September 2024
Elena Arce Fariña
1, Mirela Panait
2,3,*, José María Lago-Cabo
4 and Raquel Fernández-González
5
1 Department of Industrial Engineering, CITIC, CTC, University of A Coruña, 15403 Ferrol, Spain;
elena.arce@udc.es
2 Faculty of Economic Sciences, Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti, 39, Bd. Bucures, ti,
100680 Ploiesti, Romania
3 Institute of National Economy, Romanian Academy, 010071 Bucharest, Romania
4 Faculty of Communication and Social Sciences, University of Vigo, 36310 Vigo, Spain;
jose.maria.lago@alumnado.uvigo.gal
5 ERENEA-ECOBAS, Department of Applied Economics, Faculty of Economics, University of Vigo,
Campus As Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain; raquelf@uvigo.es
* Correspondence: mirela.matei@upg-ploiesti.ro
Abstract
Shipping containers that remain in ports after exporting or importing products cause an
environmental and logistical problem. Transporting them to the port of origin is costly; therefore,
some of them are stored in the regions of destination. Recycling or reusing them in an efficient and
sustainable way represents a clean alternative. The purpose of this article is to analyze the feasibility
and impact of implementing different insulating configurations on the energy demands required by a
house based on a construction with standardized shipping containers. More specifically, it assesses
the impact of the different orientations in which the dwelling can be arranged, depending on the
location and its meteorological data. To this aim, a construction model will be developed in which
first, the geometrical parameters are defined, and second, the energy characteristics are identified.
The results show that, in Southwest Europe, the western orientation generates a saving of 10% of the
energy demand compared to the less favourable orientation, which is the southern one.