Thermal And Environmental Performance Of A Residential Building A Portuguese Case Study

Abstract This work presents the results of the thermal and environmental performance of a new residential building as a function of the heating system used designed to Viseu a moderate climate zone in Portugal. A case study has been conducted on a conventional residential building modeled according to Portuguese Thermal Building Regulation that is complying with EN ISO 13790 and EN 15603 and Life Cycle Assessment methodologies. Two scenarios were studied the scenario VIS-HP where a heat pump is used as the heating system and the scenario VIS-WH using a wood heater as the heating system. In terms of energy the results show that the scenario VIS-WH is about 2.4 times more efficient than scenario VIS-HP. According to Portuguese Energy System Certification the scenario VIS-WH is labeled as class A and the scenario VIS-HP as class A. From an environmental point of view the VIS-WH scenario has a lower environmental load than the VIS-HP scenario if a very high weight is given to Resources while a very low weight is given to Human Health and Ecosystem Quality. Otherwise the opposite is true