05.173?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kanellakis, M. & Martinopoulos, G. & Zachariadis, T., 2013. "European energy policy—A review," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1020-1030.
    2. Lin, Chiun-Sin & Liou, Fen-May & Huang, Chih-Pin, 2011. "Grey forecasting model for CO2 emissions: A Taiwan study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(11), pages 3816-3820.
    3. Verde, Stefano F. & Pazienza, Maria Grazia, 2016. "Energy and climate hand-in-hand: Financing RES-E support with carbon revenues," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 234-244.
    4. Michelsen, Carl Christian & Madlener, Reinhard, 2016. "Switching from fossil fuel to renewables in residential heating systems: An empirical study of homeowners' decisions in Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 95-105.
    5. Hasan, Afif, 1999. "Optimizing insulation thickness for buildings using life cycle cost," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 115-124, June.
    6. Kaynakli, O., 2008. "A study on residential heating energy requirement and optimum insulation thickness," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 1164-1172.
    7. Ozturk, Murat & Yuksel, Yunus Emre, 2016. "Energy structure of Turkey for sustainable development," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1259-1272.
    8. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808, Decembrie.
    9. Chua, K.J. & Chou, S.K. & Yang, W.M. & Yan, J., 2013. "Achieving better energy-efficient air conditioning – A review of technologies and strategies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 87-104.
    10. Schade, Jutta & Wallström, Peter & Olofsson, Thomas & Lagerqvist, Ove, 2013. "A comparative study of the design and construction process of energy efficient buildings in Germany and Sweden," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 28-37.
    11. Unknown, 2016. "Energy for Sustainable Development," Conference Proceedings 253270, Guru Arjan Dev Institute of Development Studies (IDSAsr).
    12. Helm, Dieter, 2014. "The European framework for energy and climate policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 29-35.
    13. Duić, Neven & Guzović, Zvonimir & Kafarov, Vyatcheslav & Klemeš, Jiří Jaromír & Mathiessen, Brian vad & Yan, Jinyue, 2013. "Sustainable development of energy, water and environment systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 3-5.
    14. Hartikainen, Teemu & Lehtonen, Jorma & Mikkonen, Risto, 2004. "Reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions by utilization of superconductivity in electric-power generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 151-158, June.
    15. Walter Radermacher, 1999. "Indicators, Green Accounting and Environment Statistics— Information Requirements for Sustainable Development," International Statistical Review, International Statistical Institute, vol. 67(3), pages 339-354, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Davide Del Curto & Valentina Cinieri, 2020. "Aerogel-Based Plasters and Energy Efficiency of Historic Buildings. Literature Review and Guidelines for Manufacturing Specimens Destined for Thermal Tests," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-23, November.
    2. Janusz Adamczyk & Robert Dylewski, 2020. "Ecological and Economic Benefits of the “Medium” Level of the Building Thermo-Modernization: A Case Study in Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-14, September.
    3. Gonçalves, Márcio & Simões, Nuno & Serra, Catarina & Flores-Colen, Inês, 2020. "A review of the challenges posed by the use of vacuum panels in external insulation finishing systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    4. Dehwah, Ammar H.A. & Krarti, Moncef, 2021. "Cost-benefit analysis of retrofitting attic-integrated switchable insulation systems of existing US residential buildings," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    5. Avendaño-Vera, Constanza & Martinez-Soto, Aner & Marincioni, Valentina, 2020. "Determination of optimal thermal inertia of building materials for housing in different Chilean climate zones," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    6. Rosa Agliata & Alfonso Marino & Luigi Mollo & Paolo Pariso, 2020. "Historic Building Energy Audit and Retrofit Simulation with Hemp-Lime Plaster—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-16, June.
    7. Shilei Lu & Zichen Wang & Tianshuai Zhang, 2020. "Quantitative Analysis and Multi-Index Evaluation of the Green Building Envelope Performance in the Cold Area of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-38, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Salem Nechi & Belaid Aouni & Zouhair Mrabet, 2020. "Managing sustainable development through goal programming model and satisfaction functions," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 293(2), pages 747-766, October.
    2. Miriam Müller & Oscar Reutter, 2017. "Vision Development towards a Sustainable North Rhine-Westphalia 2030 in a Science-Practice-Dialogue," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-27, June.
    3. Ucar, Aynur & Balo, Figen, 2009. "Effect of fuel type on the optimum thickness of selected insulation materials for the four different climatic regions of Turkey," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 86(5), pages 730-736, May.
    4. Millar, Neal & McLaughlin, Eoin & Börger, Tobias, 2019. "The Circular Economy: Swings and Roundabouts?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 11-19.
    5. Axaopoulos, Ioannis & Axaopoulos, Petros & Gelegenis, John, 2014. "Optimum insulation thickness for external walls on different orientations considering the speed and direction of the wind," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 167-175.
    6. Omer Kaynakli, 2011. "Parametric Investigation of Optimum Thermal Insulation Thickness for External Walls," Energies, MDPI, vol. 4(6), pages 1-15, June.
    7. Carlos Moreno Miranda & Ra?l Moreno & Pablo Moreno, 2020. "Protected-Denomination-of-Origin Cocoa Bean: Chain governance and Sustainability Performance," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 22(1), pages 1-24.
    8. Magdalena Tutak & Jarosław Brodny & Peter Bindzár, 2021. "Assessing the Level of Energy and Climate Sustainability in the European Union Countries in the Context of the European Green Deal Strategy and Agenda 2030," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-32, March.
    9. Brelik, Agnieszka, 2017. "Organic Farming In Poland In Aspects Of Bioeconomy And Sustainable Agriculture," Roczniki (Annals), Polish Association of Agricultural Economists and Agribusiness - Stowarzyszenie Ekonomistow Rolnictwa e Agrobiznesu (SERiA), vol. 2016(4), May.
    10. Zeng, Sheng & Su, Bin & Zhang, Minglong & Gao, Yuan & Liu, Jun & Luo, Song & Tao, Qingmei, 2021. "Analysis and forecast of China's energy consumption structure," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    11. Julian T. M. Pinto & Manuel E. Morales & Mariia Fedoruk & Marina Kovaleva & Arnaud Diemer, 2019. "Servitization in Support of Sustainable Cities: What Are Steel’s Contributions and Challenges?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, February.
    12. Dongqing Sun & Fanzhi Wang & Nanxu Chen & Jing Chen, 2021. "The Impacts of Technology Shocks on Sustainable Development from the Perspective of Energy Structure—A DSGE Model Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Zoltán Nagy & Tekla Sebestyén Szép, 2017. "Sustainable Energy in Post-Communist East- Central Europe - A Comprehensive Study," Theory Methodology Practice (TMP), Faculty of Economics, University of Miskolc, vol. 13(02), pages 59-70.
    14. Jelena Malenović Nikolić & Dejan Vasović & Ivana Filipović & Stevan Mušicki & Ivica Ristović, 2016. "Application of Project Management Process on Environmental Management System Improvement in Mining-Energy Complexes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-20, December.
    15. Ottmar Edenhofer & Susanne Kadner & Christoph von Stechow & Gregor Schwerhoff & Gunnar Luderer, 2014. "Linking climate change mitigation research to sustainable development," Chapters, in: Giles Atkinson & Simon Dietz & Eric Neumayer & Matthew Agarwala (ed.), Handbook of Sustainable Development, chapter 30, pages 476-499, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    16. Chen, Sai & Song, Yan & Zhang, Ming, 2021. "Study on the sustainability evaluation and development path selection of China’s coal base from the perspective of spatial field," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PA).
    17. Issa Ibrahim Berchin & Ana Regina de Aguiar Dutra & José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra, 2021. "How do higher education institutions promote sustainable development? A literature review," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 1204-1222, November.
    18. Nur Izzah Hamna A. Aziz & Marlia M. Hanafiah & Shabbir H. Gheewala & Haikal Ismail, 2020. "Bioenergy for a Cleaner Future: A Case Study of Sustainable Biogas Supply Chain in the Malaysian Energy Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-24, April.
    19. Magdalena Ligus & Piotr Peternek, 2021. "The Sustainable Energy Development Index—An Application for European Union Member States," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-32, February.
    20. Fang‐Li Ruan & Liang Yan, 2022. "Challenges facing indicators to become a universal language for sustainable urban development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(1), pages 41-57, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:80:y:2017:i:c:p:421-429. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.