An energetic analysis of a multifunctional façade system for energy efficient retrofitting of residential buildings in cold climates of Finland and Russia

Highlights

• Study on MEEFS multifunctional energy efficient façade system for retrofitting.

• System is suitable for retrofitting apartment buildings in Finland and Russia.

• The studied building stock is advantageous for the Meefs industrialization.

• Field testing are needed in Nordic climates, before actual implementations.

Abstract

Retrofitting of external walls and building facades of residential buildings is often considered as the most energy efficient renovation measure. This paper presents a multifunctional energy efficient façade system for multi-family apartment building retrofitting, the “Meefs” system which is still under development in a concept phase, and analyses its energetic features based on building typologies to cold climate apartment buildings in Finland and in Russia.

Both in Finland and in Russia, the majorities of the apartment building stocks were built after the II World War. Major capital repairs are needed in both building stocks in the coming years. At the same time, energy efficiency of buildings could be improved which would make them more sustainable. The apartment building stocks in both countries consist of typical buildings of this construction period. Therefore prefabricated facade products, such as the “Meefs” system, could beneficially be adapted to retrofit them. In addition, as shown in this paper, the Meefs system would provide considerable energy savings. However, adapting the system to Russian buildings would require changes to building energy systems as well.

Introduction

In view of climate change, aging housing stocks and heavy energy consumption, it is important to promote integrated retrofit of residential areas, and to understand the importance of efficient modernization, deployment of new technology and use of renewable energy resources (Raslanas, Alchimovienė, & Banaitienė, 2011). Energy retrofit of buildings represents an important sector for mobilizing investments to address carbon mitigation of cities (Mastrucci, Baume, Stazi, & Leopold, 2014). For developed countries, such as EU-15, the technical greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential for the building stock in 2020 ranges between 21 and 54% of the national baseline. For economies in transition, such as Russia, this value ranges between 26 and 47% of the national baseline, for the building stock in 2030 (Ürge-Vorsatz & Novikova, 2008). For both markets, building envelop retrofits, including insulation, are estimated as measures with the largest potential. The integration of new technologies for renewable-based energy production, into building envelop retrofitting measures, can significantly reduce GHG emissions.

Most national building regulations that mandate thermal insulation of building envelopes were introduced after the 1970s following the energy crisis (Balaras, Droutsa, Dascalaki, & Kontoyiannidis, 2005). In addition, compared to current regulations the first thermal insulation requirements were quite moderate. So, the energy saving potential is the largest in the oldest non-retrofitted buildings.

About 60% of Russia's total multi-family apartment buildings are in need of extensive capital repair, rising to 93–95% in those apartment blocks with an average age of less than 25 years (IFC & EBRD, 2012). The need for renovation and modernization of housing properties in Finland mainly concerns apartment buildings built in 1960s and 1970s (Lindstedt, Kärki, Palmu, & Junnonen, 2011). A major issue in renovation projects is to minimize living interferences and the duration of renovation works cost-effectively.

There is an urgent need for development of efficient and low cost (prefabricated) solutions that are modular, customizable, prefabricated and industrially marketable. These will allow systemic retrofitting that can easily be applied in buildings and affordably maintained with minimum disturbances to end-users (Meno, Chica, Tapia, & Del Portillo, 2012). Industrialization does not necessarily imply the use of new materials, but new forms of application or combination of materials, and manufacturing construction components in facilities outside the place of the final assembly.

This paper introduces a multifunctional energy efficient façade system for multi-family apartment building retrofitting under development in a EC FP7 project Meefs: Multifunctional Energy Efficient Facade System for Building Retrofitting hereafter referred as the “Meefs” system. The Meefs system is still in the concept phase. We analyze the energetic aspect of the system to energy renovations in cold climate apartment buildings, classified by a building typology, and could it improve energy efficiency in these buildings. The analyses are based on case studies in two cold climate locations, namely Helsinki, Finland and Moscow, Russia. We also estimate the potential use of the solution as a part of holistic district renovations relevant in Russia.