Concept for renovation of facades with prefabricated wood elements

There is a major need of cost-effective renovations that lead to lower energy consumption and better environment. The aim of a Nordic built project was to develop a concept for industrially prefabricated insulated elements for renovation and upgrading of building
envelopes.

The project with participants from Sweden, Finland and Norway focused on increased prefabrication based on wood for a sustainable solution. This report presents results from the project including a Swedish pilot case with the newly developed prefabricated building system. The prefabricated wood elements are produced by Termowood in Norway. Several studies have been done about renovation of facades,
including attitudes and costs, and about important properties of the element system, for
example energy savings, thermal bridges, moisture risks, environmental impacts,
production and installation.

The renovated building in the pilot case is a one-storey office building located in Skellefteå in the north of Sweden. Energy performance, thermal bridges, risk of moisture problems, LCA, applicability of the renovation method and assembly time were evaluated during the planning and execution of the renovation. Results from this pilot case showed that the elements were very light and easy for one person to handle at the building site.

There is a great potential to further reduce the assembly time on site with improved joints and element sizes adapted to the building as well as improved batch packaging from the factory. With 100 mm insulation, the renovation gives a certain energy saving. LCA calculations showed that the reduction of climate impact due to energy savings during a service life of 50 years corresponds to the climate impact of the renovation measures.

With a thicker insulation, the reduction in climate impact during the use phase of the building would increase more than the climate impact of the renovation. There is also a potential to reduce climate impact from the wall element by selecting materials produced closer to the element factory and with a greater share of renewable energy

Artikeln har publicerats av RISE Research Institutes of Sweden AB och kan läsas i sin helhet här: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1246542/FULLTEXT01.pdf

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