This study assesses the life-cycle environmental implications linked to the energy efficiency improvement by a nano-technological aerogel based panel insulation solution. A cradle to grave approach has been taken for the environmental evaluation of the product life-cycle, including its integration in an existing residential building for the evaluation of the building´s use phase. The model developed has been also assessed in the 5 European climate zones, evaluating the different performance due to the different weather conditions and the effect of increasing the thickness used. Also, an evaluation of the impacts achieved depending on the heating source used, together with the comparative analysis with other traditional insulation materials complete the paper.

European tertiary sector represents about 13% of EU-28 final energy consumption. As an example, food retail stores sector amounts about 3% of EU members' electricity consumption. Furthermore, currently, fluorinated gases, which are the most used refrigerants for space conditioning and refrigeration systems, involve 2% of EU emissions, having risen since 1990 by 60%. Specifically, commercial refrigeration is responsible for 35% of EU-27 CO2-eq emissions related to refrigerants.