Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Financial viability of energy-efficiency measures in a new detached house design in Finland

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261911006830
Abstract: This study analyses alternative energy-saving design concepts for a typical new detached house design in Finland. The impact of these design concepts on the construction costs and on the total delivered energy needs of the building were calculated, and the financial viability of the different concepts analysed. Different thermal insulation and airtightness properties of the building envelope and different ventilation’s heat recovery efficiency assumptions were tested in the analysis work. Other variations modelled included the heating mode: direct electrical floor heating, or floor heating via an air or ground source heat pump. Among these alternatives, the estimated annual consumption of purchased energy for running the household varied extensively, in the range 57–182 kW h/net floor m2. With the real interest rate set at 3%, the payback period was shortest for the air source heat pumps (9 years). When a heat pump was installed in a house with higher energy consumption, the payback period was 7 years, and if it was installed in the ‘ultra low-energy’ house designs, the payback period was over 13 years. Investment to thick thermal insulation of envelope was unattractive in Finland. The results of this study can be generalized to similar climates and techno-economic environments.

by Arto Saari 1, Targo Kalamees 2 and 3, Juha Jokisalo 2, Rasmus Michelsson 1, Kari Alanne 2, Jarek Kurnitski 4
1. Aalto University, School of Engineering, Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, PO Box 12100, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland
2. Palto University, School of Engineering, Department of Energy Technology, PO Box 14400, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland
3. Tallinn University of Technology, Department of Structural Design, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086 Tallinn, Estonia
4. Finnish Innovative Fund, PO Box 160, FI-00181 Helsinki, Finland
Applied Energy via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 92; April 2012; Pages 76-83
Keywords: Energy efficiency; Financial viability; Building simulations; New construction; Detached house

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