Guidebook N. 32
Authors: Tomasz Cholewa, Constantinos A. Balaras, Jarek Kurnitski, Livio Mazzarella, Alicja Siuta-Olcha, Elena Dascalaki, Risto Kosonen, Catalin Lungu, Marija Todorovic, Ilinca Nastase, Cécile Jolas, Murat Çakan
The Guidebook presents the fundamentals for specific energy efficiency and other renovation measures in existing buildings for which HVAC systems play an important role. Emphasis is placed on market-ready and technically mature solutions that have been proven in practice to increase building renovation rates and facilitate the energy renovation process of existing buildings. The Guidebook presents results from field studies with quantified energy savings that are complemented with payback time estimates to document the overall benefits resulting from different renovation measures that can be implemented by HVAC professionals and practitioners.
Focusing only on the energy renovation of the building envelope – instead of the building as a whole – will often limit potential energy savings and may significantly increase the payback time. Emphasis should also be placed on the renovation of HVAC systems and the energy education of building occupants to fully exploit the anticipated benefits of various implemented technologies. Additionally, the adaptation of HVAC systems to various building energy demands will further improve indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and overall occupant satisfaction. For the transformation of existing buildings from high energy consumption and high carbon emissions to carbon-neutral buildings, professionals can use the general energy renovation concept proposed in this Guidebook. The information presented herein applies to different specific renovation concepts that can be adapted to various regional renovation projects. This holistic approach considers all primary factors that may affect energy consumption, IEQ, carbon footprint, costs and the future application of renewable energy sources (RESs) at all stages of the energy renovation process for existing buildings (i.e., from planning to construction, and finally monitoring).