Interior insulation-Characterisation of the historic, solid masonry building segment and analysis of the heat saving potential by 1d, 2d, and 3d simulation

The findings show that a large proportion of Danish multi-storey dwellings with solid masonry walls, high energy consumption, and uniform characteristics were found to originate from the period 1851-1930. This segment accounts for 25% of all multi-storey apartments in Denmark. It was investigated, which relative reduction of the average thermal transmittance could be obtained by interior insulation when simulated in different dimensions, degrees of insulation and thickness. The analysis showed that partial insulation of the spandrels below windows on the 2nd/3rd highest storeys accounted for up to 40% of the average thermal transmittance reduction achievable by fully insulating inside walls, while covering 17% of the space needed in the full insulation strategy. Furthermore, the analysis showed an underestimation of average thermal transmittance by 2-dimensional compared to 3-dimensional simulation by up to 57%, indicating that 3-dimensional analysis is needed to obtain realistic results.