Cost-effectiveness assessment of insulated exterior walls of residential buildings in cold climate

Many types of insulated exterior walls are widely used in China. The selection of the most appropriate walls requires a simple method suitable for evaluating wall alternatives both as a design tool and a regulatory measure. In this paper, a method was proposed to assess cost-effectiveness of insulated exterior walls of residential buildings in cold climate. By considering energy savings, increased usable floor area, construction costs, insulation replacement and salvage values, the method calculated the main cost or benefit difference of using insulated exterior walls throughout a building lifecycle compared with the typical non-insulated solid clay brick walls, and subsequently defined a cost-effectiveness indicator (CEI) for measuring the overall cost efficiency of insulated exterior walls. The proposed method was applied to assessing insulated exterior walls of a residential building in Harbin, China. The application results show that the method can evaluate insulated exterior walls easily and properly, and enable designers and governors to assess different walls quickly. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA.