Energy Effects of Retrofitting the Educational Facilities Located in South-Eastern Poland

Abstract

One way to decrease the greenhouse gas emissions in the building sector is to improve the building energy performance, which can be mainly achieved by the reduction of energy consumption. In the case of the existing objects, this goal could be achieved by the thermo-modernization of the building partitions and equipment. This article concerns the issue of heat consumption for heating purposes after a comprehensive retrofitting of nine educational buildings (two kindergartens and seven schools) located in south-eastern Poland where both the total efficiency of the heating installation and the thermal insulation of building partitions were improved. The evaluation of the real energy effects was made on the basis of the measurements performed over the 8 year period of operation for each building. The obtained values were compared with the boundary values of the factors that were in force in Poland during the period when all of the buildings were retrofitted. Additionally, they were compared with the results of theoretical calculations included in the energy audits of the example of three objects and an attempt to describe the reasons for the discrepancies was made. All obtained results were discussed with the available literature sources and summarized with the suitable conclusions.