Energy efficiency in the polish residential building stock: A literature review

peer reviewedThe Polish energy market heavily relies on coal. Pressured by the European Union, the Polish government has recently decided to accelerate coal phase-out and to gradually shut down all coal mines by 2049. In that context, it is necessary to assess the Polish energy market's state regarding energy efficiency, especially in the building stock. This paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of energy efficiency of residential buildings in Poland and insights into its future trends. A literature review was conducted, accompanied by focus group discussions with Polish building energy efficiency experts. The Polish energy sector is under a remarkable transformation that may be going too fast. A large gap between expectations, practices, and requirements can be observed. Raising awareness and capacity building in the energy efficiency sector, and a set of accessible guidelines should be developed so that the transformation is implemented correctly. A SWOT analysis results define the key opportunities and threats that are critical to meet net-zero emissions goals. The paper provides findings and insights on the 2020 targets status quo and raises awareness among stakeholders and fills a knowledge gap regarding energy efficiency in the Polish residential building stock.Zero Energy and Low Carbon Buildings in Belgium & Polan

Using Artificial Intelligence in energy efficient construction

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), genetic algorithms, case based reasoning (CBR), and hybrid systems are all methods of artificial intelligence. This dissertation presents a literature overview and its author’s achievements in methods of utilizing artificial intelligence methods in energy efficient buildings, which include: an expert system for supporting the financing of thermo-modernization investment, a method of optimizing thermo-modernization strategies for groups of buildings using genetic algorithms, and a case based reasoning system (CBR) intended to facilitate the design of energy efficient single family housing. Case based reasoning consists of comparing new problems with past problems and using a past solution. In the CBR system, previously developed single family housing designs will be described using linguistic variables defined as fuzzy sets. The designer, who wants to create the documentation for a new energy efficient building after talking with the investor about his or her expectations, enters a query, defined as linguistic variables, into the system. The system finds the documentation of already constructed buildings, most closely matching the investor’s requirements. The designer performs the required adjustments, and after the investor’s approval, places the new documentation into the database for further use

Impact of land-cover change related to urbanization on surface runoff estimation

Civil engineering structures are highly responsible for the negative aspects of urbanization on the hydrological cycle. Due to the land cover change and an increase of impervious areas the risk of flooding can rise significantly. The paper presents the impact of urbanization processes on surface runoff estimation for a small mountainous catchment between 1990-2012

Efektywność energetyczna w Polsce

W artykule przedstawiono podstawowe informacje dotyczące efektywności energetycznej w Polsce, wynikające z wdrażania Dyrektywy PE i Rady 2012/27/UE z dnia 25 października 2012 r. w sprawie efektywności energetycznej. Implementację tej dyrektywy stanowi Krajowy Plan Działań dotyczący efektywności energetycznej dla Polski (KPDEE), opisujący wyniki działań podejmowanych przez rząd Polski w zakresie dążenia do osiągnięcia celów poprawy efektywności energetycznej przyjętych na 2020 rok

Comparing construction technologies of single family housing with regard of minimizing embodied energy and embodied carbon

This article concerns the Life Cycle Assessment method of evaluation and the ways in which it can be applied as a tool facilitating the design of buildings to reduce embodied energy and embodied carbon. Three variants of a building were examined with the same functional ground plan and usable floor area of 142.6 m2. Each variant of the building was designed using different construction technologies: bricklaying technology utilizing autoclaved aerated concrete popular in Poland, wooden frame insulated with mineral wool, and the Straw-bale technology. Using digital models (Building Information Model) the building’s energy characteristics was simulated and the embodied energy and embodied carbon of the production stage (also called cradle-to-gate) were calculated. The performed calculations were used to compare the cumulative energy and embodied carbon of each variant for a 40 year long life cycle

Analiza ryzyka w ocenie oddziaływania na środowisko innowacji budowlanych

Buildings in Poland are still constructed using technologies and methods created decades ago, even though many new technologies can be applied. Such an approach in the construction process is not sufficient to ensure the sustainable development of the world. Therefore, there is a great need for implementing new, innovative technical, economic, and social solutions. Innovation can be considered as any change that is beneficial for the entity that introduces it. The challenges that the construction sector faces nowadays are mostly related to the concept of sustainable development. The main trends in innovations are the shift towards more resource- and energy-efficientways of construction aswell as implementing the principles of the circular economy. In this article, we present innovative technologies applied in the construction sector that meet the requirements of sustainable development. Also, we propose a method for assessing the environmental impact of innovative technologies currently used in the construction sector. As the proposed methods are primarily based on expert knowledge, it was necessary to determine the risk of making a wrong decision to apply innovative technology in practice based on an assessment made by a person with appropriate competencies.W niniejszej pracy skupiono się na ocenie oddziaływania na środowisko innowacji stosowanych w budownictwie oraz określeniu ryzyka podjęcia błędnej decyzji o zastosowaniu w praktyce innowacyjnej technologii. Zdecydowano się na porównanie innowacyjnych technologii w budownictwie poprzez określenie wielkości: skumulowanej energii pierwotnej, śladu węglowego, odpadów nie możliwych do dalszego efektywnego przetworzenia, zużycia wody w cyklu życia budynku w porównaniu z odpowiednimi wielkościami dla obecnie najczęściej stosowanych technologii. Można się zastanawiać czy przyjęte tylko cztery kryteria w pełni oddają wpływ innowacji na środowisko. Autorzy metody uważają, że te kryteria są wystarczające, ale zawsze system oceny można rozbudować o dodatkowe kryteria np. wpływ technologii na warstwę ozonowa lub emisję pyłów. Dla każdego z czterech przyjętych kryteriów zaproponowano dwie skale ocen, które mogą służyć do analizy ilościowej i porównania analizowanych innowacji. Pierwsza skala opisana jest w liczbach całkowitych z przedziału od -2 do 2, a druga w liczbach rozmytych o trójkątnej funkcji przynależności

Application of CBR systems in the process of energy retrofit of single-family detached houses

In Poland, there are more than 5 million single-family detached houses, and 35% among them are non-insulated. In the article, we present a concept of application of the case-based reasoning (CBR) systems to support the process of energy retrofit of single-family detached houses. In the proposed CBR system, the energy retrofit process was described using parameters with text and numeric values and also using linguistic variables defined using fuzzy sets. If an investor, designer or contractor encounters a problem in the process of the energy retrofit, he may look for a solution to this problem or similar problems in the CBR system. If he does not find a solution and creates it himself or modifies an existing one, he should put it in the CBR system so that others can benefit from his experience. The proposed CBR system will help in solving the basic Polish (but also Eastern European) problem of energy-saving constructions which is the lack of adequate knowledge of participants in the investment process

Comparing construction technologies of single family housing with regard of minimizing embodied energy and embodied carbon

This article concerns the Life Cycle Assessment method of evaluation and the ways in which it can be applied as a tool facilitating the design of buildings to reduce embodied energy and embodied carbon. Three variants of a building were examined with the same functional ground plan and usable floor area of 142.6 m2. Each variant of the building was designed using different construction technologies: bricklaying technology utilizing autoclaved aerated concrete popular in Poland, wooden frame insulated with mineral wool, and the Straw-bale technology. Using digital models (Building Information Model) the building’s energy characteristics was simulated and the embodied energy and embodied carbon of the production stage (also called cradle-to-gate) were calculated. The performed calculations were used to compare the cumulative energy and embodied carbon of each variant for a 40 year long life cycle

Application of CBR systems in the process of energy retrofit of single-family detached houses

In Poland, there are more than 5 million single-family detached houses, and 35% among them are non-insulated. In the article, we present a concept of application of the case-based reasoning (CBR) systems to support the process of energy retrofit of single-family detached houses. In the proposed CBR system, the energy retrofit process was described using parameters with text and numeric values and also using linguistic variables defined using fuzzy sets. If an investor, designer or contractor encounters a problem in the process of the energy retrofit, he may look for a solution to this problem or similar problems in the CBR system. If he does not find a solution and creates it himself or modifies an existing one, he should put it in the CBR system so that others can benefit from his experience. The proposed CBR system will help in solving the basic Polish (but also Eastern European) problem of energy-saving constructions which is the lack of adequate knowledge of participants in the investment process

Impact of land-cover change related to urbanization on surface runoff estimation

Civil engineering structures are highly responsible for the negative aspects of urbanization on the hydrological cycle. Due to the land cover change and an increase of impervious areas the risk of flooding can rise significantly. The paper presents the impact of urbanization processes on surface runoff estimation for a small mountainous catchment between 1990-2012