Energy and environmental benefits in public buildings as a result of retrofit actions

The paper presents the results of an energy and environmental assessment of a set of retrofit actions implemented in the framework of the EU Project "BRITA in PuBs" (Bringing Retrofit Innovation to Application in Public Buildings - no: TREN/04/FP6EN/S07.31038/503135). Outcomes arise from a life cycle approach focused on the following issues: (i) construction materials and components used during retrofits; (ii) main components of conventional and renewable energy systems; (iii) impacts related to the building construction, for the different elements and the whole building. The results are presented according to the data format of the Environmental Product Declaration. Synthetic indices, as energy and GWP payback times, and energy return ratio, are defined to better describe the energy and environmental performances of the actions. The project highlights the role of the life cycle approach for selecting the most effective options during the design and implementation of retrofit actions.