The accomplishment of portuguese thermal code exigencies in old housing buildings’ interventions

The energetic certification system was implemented in Portugal in 2006, with repercussion after 2008, and motivated by the transposition of European Energy Performance Building Directive (EPBD) from 2002. The system was reviewed in 2013, after the EPBD recast in 2010. The new legislation came up with restrictive parameters in terms of constructive solutions in order to decrease the energetic consume and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GGE) from built environment. These parameters, such as U-values for example, are presented through reference and maximum values, and is mandatory that the analyzed building present a nominal cooling and heating needs inferior than a reference building. The thermal code is not mandatory for some buildings, considering some specific characteristics, and are an exception to the norm. It is possible not to apply it in the situation when the code compromises traditional buildings in terms of architectural value and/or patrimonial interest. The aim of this work focused on the analysis of some interventions, the existent solutions and the intervention actions, in old buildings where the thermal code was not applied. These data were compared with the thermal code exigencies in order to understand what extra efforts are required in order to accomplish the reference values and its implications in buildings architectural characteristics as well as its impact in patrimonial relevance and value.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The applicability of passive solar solutions to portuguese traditional buildings

This work enhances the application of a clear and concise methodology to help choosing the most accurate passive solar techniques according to local climate and its influence on construction. To carry out these goals, the analysis of concepts of fictitious temperatures, the psicrometric diagram and its relation to passive solar systems zones previously established and, finally, the constructive changes that each technique requires is needed. This last factor mentioned took into account the technological and scientific knowledge, as well as the current constructive solutions applicable in the building construction sector in Portugal. The article clears these questions from the design point of view, establishing a straight interdependence between theoretic concepts and its practical application, framed by a context of optimisation, adopting the Portuguese traditional construction as the experimental scenario

Computing the thermal energy performance of building by virtue of building dimensional typology

The constructive particularities of Portuguese old buildings, with specific and ancient constructive solutions and buildings’ aesthetics, determine the type of interventions and turn some of the most efficient interventions impossible to apply. Since the external appearance of buildings in old city centers must be preserved, nor is the use of external isolation not an alternative, neither the use of materials with low hygro-scopicity, due to the nature of the material used in exterior walls, usually stone. Presented research was expanded to figure out the reaction of different intervention solutions which are used in old buildings’ envelope to accomplish their energy performance. The old city center of Coimbra has a building typology very characteristic and similar to other Old Portuguese city centers, so the idea was to create a representative building of their dimensional characteristics. The modeled building unit was designed after studying around thirty buildings. With all the collected data, it was possible to design a building which we consider that as representative of Coimbra City Centre buildings. This modelled building was used to simulate, with Design Builder software, in real condition and with different solutions for interventions in facades, to predicting the thermal performance achieved for each one. Their final performance was analyzed and compared. The achieved results will be used to define the most suitable interventions in old buildings to improve its energy performance beside of good indoor air quality.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sustainable heritage: analysis of bulding's thermal behaviour

The energy consumption of buildings has presented a steady growth in face of the global energy consumption. This fact is related to a variety of factors, including the increased demand for comfort by the inhabitants, the low quality of construction of buildings and their inadequacy to the climatic and environmental context in which they are included. Reversing this tendency includes the necessary intervention in the built environment, promoting the attainment of comfort through interventions that respect the principles of sustainability in construction, namely in resource consumption over the building’s life cycle. Energy rehabilitation can be accomplished by enhancing the envelope’s thermal protection using strategies in terms of i) strengthening insulation in the opaque envelope; ii) strengthening insulation of the glazing and iii) control of solar gains. The use of passive solar systems and the improvement of energy systems are other approaches for improving the thermal performance of dwellings. This study examines the constructive characteristics and the pathologies found in approximately 700 buildings located in Coimbra’s downtown (“Baixa”), the historic sector of the city. From this analysis it was possible to assess the present-day performance of these buildings, attending to the existing code and the application of DesignBuilder software, and to define the desired levels of performance resulting from rehabilitation procedures. The definition of these levels allows the superintendence of the process of intervention, taking into account the solutions to adopt with regard to the principles of sustainability

Building's rehabilitation towards sustainable behaviour

To achieve a sustainable building’s behaviour and preserve the environmental balance, three laws must be taken into account: (i) the resources’ consume must not be faster than the rate at which nature can restock them, (ii) the creation of systems that consume maximum energy-quality and (iii) the maximization of the use of renewable and recycled materials. Therefore, the buildings’ rehabilitation process must increase, instead of the proliferation of new buildings, in order to provide the sustainability of the built environment and minimize its ecological impact. The sustainable rehabilitation process is even more difficult in historical areas, in general sited in central zones of the urban mesh, with fragile comfort conditions and a rigid structure. In this paper, different evaluation tools for sustainable buildings were analysed in order to provide a set of evaluation criteria to be applied in the rehabilitation process in historical zones

The regulation frame in view of buildings energetic certification

A comparative study was organised in the scope of a recently finished master’s dissertation between three European country’s legal frames: France, Spain and Portugal paying special attention to the Portuguese case. The results of the three studies were compared in order to identify the potential of each regulation in terms of the building’s energetic efficiency whose conception is based on solar passive parameter application. Some of the improvements that were applied are not clearly shown in the results, namely inertia increase (using other solutions and calculus methodology) and different solar orientation. Because of this, a tool for energetic efficiency evaluation of housing buildings is presented that takes into consideration it’s constructive solutions and local climatic characteristics. The results taken were evaluated according to passive solar parameters, for example, thermal inertia and storage specific capacity in relation to the constructive elements. The insignificant impact on results caused by the improvements mentioned implies the need of implementing an evaluation methodology for building’s passive solar performance capable to qualify them in line with the existing regulatory application that leads to the existence of minimum values granting acceptable comfort conditions and energy consumption. This proposed methodology, according to a qualitative analysis of several parameters classified according to pre-established qualitative levels, becomes, in fact, an available tool for the buyer’s choice and an argument to the seller or investor. This paper describes briefly the main aspects of the thermal regulation referred above and, then, it presents and discusses the proposed methodology for the qualitative evaluation of passive solar performance of buildings

Thermal code evolution and its contribution to the sustainable construction

In this paper it was analysed the evolution of the Portuguese Thermal Code in of face of sustainable parameters. The two versions were applied to the same housing building in two different positions in a way to improve the solar gains and be able to compare the results. The results gotten from the former steps were analysed, as well as the main differences noted between the two versions of the Codes. The calculus method pursued in the second version is similar to the first one, due to the technicians applying familiarity, but inserting new parameters and more demanding values. Considering that the new construction exigencies, highly concerned with sustainable constructive principles and environment-responsive attitudes, a set of the main factors to take under consideration in face of the more recognized sustainable construction methodologies is presented. The final stages of the paper focus the assessment of the collected results of the two versions of the Code, relating them with the sustainable construction criteria. These parameters allow outlining an overview about the Code evolution and its contribution to the improvement of the housing sector, in terms of the sustainable development

Analysis of solar passive parameters application to housing building

The paper presents a methodology of evaluation of buildings’ solar passive performance. This methodology was developed in agreement with quality levels for thermal parameters which were chosen according to the construction’s solar passive behaviour and the regulamentary concepts. A comparative study was organised in the context of a recently finished master’s dissertation between the legal frames of three European countries, giving special emphasis to the Portuguese case. The results of this study allowed the conclusion that it has become essential to combine minimum regulation values to methodologies that grant an evaluation and qualification of a building in terms of its thermal performanc

Adapting portuguese architecture to former african colonies climate conditions

The Portuguese architecture is borderless due to the colonialism period. Many African countries can testify this influence and the cities still sprawling around remaining old buildings. These constructions are characterized by using local resources and adapting Portuguese architecture to the climatic characteristics and answering local natural hazards. The work developed presents a systematic approach about the constructive changes, identifying the solutions adopted for answering climatic demands. The passive solar systems used were categorized and some examples were selected according to examples found in African cities with Portuguese influence as Beira (Mozambique), Lubango, Namibe and Luanda (Angola) and Praia (Cape Verde). This analysis encompasses strategies to improve thermal behavior of buildings, as ventilation trough the analysis of ventilated roofs or windows geometry, shadowing devices as large eaves, brises and second facades, among other issues. The local construction was also analyzed in order to find out traditional techniques for cooling buildings in a natural way.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sustainability assessment of building rehabilitation actions in old urban centres

It is essential that the society understands the importance of sustainable development, its implication for the existing living standards and the need to implement management policies that promote sustainability. Rehabilitation assumes a fundamental role in this process; however, we are faced with the lack of specific, adequate and simplified tools for the sustainability assessment in rehabilitation actions. In this paper, the analysis of different sustainability assessment systems was conducted, comparing them in order to identify the adjustments to be made to a Portuguese model taken under consideration. Subsequently, the model was cross-checked with current European and national urban rehabilitation and regeneration policies, analysing their contribution to sustainability, in order to define the assessment criteria and create a Simplified Method for the Sustainability Assessment for rehabilitation in old urban centres, which can be a useful tool, easy to use by all actors in the process and as a way of preserving the history of this areas, and the memory of those who inhabit them. This Method considers five major areas: Water, Energy, Materials, Emissions and Cultural, Economic and Social Environments. For each of these criteria, measurement indicators and levels of assessment were settled, adjusted to the context of old urban centres.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio