Economic and ecological sustainability of the thermal building envelope: a cross-European perspective

Abstract

The building sector is crucial to reach the goals of common climate agreements. This paper contrasts three approaches to reduce emissions from typical residential buildings in Central Europe: the instalment of electric heat pumps (eHP), a thicker insulation of the thermal envelope and the encumbrance of a carbon tax. The use of less carbon intense fuels allows major savings of GHG emissions. An insulation thickness of 30 cm leads to GHG emission savings of 8% against a thickness of just 12 cm, while total cost savings (LCC) remain negligible. The introduction of a carbon tax of up to 250 €/t-CO2-eq. does not necessarily result in a reduction of GHG emissions due to increased costs of construction. It was further found that the focus of legal building regulations on heating demand is sufficient for now but needs to be revised as carbon intensities continue to decrease. The heating then reduces its share of the GHG emissions from 85 to 55% for typical residential buildings. The paper closes with a general expression of the lifecycle costs of a building which is dependent on the factors above.