Financial viability of energy-efficiency measures in a new detached house design in Finland

Arto Saari; Targo Kalamees; Juha Jokisalo; Rasmus Michelsson; Kari Alanne; Jarek Kurnitski

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.10.029

Financial viability of energy-efficiency measures in a new detached house design in Finland

Arto Saari, Targo Kalamees, Juha Jokisalo, Rasmus Michelsson, Kari Alanne, Jarek Kurnitski

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

33 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study analyses alternative energy-saving design concepts for a typical new detached house design in Finland. The impact of these design concepts on the construction costs and on the total delivered energy needs of the building were calculated, and the financial viability of the different concepts analysed. Different thermal insulation and airtightness properties of the building envelope and different ventilation's heat recovery efficiency assumptions were tested in the analysis work. Other variations modelled included the heating mode: direct electrical floor heating, or floor heating via an air or ground source heat pump. Among these alternatives, the estimated annual consumption of purchased energy for running the household varied extensively, in the range 57-182kWh/net floor m². With the real interest rate set at 3%, the payback period was shortest for the air source heat pumps (9years). When a heat pump was installed in a house with higher energy consumption, the payback period was 7years, and if it was installed in the 'ultra low-energy' house designs, the payback period was over 13years. Investment to thick thermal insulation of envelope was unattractive in Finland. The results of this study can be generalized to similar climates and techno-economic environments.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	76-83
Number of pages	8
Journal	Applied Energy
Volume	92
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.10.029
Publication status	Published - Apr 2012
Publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

Building simulations
Detached house
Energy efficiency
Financial viability
New construction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Civil and Structural Engineering
General Energy

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.apenergy.2011.10.029

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abstract = "This study analyses alternative energy-saving design concepts for a typical new detached house design in Finland. The impact of these design concepts on the construction costs and on the total delivered energy needs of the building were calculated, and the financial viability of the different concepts analysed. Different thermal insulation and airtightness properties of the building envelope and different ventilation's heat recovery efficiency assumptions were tested in the analysis work. Other variations modelled included the heating mode: direct electrical floor heating, or floor heating via an air or ground source heat pump. Among these alternatives, the estimated annual consumption of purchased energy for running the household varied extensively, in the range 57-182kWh/net floor m2. With the real interest rate set at 3%, the payback period was shortest for the air source heat pumps (9years). When a heat pump was installed in a house with higher energy consumption, the payback period was 7years, and if it was installed in the 'ultra low-energy' house designs, the payback period was over 13years. Investment to thick thermal insulation of envelope was unattractive in Finland. The results of this study can be generalized to similar climates and techno-economic environments.",

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AU - Alanne, Kari

AU - Kurnitski, Jarek

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KW - New construction

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Financial viability of energy-efficiency measures in a new detached house design in Finland

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

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