Corrección de la demanda energética de calefacción y refrigeración por puentes térmicos en edificios existentes en Canarias. Métodos analíticos y prácticos de determinación

Abstract

The present research paper seeks to find out the specific measures and systems needed to adapt simulation programs which determine the energy efficiency of buildings, adapted to a warm climate, such as that of the Canaries, but designed and proposed for an application with a continental Europe mind-set. The research process encompassed an in-depth analysis of the environmental data and an extensive theoretical study, as well as a wide-spread application on the territory of the Canary Islands, comprising the analysis of four real case studies with over 2,100 thermograms, the implementation of different administrative IT programs to determine the energy certification, and its comparative analysis. This all-encompassing research led to the conclusion that there is a disconnection between the reality of the warm climate found in the Canaries and the reality reflected in the results of energy certification programs. Furthermore, the proposal of solutions diverges from the reality in the Canaries, as it bases the production of heat on biomass and it does not take into consideration the effect that the carbon footprint produces on an archipelago with more than 70% of its land protected, without the possibility of deforestation or sufficient agricultural production to meet the biomass need mentioned in said programs. Therefore, and according to the results obtained in this research, the real energy efficiency of the buildings studied is not correctly valued or weighted up via the means suggested by the administrative programs. Thus, the present research leads to the conclusion that there is a need to adapt the simulation programs that determine the energy efficiency of the buildings, applied to a warm climate such as that found in the Canaries, but designed and suggested for an application with a continental European mind-set. The study of the influence of thermal bridges in buildings, applied in a specific geographic area such as the Canary Islands, goes beyond the realm of theory. The resulting analysis has been applied to real buildings that have been tested, and analytical methods and practices have been used to determine the energy efficiency of these buildings. As regards the real behaviour of thermal bridges in the field of study, their relation with systems that analyse energy efficiency using conventional computer software has been determined; the result obtained was very poor, given the fact that the singularity of the climate and construction characteristics of the Canary Islands was omitted. As a result, the level of reliability that these systems have over the real analysis of a building is very low, and useless as regards the purpose considered. The key scientific contribution is to have been able to determine, in an analytic and scientific way, that there is disconnection between the reality of the warm climate in the Canaries and the results of the energy certification software, which means that the real energy efficiency of the building is not correctly valued or weighted up. All of this leads to the need for an adaptation of the simulation programs which determine the energy efficiency of the buildings, applied to a warm climate such as that of the Canaries. Moreover, the constructive mechanisms used in said warm climates need to be added to these programs and they should potentially be applied to catalogues to sufficiently reflect the singularity of said solutions.