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Evaluation of natural-based internal insulation systems in historic buildings through a holistic approach

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  • Bottino-Leone, Dario
  • Larcher, Marco
  • Herrera-Avellanosa, Daniel
  • Haas, Franziska
  • Troi, Alexandra

Abstract

Historic buildings are defining elements of city centres but also responsible for a large share of greenhouse gas emissions. In order to reduce their energy demand, it is important to improve envelopes’ thermal transmittance without damaging the historic integrity of their façades by applying interior insulation. Thus, a detailed planning is needed to guarantee that case-specific variables are well considered. In this study, a holistic performance-based evaluation method is developed. Firstly, the hygrothermal risks are investigated through dynamic hygrothermal simulation. Secondly, an energy assessment is performed, followed by a life-cycle assessment to investigate the environmental impact of the intervention. The developed method is applied in the framework of a conservation and rehabilitation case of a residential building, to evaluate six natural-based insulation systems: perlite filled bricks, wood fibre, cellulose, cork, mineral foam, and calcium silicate. Results show that vegetal-based materials have the lowest initial environmental impact. In any case, retrofit interventions proved to be crucial to reduce the overall environmental impact associated with the use of historic buildings. The developed method, proving to be suitable for application to internally insulated historic buildings, supports a clear identification of the design solution with the lowest environmental impact by using a unique indicator.

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  • Bottino-Leone, Dario & Larcher, Marco & Herrera-Avellanosa, Daniel & Haas, Franziska & Troi, Alexandra, 2019. "Evaluation of natural-based internal insulation systems in historic buildings through a holistic approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 521-531.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:181:y:2019:i:c:p:521-531
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2019.05.139
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    2. Cho, Hyun Mi & Yun, Beom Yeol & Kim, Young Uk & Yuk, Hyeonseong & Kim, Sumin, 2022. "Integrated retrofit solutions for improving the energy performance of historic buildings through energy technology suitability analyses: Retrofit plan of wooden truss and masonry composite structure i," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
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    5. Qu, Ke & Chen, Xiangjie & Wang, Yixin & Calautit, John & Riffat, Saffa & Cui, Xin, 2021. "Comprehensive energy, economic and thermal comfort assessments for the passive energy retrofit of historical buildings - A case study of a late nineteenth-century Victorian house renovation in the UK," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    6. Małgorzata Basińska & Dobrosława Kaczorek & Halina Koczyk, 2021. "Economic and Energy Analysis of Building Retrofitting Using Internal Insulations," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, April.
    7. Bottino-Leone, Dario & Larcher, Marco & Troi, Alexandra & Grunewald, John, 2021. "Impact of climatic parameters on rain protection layer design for refurbished historic buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    8. Yohei Endo & Hideki Takamura, 2021. "Evaluation of Life-Cycle Assessment Analysis: Application to Restoration Projects and New Construction in Alpine Climate, Japan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, March.
    9. Evangelisti, Luca & De Lieto Vollaro, Roberto & Asdrubali, Francesco, 2022. "On the equivalent thermo-physical properties for modeling building walls with unknown stratigraphy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PA).
    10. Lauren Etxepare & Iñigo Leon & Maialen Sagarna & Iñigo Lizundia & Eneko Jokin Uranga, 2020. "Advanced Intervention Protocol in the Energy Rehabilitation of Heritage Buildings: A Miñones Barracks Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-33, August.
    11. Michał Piasecki & Elżbieta Radziszewska-Zielina & Piotr Czerski & Małgorzata Fedorczak-Cisak & Michał Zielina & Paweł Krzyściak & Patrycja Kwaśniewska-Sip & Wojciech Grześkowiak, 2020. "Implementation of the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Model for the Assessment of a Retrofitted Historical Masonry Building," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-27, November.
    12. Andra Blumberga & Ritvars Freimanis & Edite Biseniece & Agris Kamenders, 2023. "Hygrothermal Performance Evaluation of Internally Insulated Historic Stone Building in a Cold Climate," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-24, January.
    13. Belén Onecha & Alicia Dotor & Carlos Marmolejo-Duarte, 2021. "Beyond Cultural and Historic Values, Sustainability as a New Kind of Value for Historic Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-18, July.
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