THE IMPACT OF WOODEN CONSTRUCTION ELEMENTS IN THE ENERGY BALANCE OF THE WOODEN BUILDING IN ALBANIA

Thermal insulation is rated as one of the most effective interventions to reduce energy requirements for heating and cooling according to numerous studies in the energy sector in general and in the housing sector in particular, due to the reduction of heat transmission coefficient of construction elements. The study aimed to assess the impact of wooden walls and windows in energy balance, in order to ensure energy efficiency in the wooden building. The project was based on the identification of typical types of walls of wooden houses mostly used in Albania. It was conducted for a typical wooden building in the climatic area of Tirana, for three types of walls and three types of wooden windows. Heat transfer coefficients of the walls and windows were assessed by Knauf Insulation 1.2 program. The impact of nine (9) typical combinations of three (3) types of walls with three (3) types of windows was assessed by the influence of relevant heat transfer coefficients in thermal balance of the annual demand for heating and cooling, generated by the program Casanova version 3.3.08. The thermal impact of the windows is also estimated by energy-flow diagram. It was concluded that these combinations between walls and wooden windows were in compliance with the requirements by 80 - 110 kWh/ (m2 year), set by the “National Strategy for the Conservation of Energy in buildings 2015”.