Thermal Rehabilitation of External Walls – Case Study

Both at national and international level, the present-day trends relate to the development of high-performance enclosing and insulation systems that make use of modern thermo-energetic rehabilitation methods.

Thermal rehabilitation works for the envelope of a building or for the building elements forming the envelope concern the diminishing of the heat losses by increasing the thermal resistances of the enclosing elements and limiting air infiltrations through glazed elements and joints.

In most Western European countries, national programmes aiming at the thermal protection of the buildings have been developed. The projects ran in gradual stages, starting after the energy crisis in 1973 and 1979, the outcome being a reduction of the energy consumption.

According to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive issued by the European Commission, at present, buildings are responsible for approximately 40% of EU energy consumption and 36% of the energy-related greenhouse gas emissions (https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-efficiency/energy-efficient-buildings/energy-performance-buildings-directive_en).

In the paper, a case study is presented, analysed from the point of view of energy efficiency through a new software for computing developed by the author called REBUILD, which leads to the choice of appropriate solutions for the thermal rehabilitation of an element of the building envelope. The recommended solution after the study is intended to bring the structure back to its optimal energy performance and to abide by the current regulations.