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Determination of the Insulation Solution that Leads to Lower CO 2 Emissions during the Construction Phase of a Building

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  • María José Bastante-Ceca

    (Grupo de Investigación en Diseño y Dirección de Proyectos, Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 Valencia, Spain)

  • Alberto Cerezo-Narváez

    (School of Engineering, University of Cádiz, 11519 Puerto Real, Spain)

  • José-María Piñero-Vilela

    (School of Engineering, University of Cádiz, 11519 Puerto Real, Spain)

  • Andrés Pastor-Fernández

    (School of Engineering, University of Cádiz, 11519 Puerto Real, Spain)

Abstract

The characteristics of the envelope of a building determine, together with other factors, its consumption of energy. Additionally, the climate zone and insulation material may vary the minimum insulation thickness of walls and roofs, making it different, according to cooling down or warming up the home. Spanish legislation establishes different maximum values for energy demand according to different climate area both for heating and for cooling. This paper presents the results of a study that determines the influence of many variables as the climate zone or the orientation, among others, in the optimization of thickness insulation in residential homes in Spain to reduce the CO 2 emissions embodied. To do that, 12 representative cities in Spain corresponding to different climate zones, four orientations, two constructive solutions, and four different configurations of the same house have been combined, for three different hypotheses and four insulation materials, resulting in 4608 cases of study. The results show that, under equal conditions on energy demand, the optimal insulation requirements are determined by heating necessities more than by cooling ones. In addition, a higher insulation thickness need does not necessarily mean more CO 2 emissions, since it can be compensated with a lower Global Warming Potential characterization factor that is associated to the insulation material. The findings of this study can serve to designers and architects to establish the better combination of the variables that are involved in order to minimize the CO 2 emissions embodied during the construction phase of a building, making it more energy efficient.

Suggested Citation

  • María José Bastante-Ceca & Alberto Cerezo-Narváez & José-María Piñero-Vilela & Andrés Pastor-Fernández, 2019. "Determination of the Insulation Solution that Leads to Lower CO 2 Emissions during the Construction Phase of a Building," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-39, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:12:p:2400-:d:242000
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Rosaria E.C. Amaral & Joel Brito & Matt Buckman & Elicia Drake & Esther Ilatova & Paige Rice & Carlos Sabbagh & Sergei Voronkin & Yewande S. Abraham, 2020. "Waste Management and Operational Energy for Sustainable Buildings: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-21, July.
    2. Ida Karlsson & Johan Rootzén & Alla Toktarova & Mikael Odenberger & Filip Johnsson & Lisa Göransson, 2020. "Roadmap for Decarbonization of the Building and Construction Industry—A Supply Chain Analysis Including Primary Production of Steel and Cement," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-40, August.
    3. Daria Zaborova & Tatiana Musorina, 2022. "Environmental and Energy-Efficiency Considerations for Selecting Building Envelopes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-15, May.

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