ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS IN PUBLIC BUILDINGS AS A RESULT OF RETROFIT ACTIONS

Abstract

The paperpresentstheresultsofanenergyandenvironmentalassessmentofasetofretrofitactions implementedintheframeworkoftheEUProject‘‘BRITAinPuBs’’(BringingRetrofitInnovationto ApplicationinPublicBuildings–no:TREN/04/FP6EN/S07.31038/503135).Outcomesarisefromalife cycle approachfocusedonthefollowingissues:(i)constructionmaterialsandcomponentsusedduring retrofits; (ii)maincomponentsofconventionalandrenewableenergysystems;(iii)impactsrelatedto the buildingconstruction,forthedifferentelementsandthewholebuilding. The resultsarepresentedaccordingtothedataformatoftheEnvironmentalProductDeclaration. Syntheticindices,asenergyandGWPpaybacktimes,andenergyreturnratio,aredefinedtobetter describetheenergyandenvironmentalperformancesoftheactions. The projecthighlightstheroleofthelifecycleapproachforselectingthemosteffectiveoptionsduring the designandimplementationofretrofitactions