000165616 001__ 165616
000165616 005__ 20260112132217.0
000165616 0247_ $$2doi$$a10.1016/j.enbuild.2025.116938
000165616 0248_ $$2sideral$$a147302
000165616 037__ $$aART-2026-147302
000165616 041__ $$aeng
000165616 100__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-1672-4965$$aMonzón-Chavarrías, Marta$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000165616 245__ $$aEnvironmental impacts of standard building renovations: City-level extrapolation from a real case study in Spain
000165616 260__ $$c2026
000165616 5060_ $$aAccess copy available to the general public$$fUnrestricted
000165616 5203_ $$aThe renovation of multi-family buildings aimed at reducing operational energy consumption and improving housing health and safety is a common practice across Europe. However, in response to climate change, the European Union has established ambitious targets for 2050, which require not only reductions in operational energy use but also a significant decrease in embodied energy and CO2 emissions associated with building renovations.
This study presents a comprehensive analysis of a social housing building in Zaragoza, Spain, which underwent renovation aimed at reducing energy consumption, enhancing indoor environmental quality to improve residents’ living conditions. A detailed inventory of materials and construction processes was compiled, and both the embodied energy and CO2 emissions associated with the renovation phase were calculated and compared before and after the intervention, including an estimation of payback times.
Additionally, the study extends the analysis to the urban scale by selecting buildings with similar characteristics and creating a digital twin using programming tools, in order to assess environmental impacts and payback periods across a broader context.
The results highlight that the renovation works aimed at reducing operational energy—such as façade and roof insulation, window replacement, and system upgrades—account for less than 50% (47.5%) of the total embodied energy of the renovation. In terms of Global Warming Potential, however, this share increases to 74.9%.
Regarding payback periods, the non-renewable Energy Payback Time is 1.35 years at the building scale and 1.12 years at the city scale. For CO2 emissions, the payback time is 1.62 years at the building scale and 1.35 years at the city scale. These results demonstrate that the renovation—implemented with conventional materials—achieved significant reductions in energy use and emissions. Even greater benefits could be achieved by incorporating materials aligned with circular economy principles. These interventions should also be leveraged to enhance the quality of life of residents by adopting new approaches to adaptability and the reorganization of interior spaces, thereby pursuing optimal functional renewal.
000165616 536__ $$9info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PID2023-151255OB-I00
000165616 540__ $$9info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess$$aby-nc$$uhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.es
000165616 655_4 $$ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/article$$vinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
000165616 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-7660-3508$$aSierra-Pérez, Jorge$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000165616 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0002-0492-3625$$aGarcía-Pérez, Sergio$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000165616 700__ $$0(orcid)0000-0003-3269-023X$$aGuillén-Lambea, Silvia$$uUniversidad de Zaragoza
000165616 7102_ $$15015$$2110$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Arquitectura$$cÁrea Construc. Arquitectónicas
000165616 7102_ $$15002$$2305$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Ingeniería Diseño Fabri.$$cÁrea Expresión Gráfica en Ing.
000165616 7102_ $$15015$$2815$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Arquitectura$$cÁrea Urbanística y Ord.Territ.
000165616 7102_ $$15004$$2590$$aUniversidad de Zaragoza$$bDpto. Ingeniería Mecánica$$cÁrea Máquinas y Motores Térmi.
000165616 773__ $$g354 (2026), 116938 [16 pp.]$$pEnergy build.$$tEnergy and Buildings$$x0378-7788
000165616 8564_ $$s7320607$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/165616/files/texto_completo.pdf$$yVersión publicada
000165616 8564_ $$s2225325$$uhttps://zaguan.unizar.es/record/165616/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon$$xicon$$yVersión publicada
000165616 909CO $$ooai:zaguan.unizar.es:165616$$particulos$$pdriver
000165616 951__ $$a2026-01-12-11:11:16
000165616 980__ $$aARTICLE