Thesis nailing ceremony: Lukas Dahlström

Lukas Dahlström's thesis examines in four articles how the energy demand in buildings can be estimated and reduced with regard to commitments for mitigating climate change within the framework of sustainable development. The focus is on method development, and using case studies for three major areas – Uppsala, Gotland, and Södermalm in Stockholm – the thesis analyses energy modelling methods based on open data, which ensures an adaptable and reproducible process. The model uses geographical data, socio-economic data, and energy performance certificates to create a reliable and realistic model.

The model relies on the Urban Building Energy Modelling (UBEM) approach, which is a physics-based method that describes and simulates energy use in building stocks within a larger geographical area. Developing reliable UBEM models involves several significant challenges, mainly related to the complexity of the models, data availability, and accuracy. To improve the reliability of the models, it is important to focus on better data use and to explore new modelling techniques. The research in this thesis is rooted in established methods but expands existing approaches to broaden societal perspectives, involve additional aspects, and improve the efficiency and accuracy of the modelling process.

Since existing buildings constitute a large part of a community's identity and cultural heritage, it is particularly important to find a balance between energy efficiency and cultural-historical values. The thesis identifies various renovation strategies by integrating heritage values with nationally available building data, and by using the UBEM model developed during the course of the work. A balanced renovation scenario is presented, weighing energy efficiency against the preservation of heritage values. This was compared with other scenarios based on the degree of consideration given to energy efficiency and damage to cultural values, and simulations showed that the potential for energy savings in historic buildings is generally high.

Overall, the thesis contributes to finding a balance between energy efficiency, socio-economic considerations and heritage values, and emphasises the importance of careful consideration and planning – choosing to do the right things in the right buildings – in order to effectively and sustainably reduce energy use across the entire building stock.

Thesis nailing

The thesis nailing ceremony will take place in the research gallery on the second floor of the Almedalen Library.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

Thesis defence

The thesis defence will take place on Friday, 31 October, 10:00 - 12:00, in lecture hall E22 or via Zoom. Further details will follow shortly.