IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i6p3054-d514681.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comfort within Budget: Assessing the Cost-Effectiveness of Envelope Improvements in Single-Family Affordable Housing

Author

Listed:
  • Renata Tubelo

    (Buildings, Energy and Environment Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK)

  • Lucelia Rodrigues

    (Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK)

  • Mark Gillott

    (Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK)

  • May Zune

    (Azura BIM Solutions (Yangon) and Shwe Eain Construction (Bhamo), Hlaing 11051, Myanmar)

Abstract

In Brazil, the delivery of homes for low-inc ome households is dictated by costs rather than performance. Issues such as the impact of climate change, affordability of operational energy use, and lack of energy security are not taken into account, even though they can severely impact the occupants. In this work, the authors evaluated the thermal performance of two affordable houses as-built and after the integration of envelope improvements. A new replicable method to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of these improvements was proposed. The case study houses comprise the most common affordable housing type delivered widely across Brazil and a proposition of a better affordable housing solution, built in Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, integrating passive design strategies to increase thermal comfort. The findings reveal a potential for improving indoor thermal conditions by up to 76% and 73%, respectively, if costs are not a concern, and 40% and 45% with a cost increase of 12% and 9% if a comfort criterion of 20–25 °C was considered. Equations to estimate costs of improvements in affordable housing were developed. The authors concluded that there is a great scope for building envelope optimisation, and that this is still possible without significant impact on budget.

Suggested Citation

  • Renata Tubelo & Lucelia Rodrigues & Mark Gillott & May Zune, 2021. "Comfort within Budget: Assessing the Cost-Effectiveness of Envelope Improvements in Single-Family Affordable Housing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-23, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:6:p:3054-:d:514681
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/6/3054/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/6/3054/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ghisi, Enedir & Gosch, Samuel & Lamberts, Roberto, 2007. "Electricity end-uses in the residential sector of Brazil," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(8), pages 4107-4120, August.
    2. Pacheco, Miguel & Lamberts, Roberto, 2013. "Assessment of technical and economical viability for large-scale conversion of single family residential buildings into zero energy buildings in Brazil: Climatic and cultural considerations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 716-725.
    3. Triana, Maria Andrea & Lamberts, Roberto & Sassi, Paola, 2015. "Characterisation of representative building typologies for social housing projects in Brazil and its energy performance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 524-541.
    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. Le-Minh Ngo & Hai-Binh Nguyen & Thi-Phuong Uyen Nguyen & Thi-Minh Dieu Nguyen, 2021. "On Transforming Unused Urban Spaces to Social Housing for Self-Employed People in Ho Chi Minh City: An Architectural Space Design Proposal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, November.

    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. Oliveira, Mario Henrique da Fonseca & Rebelatto, Daisy Aparecida do Nascimento, 2015. "The evaluation of electric energy consumption in the Brazilian residential sector: A technological improvement proposal in order to increase its efficiency," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 836-844.
    2. Miranda, Raul F.C. & Szklo, Alexandre & Schaeffer, Roberto, 2015. "Technical-economic potential of PV systems on Brazilian rooftops," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 694-713.
    3. Pedro Paulo Fernandes da Silva & Alberto Hernandez Neto & Ildo Luis Sauer, 2021. "Evaluation of Model Calibration Method for Simulation Performance of a Public Hospital in Brazil," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-20, June.
    4. Garshasbi, Samira & Kurnitski, Jarek & Mohammadi, Yousef, 2016. "A hybrid Genetic Algorithm and Monte Carlo simulation approach to predict hourly energy consumption and generation by a cluster of Net Zero Energy Buildings," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 626-637.
    5. Walsh, Angélica & Cóstola, Daniel & Labaki, Lucila Chebel, 2018. "Performance-based validation of climatic zoning for building energy efficiency applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 416-427.
    6. Wanjiru, Evan M. & Sichilalu, Sam M. & Xia, Xiaohua, 2017. "Optimal control of heat pump water heater-instantaneous shower using integrated renewable-grid energy systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(C), pages 332-342.
    7. Wijaya, Muhammad Ery & Tezuka, Tetsuo, 2013. "Measures for improving the adoption of higher efficiency appliances in Indonesian households: An analysis of lifetime use and decision-making in the purchase of electrical appliances," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 981-987.
    8. Pereira Uhr, Daniel de Abreu & Squarize Chagas, André Luis & Ziero Uhr, Júlia Gallego, 2019. "Estimation of elasticities for electricity demand in Brazilian households and policy implications," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 69-79.
    9. Daglish, Toby & de Bragança, Gabriel Godofredo Fiuza & Owen, Sally & Romano, Teresa, 2021. "Pricing effects of the electricity market reform in Brazil," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    10. Yu, Yanzhe & Cheng, Jie & You, Shijun & Ye, Tianzhen & Zhang, Huan & Fan, Man & Wei, Shen & Liu, Shan, 2019. "Effect of implementing building energy efficiency labeling in China: A case study in Shanghai," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    11. Cubillos-González, Rolando-Arturo & Cardoso, Grace Tibério, 2021. "Affordable housing and clean technology transfer in construction firms in Brazil," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    12. Vieira, Nathália Duarte Braz & Nogueira, Luiz Augusto Horta & Haddad, Jamil, 2018. "An assessment of CO2 emissions avoided by energy-efficiency programs: A general methodology and a case study in Brazil," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 702-715.
    13. Augustus de Melo, Conrado & Cunha, Kamyla Borges & Santiago Suárez, Gabriela Piovesan, 2022. "MEPS for air conditioners in Brazil: Regulatory developments and future perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    14. Villareal, Maria José Charfuelan & Moreira, João Manoel Losada, 2016. "Household consumption of electricity in Brazil between 1985 and 2013," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 251-259.
    15. James A. Gana & Thomas Hoppe, 2017. "Assessment of the Governance System Regarding Adoption of Energy Efficient Appliances by Households in Nigeria," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-21, January.
    16. David Bienvenido-Huertas & Miguel Oliveira & Carlos Rubio-Bellido & David Marín, 2019. "A Comparative Analysis of the International Regulation of Thermal Properties in Building Envelope," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-30, October.
    17. Le-Minh Ngo & Hai-Binh Nguyen & Thi-Phuong Uyen Nguyen & Thi-Minh Dieu Nguyen, 2021. "On Transforming Unused Urban Spaces to Social Housing for Self-Employed People in Ho Chi Minh City: An Architectural Space Design Proposal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, November.
    18. Jairo da Costa Junior & Jan Carel Diehl & Fernando Secomandi, 2019. "Towards Systems-Oriented Energy Solutions: A Multilevel Analysis of a Low-Income Energy Efficiency Program in Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-22, October.
    19. Daniel de Abreu Pereira Uhr & Júlia Gallego Ziero Uhr, André Luis Squarize Chagas, 2017. "Estimation of price and income elasticities for the Brazilian household electricity demand," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2017_12, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    20. Jalil-Vega, Francisca & García Kerdan, Iván & Hawkes, Adam D., 2020. "Spatially-resolved urban energy systems model to study decarbonisation pathways for energy services in cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).

    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:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:6:p:3054-:d:514681. 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.