Environmental impact and management of energy is a highly topical issue in today's society. Climate impact must be reduced. The Government has set a target to reduce energy consumption in buildings by 20 % by 2020 and 50 % by 2050 compared to the energy use in 1995.With this in mind, we chose to examine how property owners can work on improving energy efficiency in existing apartment buildings. We also wanted to investigate profitability of different increasing energy efficiency measures and the calculation methods and the risk assessment performed by such investments. To tie in with government objectives, we also saw the possibilities of achieving these goals.20 companies were interviewed, of which 14 were property owners and 6 were consulting firms that works with energy efficiency.

The Swedish potential of electricity production from roof mounted solar panels has been determined in three steps: accessing the existing roof top areas, simulating the amount of electricity solar panels can produce on these areas and finally analyzing how large the necessary economical change is to make the solar cells profitable.The total existing amount of roof top areas are 319 square kilometers and the area distribution follows the distribution of people. This leads to an installed power of 47,9 GW which are expected to produce 49,0 TWh electricity per year. If the quality of the electricity is prioritized the highest the power is reduced to 3,7 GW, generating 3,8 TWh yearly, but if the hosting capacity is calculated from Sweden?s total electricity need, the capacity is 42 TWh per year.Today, solar panels are not profitable in Sweden for houses, even though there is a subsidy of 35 % of the investment costs, discounted in 25 years. The profitability is calculated with a cost of capital of 5 %, a price on electricity of 1 SEK/kWh and an investment cost of 20 SEK/Wp.

The use of energy is an important question in today´s society, and a substantial part of the energy that is used today is used in our homes. To lower this usage is vital, and there are regulations in place both on the national and the local level, that say that new apartment blocks must be built to consume less energy, which in the end will lower the impact on the climate.One way to make the housing sector more environmentally sustainable, is to produce energy issions that are bad for the environment, for example to build wind turbines close to or even on the buildings, so called urban wind power. The scope for this report is to see if urban wind power could be a sustainable alternative for the residential area that Svenska Bostäder plans to build in Albano in Stockholm.There are extensive scientific theories regarding wind and wind power, and a literature study is made to investigate past knowledge in the area. Efforts have been made to find earlier trials with urban wind power and, both scientific research and trials where urban wind power actually has been installed. The theory chapter deals both with the wind itself and how electricity can be generated from wind.

Today's urban centers become denser, which contributes to higher demands on sound and noise. It is therefore highly relevant to build homes with good sound environment while maintaining living space. This thesis aimed to reduce the current concrete walls and see how the mass law affects the reduction index value and flanking transmissions. Handmade calculations were calculated according to the Swedish standard SS-EN 21354-1, where only air sound was calculated.Calculations we­­­re performed on wall elements with different weights and thicknesses, and compared with results from Bastian.In Bastian calculations of flanking transmissions were also made, this was made to see the impact of the flanking transmission when changing the mass per unit area. Mass law's impact was examined by flanking transmission and the result shows that they are not affected as long as the ratio between the thickness and the density remains the same.A questionnaire survey was conducted to determine the actual sound experience; this questionnaire was conducted on three concrete buildings in Växjö.

Uppsalahem is the leading housing corporation in Uppsala with its over 160 real estate properties. Uppsalahem is owned by the municipality of Uppsala, which has a climate and energy goal that aims for 100 MW of solar energy to be installed in Uppsala by 2030. The 100 MW goal, combined with Uppsalahem?s environmental policy, is a strong incentive to investigate the possibility of installing PV modules on the many available roof areas that Uppsalahem possesses. The objective of this thesis is to create a foundation for future decisions regarding PV systems for Uppsalahem.

Abstract Semester and year: Spring, 2008Writers: Victor Andersson and Filip ForslundTutor: Thomas HelgessonProgram: Marketing program, Halmstad University - School of Business and EngineeringTitle: Differentiation from a consumer perspective - How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspektive when choosing a residence? Presentation of problem: How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspective when choosing a residence?Purpose: The purpose is on basis from previous theories on the subject to describe what kind of differentiating that from a consumerperspective is the most important when choosing a residence. Key words: Differentiation, brand, apartment market Methodology: This thesis is built on an qualitative method, where eight open individual interviews have been made. Our choice of respondents was based on what kind of respondents that could give us the most accurate information on the subject which we based on relevant variables. Theory: The framing of the theories is based on a marketing perspective within the area of differentiating and focuses on how companies use different tools to differentiate their offer to create competitive advantages.

Abstract Semester and year: Spring, 2008Writers: Victor Andersson and Filip ForslundTutor: Thomas HelgessonProgram: Marketing program, Halmstad University - School of Business and EngineeringTitle: Differentiation from a consumer perspective - How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspektive when choosing a residence? Presentation of problem: How important is differentiation from a consumer?s perspective when choosing a residence?Purpose: The purpose is on basis from previous theories on the subject to describe what kind of differentiating that from a consumerperspective is the most important when choosing a residence. Key words: Differentiation, brand, apartment market Methodology: This thesis is built on an qualitative method, where eight open individual interviews have been made. Our choice of respondents was based on what kind of respondents that could give us the most accurate information on the subject which we based on relevant variables. Theory: The framing of the theories is based on a marketing perspective within the area of differentiating and focuses on how companies use different tools to differentiate their offer to create competitive advantages.

When constructing a building, a number of aspects must be harmonized in order for it to fulfill requirements ? a building must fulfill requirements such a load-bearing, conservation of energy and a good indoor environment by means of, among other things, moisture proofing .Moisture problems in buildings can affect health negatively. As we are increasingly staying in indoors, demands on a good indoor environment are higher.This work starts with examining moisture problems in slab-on-ground solutions, and then links the various scenarios to moisture problems in a concrete slab of a real building. The building with moisture problems is located in Årby by in Borlänge and moisture damage was found in the slab at an apartment adjoining wall.By reviewing literature written within the field of moisture problem, making hand calculations and modeling in the program Comsol Multiphysics, judgments are made to find explanations as to why the rise of moisture occurred in the building in Årby by.Generally, the following guidelines may be used to reduce the risk of moisture problems in slab-on-ground constructions:Drying of construction moisture before laying the floor material.Using draining layer beneath the slab, to prevent capillary suction.Using insulation under the slab, partly for comfort and to establish the temperature difference between the ground and the concrete slab.Avoid direct contact between the wood and concrete, due to degradation and fouling smells that normally occurs.If necessary, use additional vapor barrier.In addition to the above, there are various methods for moisture-proof and moisture-monitoring by design or by the method ByggaF suited for the entire construction process various events..

The viscosity of air buildings is a hot topic within the construction performers, which the industry feel they have too little knowledge about. This study is mainly aimed against air density in apartment buildings and airflow measurement. The study consists of a theoretical reference, educational visit, interviews and a survey conducted among construction workers at Magistratshagen in Linkoping.Earlier requirement in terms of air leakage through the climate screen was removed and today there are only energy requirement for a dwelling in Boverkets Building Regulations. The difference between a passive and a typical air tight construction is that the passive house have a maximum requirement of 0.3 l /s m2 of air leakage through the building climate screen. The requirement imposed on passive houses is to minimize the supply of power and energy for heating the building.Air tight constructions have heavy demands on the performance and accuracy of everyone involved with the project. The client must specify their requirements and also be prepared to pay for any additional costs. The architect and building planners have to design the building with regard to air tightness. Finally, the construction workers are required to do a careful work in order to get all the connections in the building air tight.The study suggests that an air tight building is a closed system where no forced ventilation exists. There are no reasons not to build too tight as long as there is a functioning ventilation. In this study the authors ask themselves how an air tight building changes over time. No theoretical information has been found on these changes, but the respondents assume that air density decreases with time. The deterioration is mainly assumed to be caused by construction materials changes over time. The study shows that construction workers knowledge of air tight construction is mixed, which they themselves admit in the survey..

The survey is a qualitative study that aims to investigate the ethnic housing segregation in the residential area around Malmvägen that is located in Sollentuna. Malmvägen is a millionprogramarea that?s made up of unattractive tall buildings with grey facades. The majority of the residents have foreign backgrounds and the unemployment rate is high among the youths in the area. The apartment rents on Malmvägen are low and many of the residents belong to the subclass of society.

When constructing a building, a number of aspects must be harmonized in order for it to fulfill requirements ? a building must fulfill requirements such a load-bearing, conservation of energy and a good indoor environment by means of, among other things, moisture proofing .Moisture problems in buildings can affect health negatively. As we are increasingly staying in indoors, demands on a good indoor environment are higher.This work starts with examining moisture problems in slab-on-ground solutions, and then links the various scenarios to moisture problems in a concrete slab of a real building. The building with moisture problems is located in Årby by in Borlänge and moisture damage was found in the slab at an apartment adjoining wall.By reviewing literature written within the field of moisture problem, making hand calculations and modeling in the program Comsol Multiphysics, judgments are made to find explanations as to why the rise of moisture occurred in the building in Årby by.Generally, the following guidelines may be used to reduce the risk of moisture problems in slab-on-ground constructions:Drying of construction moisture before laying the floor material.Using draining layer beneath the slab, to prevent capillary suction.Using insulation under the slab, partly for comfort and to establish the temperature difference between the ground and the concrete slab.Avoid direct contact between the wood and concrete, due to degradation and fouling smells that normally occurs.If necessary, use additional vapor barrier.In addition to the above, there are various methods for moisture-proof and moisture-monitoring by design or by the method ByggaF suited for the entire construction process various events..

AbstractThe Energy Declaration is a law that will come into effect October 1: Th 2006. This report has Värnamo municipality as principal and shall clarify what the estate owner in general and Värnamo municipality in particular need to know about this law. Another part that is going to be dealt with is how large the future need for energy experts in this field will be, and which competence that will be demanded for them.The work will in general deal with simplified energy declarations for apartment houses and public buildings, since these buildings are the first to be involved with energy declarations.The energy declaration will consist of a number of important components.? Energy power i.e. how much energy the building consume? If the ventilation control is done? If the radon measurement is carried out? Recommendations of measures to improve the energy power? Reference value to compare the buildings energy power againstAccording to the law the declaration shall been made by an independent expert, which will need certain information for this.

Between 1965 and 1974, the Swedish Parliament decided to build one million dwellings, called Million Program. The million program buildings were erected with new, untried design solutions, in a short range of time, and at low cost. The residential buildings from that time are now greatly in need of renovation. The municipal housing company, Gavlega?rdarna, renovates and improves the energy efficiency at some of it?s apartment buildings in the district Sa?tra, Ga?vle.

Background: The standard of living should be the same for everyone, whether the apartment is placed in an old or new building. The residential properties that were built from 1965 until 1974 is now beginning to become old and in need of restoration. The financial crisis during the nineties contributed to the lack of maintenance on the buildings in Sweden. As the public buildings gets older more and more defects occurs. The coordination and maintenance will therefore have a more significant role in the housing company ?s work.The increasing interest about how old a building can be, attract much attention.

The housing estates in the outskirts of Sandviken, consist of relatively large scale apartment buildings. This report, that is a B.A. thesis at 10 Swedish university points, aims to investigate and describe the opportunities to improve safety and security for inhabitants in Norra Björksätra. The purpose with this report is to make Norra Björksätra to a more attractive place to live in, by changing the negative trends in the area. Since demolition of at least some of the houses could be of current interest in some years; the purpose is also to investigate whether demolition or renewal of the area is the best solution.