Criterion to evaluate the "twofold benefit" of the renovation of buildings and their elements

At present a benefit of energy saving projects for buildings renovation is considered as only the saving of energy. It is obvious, however, that most energy saving measures allow one not only to save energy, but also to improve the building's condition and in turn to increase the value of a building. In practice, considering only the reduction of energy cost, the implementation of such measures is usually hard to prove through cost effectiveness. The authors of this paper suggest one of possible methods of how the assessment of the cost effectiveness of energy saving measures could include a twofold benefit of building's renovation-the energy saving and the rehabilitation of the buildings elements physical condition. The presented method could form a "new attitude" towards the assessment of the energy saving projects for buildings renovation. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.