IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2022i1p113-d1011295.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparison of the Carbon Payback Period (CPP) of Different Variants of Insulation Materials and Existing External Walls in Selected European Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Kajetan Sadowski

    (Faculty of Architecture, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, 50-317 Wrocław, Poland)

Abstract

The EU “Fit for 55” legislative package provides for the introduction of regulations enabling the achievement of the emission reduction target by 55%. As part of the necessary actions, it is necessary to increase the energy efficiency of existing buildings. To achieve this, there are plans to increase the pace of the modernization of buildings, from 1% to 3% of buildings annually by 2030. However, this must be done with respect to the principles of sustainable development, circular economy and the conservation of buildings. This article presents a comprehensive comparison and calculation of carbon payback period (CPP) for selected insulation materials, combined with selected typical building partitions, and shows how quickly the payback period of greenhouse gases in the production of insulation materials is completed. Individual insulation materials (stone and glass wool, expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS), polyurethane (PUR) and cellulose) were analyzed in relation to different types of walls (seven types—including solid wall, diaphragm wall, large panel system (LPS), and concrete), in different locations (Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Finland, Europe) and for various energy sources (electricity, gas, oil, biomass, district heating). After taking into account the carbon footprint embodied in the insulation materials, along with the potential reductions in the operational greenhouse gases emissions, the carbon payback period (CPP) was determined, resulting from the use of a given technology, insulation material and location. By comparing the CPPs for different insulations, this paper shows that the results vary significantly between EU countries, which have different embodied carbon factors for energy sources and materials, and that there is still a serious lack in the availability of reliable environmental information, which can limit research results.

Suggested Citation

  • Kajetan Sadowski, 2022. "Comparison of the Carbon Payback Period (CPP) of Different Variants of Insulation Materials and Existing External Walls in Selected European Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-30, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2022:i:1:p:113-:d:1011295
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/1/113/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/1/113/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lu, L. & Yang, H.X., 2010. "Environmental payback time analysis of a roof-mounted building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system in Hong Kong," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(12), pages 3625-3631, December.
    2. Yard, Stefan, 2000. "Developments of the payback method," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 155-167, September.
    3. Singh, Udayan & Colosi, Lisa M., 2021. "The case for estimating carbon return on investment (CROI) for CCUS platforms," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Zhang, Chunbo & Hu, Mingming & Laclau, Benjamin & Garnesson, Thomas & Yang, Xining & Tukker, Arnold, 2021. "Energy-carbon-investment payback analysis of prefabricated envelope-cladding system for building energy renovation: Cases in Spain, the Netherlands, and Sweden," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    2. Eke, Rustu & Senturk, Ali, 2013. "Monitoring the performance of single and triple junction amorphous silicon modules in two building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) installations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 154-162.
    3. Hamed, Mohammad M. & Mohammed, Ali & Olabi, Abdul Ghani, 2023. "Renewable energy adoption decisions in Jordan's industrial sector: Statistical analysis with unobserved heterogeneity," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    4. Ludin, Norasikin Ahmad & Mustafa, Nur Ifthitah & Hanafiah, Marlia M. & Ibrahim, Mohd Adib & Asri Mat Teridi, Mohd & Sepeai, Suhaila & Zaharim, Azami & Sopian, Kamaruzzaman, 2018. "Prospects of life cycle assessment of renewable energy from solar photovoltaic technologies: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 11-28.
    5. Haneen Abuzaid & Fatin Samara, 2022. "Environmental and Economic Impact Assessments of a Photovoltaic Rooftop System in the United Arab Emirates," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-27, November.
    6. Abokersh, Mohamed Hany & Vallès, Manel & Cabeza, Luisa F. & Boer, Dieter, 2020. "A framework for the optimal integration of solar assisted district heating in different urban sized communities: A robust machine learning approach incorporating global sensitivity analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    7. Kharseh, Mohamad & Al-Khawaja, Mohammed & Hassani, Ferri, 2015. "Utilization of oil wells for electricity generation: Performance and economics," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(P1), pages 910-916.
    8. Tiantian Zhang & Meng Wang & Hongxing Yang, 2018. "A Review of the Energy Performance and Life-Cycle Assessment of Building-Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-34, November.
    9. Hamed, Tareq Abu & Alshare, Aiman & El-Khalil, Hossam, 2019. "Passive cooling of building-integrated photovolatics in desert conditions: Experiment and modeling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 170(C), pages 131-138.
    10. Bilir, Levent & Yildirim, Nurdan, 2018. "Modeling and performance analysis of a hybrid system for a residential application," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 555-569.
    11. Aotian Song & Lin Lu & Zhizhao Liu & Man Sing Wong, 2016. "A Study of Incentive Policies for Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Technology in Hong Kong," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-21, August.
    12. Hammond, Geoffrey P. & Harajli, Hassan A. & Jones, Craig I. & Winnett, Adrian B., 2012. "Whole systems appraisal of a UK Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) system: Energy, environmental, and economic evaluations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 219-230.
    13. Radhi, Hassan, 2012. "Trade-off between environmental and economic implications of PV systems integrated into the UAE residential sector," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 2468-2474.
    14. Kong, Minjin & Ji, Changyoon & Hong, Taehoon & Kang, Hyuna, 2022. "Impact of the use of recycled materials on the energy conservation and energy transition of buildings using life cycle assessment: A case study in South Korea," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    15. Jeongyoon Oh & Taehoon Hong & Hakpyeong Kim & Jongbaek An & Kwangbok Jeong & Choongwan Koo, 2017. "Advanced Strategies for Net-Zero Energy Building: Focused on the Early Phase and Usage Phase of a Building’s Life Cycle," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-52, December.
    16. Luo, Yongqiang & Zhang, Ling & Liu, Zhongbing & Wang, Yingzi & Meng, Fangfang & Wu, Jing, 2016. "Thermal performance evaluation of an active building integrated photovoltaic thermoelectric wall system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 25-39.
    17. Goe, Michele & Gaustad, Gabrielle, 2014. "Strengthening the case for recycling photovoltaics: An energy payback analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 41-48.
    18. Yvan Dutil & Daniel Rousse & Guillermo Quesada, 2011. "Sustainable Buildings: An Ever Evolving Target," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(2), pages 1-22, February.
    19. Leckner, Mitchell & Zmeureanu, Radu, 2011. "Life cycle cost and energy analysis of a Net Zero Energy House with solar combisystem," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 232-241, January.
    20. Peng, Jinqing & Lu, Lin, 2013. "Investigation on the development potential of rooftop PV system in Hong Kong and its environmental benefits," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 149-162.

    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:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2022:i:1:p:113-:d:1011295. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.