Energy efficiency of buildings in Arctic municipalities

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An (cold and dark) Arctic climate in northern Finland, Norway and Sweden means that large amounts of energy are used to support the region’s building stock. Needs and demands for reduced resource use in the region’s communities have in recent years increased the interest and incentives to energy efficient the stock. Questions about how energy efficient houses — low-energy houses — can be designed for an Arctic climate have led to a number of demonstration/pilot projects being initiated in municipalities in the border region. The projects have been variously successful, mainly because the experience and knowledge of the construction of low-energy buildings in the region is limited, as well as knowledge about how heating and ventilation systems can be designed for such houses without compromising the comfort and economy of the users. Characteristic of most demonstrator/pilots is the lack of systematic and documented evaluations of selected solutions — what works well/less well in our Arctic climate? Measurements and follow-ups have been carried out towards the end of the projects and often become so short that the operation of the solutions has only been partially evaluated. The dissemination of experience and results from the projects to other municipalities and relevant social and business actors in the region has also been limited. In order to be better able to drive and stimulate the work on resource efficiency in society, municipalities in the region need broader knowledge of the energy efficiency solutions that have been tested and evaluated for the region’s specific climate conditions. The goal of the project is therefore to increase competence in the border region’s municipalities with regard to green community development decisions, with a focus on energy efficiency of buildings in the Arctic climate. To achieve the goal, the project will achieve (1) knowledge and exchange of experience between the border region’s Finnish/Swedish/Norwegian municipalities around low-energy house pilots/demonstrators, and (2) create a comprehensive knowledge base for low-energy houses in arctic climates. By following up on a number of low-energy buildings in the region, new technologies developed and tested for an Arctic climate can be mapped and evaluated in terms of energy, costs and user experiences of, for example, indoor climate. The municipalities of the three countries in the region are currently facing high demands for more and better buildings, requiring energy renovation in existing housing stock. Based on the mapping and evaluation of best practice in low-energy buildings in the Arctic climate, proposals for measures to reduce energy consumption and improve indoor climate in older buildings selected in dialogue with municipalities from their own property portfolio are developed and evaluated. By evaluating building objects in three different countries, the acquired knowledge and experience of different technical solutions across national borders is documented, compared and exchanged. Completed mappings and evaluations are discussed and presented to municipalities in the border region, and relevant sector authorities, participating in meetings, workshops and study trips organised in the region as part of the implementation of the project. The exchange of knowledge and experience that takes place is documented and analysed to highlight the prerequisites for a broader application (in a broader societal and business development perspective) of knowledge and experience from low-energy house demonstrator/pilots in the border region. The results of the project are also compiled in reports that are discussed, presented and published in both scientific and popular science external contexts. Through the described working methods, working new technologies for the energy efficiency of buildings in the Arctic climate will be implemented more quickly when renovating the older building stock, which contributes to resource efficiency in the region’s communities. The project, which lasts for three years, is led by experienced senior researchers in the three countries, PhD students participating will contribute to surveys and evaluations in all three countries.

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