Building preservation focusing on energy saving measures

Abstract: The project is based on a building, consisting of building timber, which was built in the early 1900s. The project aims to generate knowledge, guidelines and provide inspiration for how the building can be designed to serve as residence. The project also shows measures on how to maintain the building’s appearance from the time of construction and investigates how an acceptable thermal insulation can be obtained and how it effects the building’s character. The knowledge is primarily acquired from relevant literature and university courses in building- and urban planning and building physics. The results show a plan arrangement and propose measures for increased thermal insulation where the impact on the building’s cultural value is limited. The measures take account of old building techniques and materials and are largely reversible, which allowsna restoration to the original condition. The thermal insulating ability of the building’s enclosing element’s are calculated forthree cases, the building’s condition today and after the measures considered feasible without cultural value being lost. The final calculation is implemented in a version where the government authority requirements for new construction are achieved. The conclusion is that the building can be adapted to function as a residence. Measures to increase the thermal insulating capability can be implemented without affecting the  cultural values. The proposal reduces the building’s heat transfer coefficient by at least half of today’s performance. In order to fulfill the government authority requirement, measures have to be taken that may cause loss of character and cultural value.