Evaluation of Thermal Performance, Environmental Impact, and Cost Effectiveness of an XLam Component for Retrofitting in Existing Buildings

摘要

Renovation and retrofitting of residential buildings is a subject of great concern in Italy: most of the existing building stock is completely inappropriate in terms of structural rigidity in the event of earthquakes and with respect to the objectives of energy efficiency set by European law. This research presents the design of an innovative system of structural reinforcement using cross-laminated timber (CLT) technology based on materials with environmental compatibility: an XLam panel comes attached to a metal structure in the outside or inside layer of the external wall of an existing building; the stratigraphy also includes the insertion of insulation, a net of new systems (hydraulic and thermal), and new window frames. The new component is studied for modularization and standardization to ensure simplicity and speed of installation, low cost of providing, and assembly. The research focuses on aspects related to building physics and sustainability in construction in order to optimize the choice of materials: analyses of performance were conducted and simulations performed on various kinds of insulation materials in order to determine the best possible configuration in terms of thermal performance, environmental impact, and cost effectiveness. The results were verified with the construction of a prototype checked by a thermal test. Finally, with the obtained data the renovation of a case study building with different measures of intervention is verified.