Analysis of Residential Buildings in Poland for Potential Energy Renovation toward Zero-Emission Construction

Abstract

The aim of the study was to identify the state of residential buildings in terms of energy consumption and modernisation in Poland against the background of the EU, and to determine factors and activities increasing households′ interest in net-zero energy buildings. In the European Union, we are observing a tendency to increase the energy efficiency of buildings, including residential, and decarbonise building stock by 2050. The objective of the undertaken activities is to reduce energy use and the negative impacts of the use of buildings on the environment. Attaining this objective requires modernising many buildings. This dissertation includes an investigation into the condition of buildings in Poland from the aspect of energy use and the kind of carriers of this energy, and also into another issue: what factors and activities may increase society′s interest in net-zero energy buildings, and in the use of energy from renewable sources in residential buildings. The studies were conducted with the use of the data provided by the Central Statistical Office and EUROSTAT, and also of the reports of the European Commission, the data of the Central Emission Register of Buildings (CERB) and the Odysse–Mure database. An important source of information was also surveys conducted with the application of CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview), and also of PAPI (Paper and Pencil Interview), among 387 households in Poland. For the purpose of analysing the results of the studies, the methods of descriptive statistics, the chi-square test of independence, the ANOVA test of Kruskal–Wallis and the Mann–Whitney U-test were used. The analysis gives rise to the conclusion that, in residential buildings, household′s annual primary energy demand is dependent on the year in which a building was commissioned. Newer buildings can boast smaller heat energy use. Simultaneously, ever more households are undertaking activities that will result in the thermal modernisation of residential buildings. The studies have shown that the development of net-zero energy buildings requires undertaking activities in the scope of introducing allowances and subsidies, and also increasing social awareness in the scope of this kind of building. Interest in buildings using solely renewable energy sources is contributed to by raising energy prices, and also the falling prices of required installations.

Opportunities And Threats to the Development of Renewable Energy in Rural Areas in the Czech Republic and Poland

“…Another problem is the insufficient development of small household energy storage facilities. The results of the analyzes carried out in the article are consistent with the results of research published by other scientists (Szymańska et al, 2022;Raczkowski et al, 2022;Rokicki et al, 2022b).…”

High-Temperature Two-Stage Subcritical Heat Pump Running on Environmentally Friendly Refrigerants

“…To adapt the system, it is necessary to reduce the supply temperature of the heating circuits to a maximum medium temperature of 40 °C. There is an attempt to solve the problem of reducing the supply temperature of the heating circuits, while retaining the existing heat transfer surface of the wall-mounted radiators, by thermomodernisation of the building involving a reduction of the heat load through decreasing the heat transfer coefficients of building envelopes [10]. As a result, the heat load of the building due to central heating will be reduced; however, is this sufficient to make the use of a single-stage compressor subcritical heat pump, with a maximum heating medium temperature of 40 °C and the existing heat transfer surface of the wall-mounted radiators, economically justifiable in such cases?…”

“…It is easy to answer this question. The heat transfer surface of a wall-mounted radiator is related to its capacity and the heat transfer coefficient of the material from which it is made according to equation 1 [10].…”

“…A four-way valve is fitted in both stage I and II to enable reversible operation of the unit. In addition, in both the first and second stages there are auxiliary fittings in the form of sight glasses (11), filters (14), expansion valves (7), service valves (10) as well as liquid refrigerant reservoirs (16).…”

Analysis of the Energy, Environmental and Economic Efficiency of Multi-Family Residential Buildings in Poland

“…A significant number of buildings in Poland are characterized by high energy consumption, which is related to the low insulation of building envelopes. In addition, most of the thermal energy is generated by low-efficiency heat sources, which are characterized by high emissions of gases and dust [12]. Drastically rising costs of energy consumption [13], shortages and limitations in the supply of energy carriers in winter periods and poor quality of energy resources are some of the reasons why homeowners and housing associations decide to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings [14][15][16].…”