Strategies for robust renovation of residential buildings in Switzerland
Journal article, 2024

Building renovation is urgently required to reduce the environmental impact associated with the building stock. Typically, building renovation is performed by envelope insulation and/or changing the fossil-based heating system. The goal of this paper is to provide strategies for robust renovation considering uncertainties on the future evolution of climate, energy grid, and user behaviors, amongst others by applying life cycle assessment and life cycle cost analysis. The study includes identifying optimal renovation options for the envelope and heating systems for building representatives from all construction periods that are currently in need of renovation in Switzerland. The findings emphasize the paramount importance of heating system replacements across all construction periods. Notably, when incorporating bio-based insulation materials, a balance emerges between environmental impact reduction and low energy operation costs. This facilitates robust, equitable, and low-carbon transformations in Switzerland and similar Northern European contexts while avoiding a carbon spike due to the embodied carbon of the renovation.

Author

Alina Galimshina

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH)

Maliki Moustapha

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH)

Alexander Hollberg

Chalmers, Architecture and Civil Engineering, Building Technology

Sébastien Lasvaux

Haute Ecole Specialisee de Suisse occidentale

Bruno Sudret

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH)

Guillaume Habert

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH)

Nature Communications

2041-1723 (ISSN) 20411723 (eISSN)

Vol. 15 1 2227

Subject Categories

Other Environmental Engineering

Environmental Analysis and Construction Information Technology

Energy Systems

Building Technologies

DOI

10.1038/s41467-024-46305-9

PubMed

38472170

More information

Latest update

3/26/2024