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Environmental Performance Measures to Assess Building Refurbishment from a Life Cycle Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Helena Nydahl

    (Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden)

  • Staffan Andersson

    (Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden)

  • Anders P. Åstrand

    (Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden)

  • Thomas Olofsson

    (Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden)

Abstract

Energy efficiency investments in existing buildings are an effective way of reducing the environmental impact of the building stock. Even though policies in the European Union and elsewhere promote a unilateral focus on operational energy reduction, scientific studies highlight the importance of applying a life cycle perspective to energy refurbishment. However, life cycle assessment is often perceived as being complicated and the results difficult to interpret by the construction sector. There is also a lack of guidelines regarding the sustainable ratio between the embodied and accumulated operational impact. The scope of this study is to introduce a life cycle assessment method for building refurbishment that utilizes familiar economic performance tools, namely return on investment and annual yield. The aim is to use the introduced method to analyze a case building with a sustainability profile. The building was refurbished in order to reduce its operational energy use. The introduced method is compatible with a theory of minimum sustainable environmental performance that may be developed through backcasting from defined energy and GHG emissions objectives. The proposed approach will hopefully allow development of sustainable refurbishment objectives that can support the choice of refurbishment investments.

Suggested Citation

  • Helena Nydahl & Staffan Andersson & Anders P. Åstrand & Thomas Olofsson, 2019. "Environmental Performance Measures to Assess Building Refurbishment from a Life Cycle Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:2:p:299-:d:198922
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kwonsik Song & Yonghan Ahn & Joseph Ahn & Nahyun Kwon, 2019. "Development of an Energy Saving Strategy Model for Retrofitting Existing Buildings: A Korean Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, April.

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