How far are Portuguese residential buildings from NZEB?

Panel: 7. Policies for a green recovery in the buildings sector

This is a peer-reviewed paper.

Authors:
Luís Amado, Institute for Systems Engineering and Computers at Coimbra (INESC Coimbra), Portugal
Álvaro Gomes, University of Coimbra, Portugal
Paulo Tavares, Polytechnic of Coimbra, Portugal

Abstract

Aiming to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050 and in line with the goals of the European Union, Portugal has established a set of goals and objectives. To achieve the climate and energy goals, it is important that Portugal promotes a deep renovation of the existing building stock, to gradually complete the decarbonisation of buildings by 2050.

With these objectives in mind, with this work we will present the energy needs for heating and cooling of Portuguese residential buildings for different construction seasons and climatic zones. The construction periods chosen are related to historical milestones in Portugal. The first period matches with the first regulation on energy efficiency in Portuguese buildings (thermal performance of buildings in the 1990’s); and the second period, with the implementation of the Buildings Energy Certification System (SCE) in 2013, according to the EPBD recast (2010).

In the first task of this work the Portuguese building stock was characterized and the reference buildings (defined under EPBD 2010/31/EU and Delegated Regulation (EU) 244/2012) were identified. Then, virtual models of the reference buildings were created and occupancy and use profiles more suitable to the national reality were selected, which allowed obtaining the energy needs for heating and cooling under thermal comfort conditions, on an hourly basis, in a dynamic simulation environment (Energy Plus).

The results obtained for the simulated cases in 7 Portuguese cities (including the islands) with different climates and for different constructive seasons reveal that we are in the right way but we need to do more in order to achieve the nearest 2030 goals. At the same time some conclusions are drawn in order to help Portuguese decision makers to implement some policies that can improve faster the way to NZEB buildings.

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