Resumen de Detailed energy and comfort simulation of integral refurbishment of existing buildings in Catalonia
The energy renovation of buildings is an essential action to achieve the European target of 20/20/20. However, the dynamics of the energy renovation are very slow and the development of urgent policy actions beyond the national energy efficiency action plans is needed. In that context, the main objective of the thesis is to develop a cost-effective analysis for the energy renovation of the main residential building typologies of Catalonia, considering three main criteria: thermal comfort, primary energy use and global costs. The main building typologies of Catalonia are analysed, comparing the current situation with the effect of different energy efficiency measures. Four building typologies are studied, each of them in different climates and locations, in order to evaluate the differences and the particularities of every one.
The building model definition is an important task where all the methods and hypotheses to estimate the energy consumption are defined. In that sense, the objective of the building model definition is to go further to the previous studies, trying to improve the detail and the results of the simulation. The emphasis of the PhD is on the following aspects: the building characterization, including information from surveys and monitoring campaigns; the user behaviour and its interaction with the building, using stochastic occupancy profiles; the improvement of the implementation of passive strategies, as natural ventilation and the use of solar protections; and the thermal comfort of the users, as a criteria to choose the appropriate measures.
A validation process of the building model is done to obtain reliable results. A pilot site is used to develop the validation of the model. A monitoring campaign has been done to characterize the pilot site and to implement the simulation model. The pilot site is a dwelling representative of one of the typologies analysed under the PhD. The validation of the model confirms that the hypotheses and methods included in the model are appropriate for the residential building simulation.
Finally, the simulation process is defined in two-step evaluation: passive and active evaluation. The objective of the passive evaluation is to reduce, as much as possible, the thermal discomfort with the minimum initial investment cost of passive measures. This first step provides information to make a first selection of the appropriate passive measures in each building. In the second step where the passive and active measures are implemented in the building, the active evaluation wants to obtain the cost-effective measures, minimizing the primary energy use and the global costs. For concluding, the PhD provides technical and economic information to help to take decisions for the energy renovation of residential buildings in Catalonia.
