Influence of building insulation on outdoor concentrations of regional air-pollutants

The effects of building insulation on ground-level concentration levels of air pollutants are considered. We have estimated regionally averaged reductions in energy consumption between 2005 and 2020 by comparing a business as usual with a very low energy building scenario for the EU-25. The corresponding reductions in air pollutant emissions were calculated using emission factors. Annual simulations with an air-quality model, where only the emission reductions due to insulation was accounted for, were compared for the scenarios, and statistically significant changes in ground-level mass concentration of main air pollutants were found. Emission reductions of up to 9% in particulate matter and 6.3% for sulphur dioxide were found in north-western Europe. Emission changes were negligible for volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide decreased by 0.6% over southern Europe while nitrogen oxides changed by up to 2.5% in the Baltic region. Seasonally and regionally averaged changes in ground-level mass concentrations showed that sulphur dioxide decreased by up to 6.2% and particulate matter by up to 3.6% in north-western Europe. Nitrogen oxide concentrations decreased by 1.7% in Poland and increases of up to 0.6% were found for ozone. Carbon monoxide changes were negligible throughout the modelling domain. ► Estimation of pollutant emission reductions due to increased building insulation. ► Comparison of annual simulations with an air-quality model with and without emission reductions. ► Emission reductions up to 9% for PM and 6.3% for SO2 in western Europe. ► Seasonally and regionally averaged mass concentration reductions up to 6.2% for SO2 and 3.6% for PM. ► Winter-time increase in ozone mass concentration.