Methodological Framework to Assess the Significance of External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) on-site Activities

AbstractEuropean climate strategy foresees measures to increase energy efficiency, competitiveness and the energy security of Europe by decreasing energy consumption. As buildings are responsible for 40% of the total energy consumption in the European Union, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive sets energy consumption reduction targets for the member states. The rapidly increasing market for energy efficient buildings favours External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) usage in Europe. From the consumers’ perspective the use of this façade system provides high thermal resistance and can be applied externally relatively fast with simple work methods.The façade system and each component of it need to meet specific technical performance criteria. The on-site construction process has the ability to modify technical performances with minor actions like mixing time, kneading water, insulation fixation, weather conditions, material moisture level and curing time. Minor deviations during construction can cause a variety of adverse consequences which lead to deterioration and reduced energy efficiency. The current paper proposes a methodology to rank the on-site degradation factors and provide a risk priority number. Based on the technical requirements set for building products, the significance of the collected degradation factors can be ranked by experts and the results ranked using a modified form of Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA). The methodology provides a significance assessment tool to identify degradation factors in the construction phase