Energy Rehabilitation of Social Housing in Vulnerable Areas. Case study: a 1950s Building in a Medium-sized Mediterranean City
Journal Title: Environmental Science and Sustainable Development - Year 2019, Vol 4, Issue 1
Abstract
In the urban context, buildings play a key role as they are energy consumers. In well-established cities with a high percentage of aged building stock, the focus should lie on sensitive urban areas where the weakest population sectors and the worst physico-economic conditions are usually encountered. In this work, the energy refurbishment of social housing is proposed. A block of municipally owned buildings is selected as a case study to consider that public buildings play an exemplary role according to Directive 2012/27/EU. The group is formed by 12 buildings, which account for 120 dwellings. This study is grounded on two levels. First the urban level. The building is located in a prioritised urban Area of Rehabilitation, Renovation and Urban Regeneration (ARRU), according to the new local Land Plan. This area presents multidimensional vulnerability and considers urban, building, socio-demographic and socio-economic features. Second, the building presents very low energy performance. It was built in 1959 when a high demand of dwellings and the economic resources then available led to low-quality buildings that are far from meeting today’s standards. Some proposals are made, having in mind the specific features of the urban context. The energy refurbishment of the building is proposed, selecting the optimal solution, considering technical, environmental and economic criteria. The energy performance simulation shows a remarkable improvement of the energy performance, resulting in an improvement of the thermal comfort of the dwellers. Besides, a reduction in the energy consumption is reached, which would reduce the energy bills and, on the other hand, a reduction of the carbon emissions to the atmosphere, contributing to a better environment quality. Having in mind that the building is intended for social housing, energy poverty situations could be avoided, as dwellings are inhabited by low-income dwellers.
Authors and Affiliations
Ruá María José, Huedo Patricia, Cabeza Manuel, Saez Beatriz, Civera Vicente,
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP705101
- DOI 10.21625/essd.v4i1.490
- Views 105
- Downloads 0
Selecting Ventilation Fan Capacity for University Classroom Based on Empirical Data
This paper presents a guideline for selecting ventilation fan based on empirical data. The research project was undertaken in a university classroom of 64 square meters. In a two-hour experiment, carbon dioxide levels ex...
Farwell ẠL-'ANBARİYİN
Would the disappearance of one's building influence his own daydreams, experience, and sense of belonging? Would this person remember it? Would these memories preserve the demolished building? This paper explores people'...
Rural Regeneration in Egypt: A Review of Existing Typologies in Borderline Areas
Tracking rural areas and studying them may not be an easy task. The concept of whether the area at hand is urban or rural could be simple, but lately rural areas could carry many features that may deviate the definition...
Research and application of climate-responsive design of traditional vernacular houses in Chaoshan, China
Chaoshan vernacular house is an important branch of Lingnan traditional houses in South China, with a long architectural history and excellent climate responsiveness to the hot-humid climate. The modern rural houses lear...
Rebuilding Cultural Identity
Ever since the completion of the High Dam in 1964, Nubians have lost their culture and heritage as a result of sacrificing their land to flooding. Eventually, they became dispersed all over Sudan and Egypt with some endi...