Energy efficiency in glass buildings : A study about the energy efficiency of glass buildings in Stockholm and how related demands are met

Sammanfattning: The building and property sector stands for one third of the final energy usage in Sweden and this should be diminished, in order to reach goals within environmental sustainability. Glass is a poor thermal insulator but nevertheless a popular choice of material when constructing new buildings. The contradiction between need of energy efficiency and the wish for “glass buildings” led to the subject of this report. This Bachelor’s thesis examines how demands on energy efficiency is met in nine glass buildings in Stockholm. Glass buildings and the current legislation is discussed from a perspective of environmental sustainability. This was done by investigating the demands stated by Boverket from a historical perspective, executing quantitative measurements of heat transfer on elected objects, and interviewing stakeholders linked to the buildings and the Swedish legislation. The study shows that the construction of glass buildings has been possible due to a restructuring of the demands on energy efficiency and technical development. It was found, in most cases, that the shares of glass were in fact lower than apparent. A larger share of glass in the building envelope required creative measures to achieve energy solutions, within legislative demands. Nevertheless, the inlet of solar radiation heat is the greatest challenge. Despite the challenges, the desire for glass is rooted in well-being and aesthetic values, which insinuate that glass buildings will be included in the cityscape henceforth. The conclusions drawn from these results are that the energy performance of glass buildings is still weaker than conventional “solid wall buildings”. Enhancement regarding insulation abilities and improvements of excluding solar radiation must be realized to strengthen the environmental sustainability of this category of buildings.