Energy Performance Assessment of Innovative Building Solutions Coming from Construction and Demolition Waste Materials

Abstract

Prefabricated solutions incorporating thermal insulation are increasingly adopted as an energy conservation measure for building renovation. The InnoWEE European project developed three technologies from Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW) materials through a manufacturing process that supports the circular economy strategy of the European Union. Two of them consisted of geopolymer panels incorporated into an External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) and a ventilated façade. This study evaluates their thermal performance by means of monitoring data from three pilot case studies in Greece, Italy, and Romania, and calibrated building simulation models enabling the reliable prediction of energy savings in different climates and use scenarios. Results showed a reduction in energy demand for all demo buildings, with annual energy savings up to 25% after placing the novel insulation solutions. However, savings are highly dependent on weather conditions since the panels affect cooling and heating loads differently. Finally, a parametric assessment is performed to assess the impact of insulation thickness through an energy performance prediction and a cash flow analysis.

Building Materials and the Future of Alternative Solutions

“…Innovation in end-of-life material management must be in line with the Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC's mandate that 70% of CDW be ready for reuse, recycling, and other types of recovery by 2020 [26]. The efficiency of the current quality assurance and control systems for recycling construction materials (as the European Quality Association for Recycling see [27]) creates a product of excellent quality with possibilities for sale [28].…”

Circular economy research on building construction and demolition waste: A review of current trends and future research directions

“…Remanufacturing covers rebuilding the material by integrating old, new, and repaired parts. This strategy applies to prefabricated geopolymer and façade cladding panels (Cal et al, 2021). This strategy has many environmental benefits, such as lower use of construction materials and lower ecological impact.…”

“…This model was developed to determine the quantity of salvage waste obtainable from a building at the demolition and end-of-life. (Akanbi et al, 2020;Cal et al, 2021;Lu et al, 2021)…”

Eco-Efficient Ventilated Facades Based on Circular Economy for Residential Buildings as an Improvement of Energy Conditions

“…In addition, the rehabilitation of houses in Spain has a lag of up to 20 years with respect to Europe, which makes it even more urgent to increase the number of rehabilitated properties. If these projects include constructive solutions with materials with low environmental impact, the state of the planet will be considerably improved [30].…”

“…If these projects include constructive solutions with materials with low environmental impact, the state of the planet will be considerably improved. [30].…”