Estimated potential for energy savings in heating residential buildings in Poland

Czestochowa University of Technology, Faculty of Infrastructure and Environment, J.H. Dąbrowskiego 73, 42-201 Częstochowa, Poland

^* Corresponding author: piolis@is.pcz.czest.pl

Abstract

In the face of a constant increase in demand for energy, one of the important sources will be its saving and efficient use. The search for the greatest opportunities in this area should focus on the areas where the highest energy consumption occurs. The dominant role here is played by the communal and living sector, to the extent that it is the sub-sector of buildings with a majority share of residential buildings. The article presents the expected energy effects of measures reducing energy consumption for heating residential buildings in the whole country. The author used statistical data of the Central Statistical Office available in the database of this institution. These data were identified and searched for as suitable for the purposes of this article and were used as a basis for calculations and analyses. The calculations show that only thanks to simple actions such as improvement of thermal insulation of envelope components it is possible to reduce energy consumption for heating of residential buildings by over 70% in relation to the situation in 2011. The potential energy effect will also translate into an economic and environmental effect. Qualitative measures such as improving the performance of the heating and ventilation system of a building and/or changing the energy carrier will also reduce energy consumption for this purpose, but they are not the subject of this study.