Evaluation of energy efficiency of external stud partitions with use of numerical analysis

Abstract

The need to save energy necessitates the search for solutions that would enable us to reduce heat losses. Currently the majority of investments are financed with use of mortgages, that is why the investors search for optimal technological solutions i.e. guarantee high energy savings. One of those solutions is construction in frame technology. This technology allows to achieve the heat transfer characteristics of a passive house with partitions that are ca. 40% thinner than their counterparts in traditional brick technology. According to different sources detached houses use ca. 70 ÷ 80% of the energy for heating. The subject of the article was the analysis of total heat loss through vertical wall of detached home made of wooden stud structure and for two types of steel stud structure - made of fully enclosed and THERMO profiles. On the basis of the literature recommendations and normative documents dependency calculated heat loss by transfer while computer simulation shows how thermal bridges of adopted solutions affect heat loss. For the purpose of analyzed external partitions heat loss was compared for heating season in buildings in each of the climate zones of Poland. What was also analyzed was the cost of heating for different fuels. The analysis showed significant differences in the adopted solutions. For example in case of gas central heating the difference in annual bills for different climatic zones can be ca. 20%, and the difference in costs of heat loss between the wooden stud framing and the steel stud framing is over 30%. The results show that use of appropriate technology can minimize those losses, thus securing significant lowering of heating bills. In turn, thanks to MES-e-based calculations, it is possible at the design stage to analyze the technological and construction solutions which are extremely important during the operation of the facility.