Very Low-Energy House Concepts in North European ... - NorthPass

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Potential contribution to global warming for two Lithuanian multi-family buildings, accumulated over
the first 30 years of operation [kg CO2-equivalents/m2]
The study indicates that greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption are more
important than greenhouse gas emissions from building material production. A conclusion
from the study is that it is important not only to reduce energy consumption but to use
renewable energy whenever possible.
Lower life Cycle Costs
A very low-energy house has a lower energy demand than a comparable conventional house.
This implies reduced energy costs for the tenant.
In the NorthPass report “Economic and environmental impact assessment of very low-energy
house concepts in the North European countries” Life Cycle Costs assessments were
performed for very low-energy and conventional buildings. The energy price is important for
economic comparisons of this kind. The calculations in the NorthPass report were made for a
30 year time span and for different energy price trend scenarios, a low and a high energy price
trend.
The report shows that very low-energy houses in general have lower Life Cycle Costs than
conventional houses for a high energy price trend. Figure 2 shows an example from the Life
Cycle Costs assessments for two Lithuanian Multi-family buildings. As can be seen in Figure
2, the very-low energy house has lower total costs than the conventional house after 30 years.
The payback time for the very-low energy house is approximately 15 years.
NorthPass