Economic aspect of solar thermal collectors integration into facade of multifamily housing

Abstract

The subject of this research is the Life cycle costs analysis of the building in order to evaluate the economic efficiency and cost-effectiveness of investments in various variants of application of active solar systems in aim to achieve the reduction of energy consumption and environmental pollution. Different variants of solar thermal collector’s application to the existing prefabricated residential building in the settlement Konjarnik in Belgrade, Serbia, are considered from the economic point of view. Cost-effectiveness and feasibility of various scenarios of energy optimization achieved by application of solar thermal collectors into the building envelope are evaluated on the basis of final energy consumption (within the EU-ISO standards). The methodological approach involves the analysis of the costs of energy consumption for water heating, financial analysis of costs and savings over the life cycle of the existing building in case of solar thermal collectors’ application to the building envelope as well as a comparative analysis of achieved results. Criteria for the economic analysis include the amount of investment, energy costs and life cycle costs of the building. According to the adopted criteria, the most suitable models are selected. This methodological approach is generally applicable in the analysis of investments in improvement of building energy performances, while possible technical solutions and the resulting economic benefits must be carefully considered.