Extensive renovation of heritage buildings - reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions

In the debate on whether or not heritage buildings should be included in work to mitigate climate change impacts, it is important to assess the impact of these buildings. Therefore the results of an extensive energy upgrading of a listed complex was studied. Climate change and measures to mitigate its effects have been a global priority for more than a decade. Efforts to mitigate climate change have focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially CO2. As a consequence, there is an increased interest in reducing the energy consumption and increase the indoor climate standard of many existing, older and heritage buildings. However, heritage buildings possess heritage values that need to be protected while on the other hand the buildings need to remain part of the attractive building stock, as many of these buildings will otherwise deteriorate. Based on an example, this paper identifies feasible energy-upgrading measures for implementation including measures to provide an acceptable indoor climate. The energy savings as well as the reduction of CO2 emissions are calculated. Furthermore, it is discussed how measures can affect the durability of a heritage building, as measures may create a far more vulnerable building and change its robustness to withstand moisture and user behaviour. © 2015, Rasmussen et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.