Mitigating Thermal Bridges in Renovation: Strategies and Environmental Impacts
Author
Amin, Rojvan
Term
4. Term
Education
Publication year
2025
Submitted on
2025-05-21
Pages
115
Abstract
This thesis examines how thermal bridges affect energy use and environmental impact in renovation, and how effective different mitigation strategies are across three building types: a single-family house (new build for comparison), a multi-storey residential building, and a kindergarten. Using HTflux simulations, transmission loss calculations, and life cycle assessment in LCAbyg, the study quantifies the contribution of thermal bridges to heat loss and assesses the trade-offs between added insulation and embodied emissions. Findings indicate that thermal bridges account for 30–52% of total transmission losses (excluding point losses, which could increase this share). Implementing optimized solutions reduces global warming potential (GWP) by 3.96–10.95%, indicating that thermal bridge optimization is a viable strategy for sustainable renovations. While added insulation lowers operational energy demand, it slightly increases embodied emissions; the net impact remains positive. The thesis provides practical recommendations for balancing building performance and environmental sustainability in renovation projects.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan kuldebroer påvirker energiforbruget og miljøpåvirkningen i renoveringer, og hvor effektivt forskellige afbødningsstrategier er på tværs af tre bygningstyper: et enfamiliehus (nyt byggeri til sammenligning), en etagebolig og en børnehave. Med HTflux-simuleringer, transmissionsvarmetabsberegninger og livscyklusvurdering i LCAbyg kvantificeres kuldebroers bidrag til varmetab samt balancen mellem forbedret isolering og tilhørende indlejrede emissioner. Resultaterne viser, at kuldebroer udgør 30–52 % af de samlede transmissions-tab (eksklusive punktkuldebroer, som kan øge andelen yderligere). Implementering af optimerede løsninger reducerer den globale opvarmningspotentiale (GWP) med 3,96–10,95 %, hvilket peger på, at kuldebrooptimering er en levedygtig strategi i bæredygtige renoveringer. Yderligere isolering sænker driftsenergiforbruget, men øger indlejrede emissioner en smule; nettoeffekten er dog positiv. Afhandlingen giver praktiske anbefalinger til at balancere bygningsydelse og miljømæssig bæredygtighed i renoveringsprojekter.
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