Study for the energy efficiency improvement and certification of a semi-detached house

Abstract

Nowadays, the role of energy efficiency in buildings is a key factor to meet the needs of a family without compromising the well-being nor the savings. This essay consists on the study of the energy efficiency certification of a semi-detached building. This study is divided in seven main parts. Among them, there is a research about the state of the art of the energy efficiency in buildings, as well as an initial study of the building and its energy efficiency certification. Finally, energy efficiency improvements and an economic analysis are made. Initially, an introduction about the energy efficiency current regulations. Additionally, a brief description of the main features of energy certifications is provided. Including the most used certification programs in Catalonia and Spain, the requirements for conducting a certification and the principal aspects of the energy label. The following part is defining the object building. Specifying the main characteristics that will be used for the subsequent energy analysis. These include the location, to have a reference of the climatic conditions, its dimensions, and the electricity and natural gas incomes. Once the characteristics of the building are known, a study of its energy demand is done. During this study, the demand of domestic hot water, heating and cooling are determined. In addition, a comparison is made between the theoretical demand and the actual consumption extracted from the invoices. By means of the different calculated energy demands, the current energy certification of the building is achieved. Before that, the procedure used to perform it is explained. This is an official procedure of the Instituto para la Diversificación y Ahorro de la Energia (IDAE). Subsequently, the initial energy certification of the building is made for the different energy indicators established by the procedure. Then, to improve the current energy certification, different proposals are made. These are chosen based on the indicators that have obtained the worst results. After doing various studies, a second energy certification is carried out to check whether there has been an improvement in the energy efficiency of the building or not. Finally, an economic study is executed to determine the viability of the proposals, as well as an analysis of the reduction in environmental impact