DEFINING AND DEVELOPING AN ENERGY RETROFITTING APPROACH

This paper identifies the dilemma faced by the stakeholders of existing buildings in regards to a decision making process for energy retrofitting.This paper also identifies the missing stage viewed as the“integrity audit”which can lead to substantial savings in the area of building operation.The methodology is centered on identifying energy waste first,reducing the overall peak electrical demand and then retrofitting for energy-efficiency.A proposed“integrity audit”leads to the classification of three main energy culprits:the identification of waste,missed opportunities,and rescheduling the operation of equipment use.A case study indicating the financial advantages of applying this methodology for a commercial building are presented.The energy retrofitting strategy is divided into two main categories,namely building control improvements and building component implementation.The payback periods are often within months if not immediate.

Strategy for Energy Efficiency Retrofit of Rural Buildings in Hot-summer and Hold-winter Zone——A Case Study in Xinjiang New District,Jiangxi

Under the background of new urbanization, rural buildings＇ energy efficiency retrofit is an essential part of the overall work of the building energy conservation. Therefore, taking rural buildings in hot-summer and cold-winter zone as the research object, we carried out field investigation by combining geographical climate charactedstics with social-economic conditions and analyzed the energy consumption and energy conservation of rural buildings in hot-summer and cold-winter zone. On the basis of the investigation and analysis, this paper pointed out the questions with its energy efficiency retrofit and proposed the energy-saving strategy which was suitable for rural buildings in hot-summer and cold-winter zone based on people＇s livelihood and development.

EFFICIENCY AND COMFORT THROUGH DEEP ENERGY RETROFITS: BALANCING ENERGY AND MOISTURE MANAGEMENT

Homes that survived to be called“historic”did so because they worked;that is,they delivered a level of performance that met the owner’s expectations and tolerance level without catastrophic damage to the home,pocketbook,or surrounding environment.Home performance expectations have changed and now include a desire to use less energy while at the same time realizing a level of comfort that includes air conditioning and constant temperatures in all rooms.In order to meet these performance expectations,old homes often require some“re-engineering.”Increasing insulation will advance energy efficiency goals,reduce costs,and make a home more sustainable but by itself is insufficient,and,often,it can also upset the moisture balance resulting in unexpected mold and sick building syndrome.Improvement in moisture management design is a critically important consideration whenever energy efficiency is increased;however,many projects fail to address moisture adequately.This article will walk through the process of insulating and air sealing a house(two very different activities,sometimes combined,sometimes not),and shed particular light on how different approaches encourage or discourage moisture problems.

ENERGY RETROFIT OF HISTORICAL BUILDINGS:AN ITALIAN CASE STUDY

The most suitable intervention for energy rehabilitation of historical buildings has to reach both the goal of the optimization of the energy saving and the preservation of the original characteristics of the building.The present work is related to refurbishment and energy rehabilitation of an historical building dating back to 15th century.The building complex under study is an ancient residential courtyard building located in Northern Italy near Verona.The strategies have been focused on the building envelope and energy supply systems respecting both the regulatory constraints imposed by preservation of historical buildings and,where possible,the current national legislation about the building energy efficiency.This result was achieved only through the identification of best solutions based on mutual compatibility and optimization of the performance of the building envelope and the HVAC systems.In the design phase,the thermal performance of the building for both winter and summer periods have been evaluated by dynamic computer simulations.It has been shown that adequate interventions focused on the building envelope and HVAC systems reduces the energy consumption in a significant way.Further,it has been shown through economical analysis that extra-costs for energy retrofit measures paid back quickly during the life span of the building.Historical buildings are characterized by unique and specific characters that could be preserved,also upgrading them to modern requirements.This study demonstrates how it is possible to intervene effectively(and correctly by the historical and architectural point of view)on the energy performance of ancient buildings.By applying innovative techniques and technologies,in fact,it is possible to achieve high energy efficiency levels,without affecting the original architectural appearance and value.The methodology presented can be an interesting case study for all those building interventions where energy,cultural and historical issues intersect.

REVIVING CHERMAYEFF’S PATIO HOUSE: A DEEP ENERGY RETROFIT AND RENOVATION OF AN ICONIC MID-CENTURY MODERN HOME

Buildings in the mid-twentieth century were conceived within a bubble of expectation of boundless energy, a situation that was short-lived, and a mindset set that is hard to comprehend these days. Nowadays, it is easy to understand that the thermally flimsy products of this era require some dramatic invention-what we often call a “deep energy retrofit” (DER)-and there is an emerging set of standard responses to such envelope enhancement. But some of these buildings have high architectural significance, and deserve a more design-oriented solution than simply wrapping them in an insulative swaddle. This is the story of one such building.

A Study on the Evaluation of Heating and Cooling Energy Efficiency in Residential Buildings for Climatic Zones of Turkey

In Turkey, most of the common type projects of mass production residential buildings are being developed and constructed by TOK1 （Housing Development Administration of Turkey）. These buildings, in which energy efficient approach has been disregarded for years, cause to gradually increase on heating and cooling energy consumptions. In regards to national economics, it is essential to evaluate energy efficiency and to develop suggestions to decrease energy consumptions in residential buildings. To achieve appropriate solutions, cost evaluation also becomes necessary. Therefore, this paper aims to introduce a study which serves the purpose of producing a choice of energy efficient solutions in order to reduce energy consumptions and energy cost. In this study, different heating and cooling energy efficient scenarios have been developed for a selected residential building, constructed by TOKI, for climatic zones of Turkey. For each scenario, energy simulations have been executed by means of the simulation program--DesignBuilder, the user-friendly visual interface of EnergyPlus, and cost analysis has been carried out by using the net present value and discounted payback period method. As a result, energy and cost effective solutions have been presented and discussed for different climatic zones.

Assessing cooling energy reduction potentials by retrofitting traditional cavity walls into passively ventilated cavity walls

A major roadblock in achieving substantial building energy reduction is the low performance of old buildings that account for a significant portion of the building energy consumption.Finding low-cost energy retrofit solutions that do not disrupt occupants’daily life during the retrofitting is the key to successful building energy retrofit initiatives.In this paper,a novel and low-cost exterior wall retrofitting solution is introduced,and its performance in reducing space cooling load was quantitatively evaluated to demonstrate its feasibility and effectiveness.The primary goal of this paper is to provide a quantitative assessment of the cooling-energy savings potential by using the proposed new wall system.The intended retrofitting targets are the large amount of existing cavity-wall buildings located in hot climate regions.The quantification of the before-after heat-flux reduction was conducted through a 3-dimensional steady-state low turbulence computational fluid dynamics(CFD)model,which is validated by benchmarking its prediction against the published experimental case results.The outcomes of the investigation suggest that this simple low-cost solution has great potentials in reducing buildings’summer cooling load in hot climate regions.The applicability of this solution is not limited to retrofitting existing buildings.New energy-efficient building designs can also adopt this solution in their envelope systems.

A ROADMAP FOR CLIMATE ACTION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY:HIGHER EDUCATION CAMPUSES AS CLIMATE LEADERS

INTRODUCTION As federal and provincial governments debate the viability of absolute emission reduction targets,universities and college across North America are steadfast on a voluntary movement to slash greenhouse gas emissions and model the way forward on climate action.These institutions are taking advantage of campus contexts that offer decentralized energy supply opportunities,district energy systems,large building portfolios,and research partnerships to leverage change.Higher education campuses are emerging as innovation hubs for the deployment of new technologies,policy development,best practices in portfolio scale building operating models,public-private partnership models and more.

Techniques and Methods for Urban Regeneration and Quality Improvement for Suburbia

The paper is based on the results of two research experiences： an European research titled ＂Improving the Quality of Suburban Building Stock＂ （COST Action TU0701 ） and an Italian National Research project called ＂Renovation, Regeneration and Valorization of Social Housing Settlements Built in the Suburban Areas in the Second Half of Last Century＂ （PRIN 2010-2012）. The paper summarizes the researches outputs whose main aim was to illustrate the potentialities of different strategies for the improvement of suburbs. In order to implement different strategies for the refurbishment of suburban areas, researches were aimed firstly at the identification of several case studies that are representatives of the European panorama because of their typology, construction and state of physical and social deterioration. The final result was a collection of examples for the urban regeneration, gathered from case studies but offering a wide-scale of applications on public housing complexes. The paper highlights different approaches and strategies taken by different countries towards the methodologies of assessing, refurbishing and adding new value to the suburban areas, in view of increasing not only the quality of buildings but also the quality of public spaces and services, for a better quality of life of the citizens.

Potential of GSHP coupled with PV systems for retrofitting urban areas in different European climates based on archetypes definition

According to the recent policies regarding energy use in buildings and the need of retrofit strategies,the aim of this work is to support policies concerning the installation of ground source heat exchangers in urban and historical areas,raising the awareness on the potential energy saving achievable with optimal sizing and limited impact on the urban environment.Archetypes have been developed distinguishing among existing and historic buildings,focusing on single-family terrace houses,which are the typical residential buildings in European historic centres.A methodology for the optimal sizing of ground source heat pumps,eventually considering dual-source system or air system has been developed combining simulations of a photovoltaic system to estimate the self-sufficiency and the self-consumption for five orientations of the building.Extreme results have been obtained for warm cli-mates,with negligible heating energy demand and possibly free cooling systems rather than traditional cooling systems needed in wintertime.Penalty temperature was acceptable despite unbalanced energy demands.With proper inclination,photovoltaic systems could provide up to 40%of self-sufficiency share also in northern cli-mates.An energy-economic analysis was carried out obtaining a variety of cases representing a general overview of the European building stock and the potential benefits achievable in terms of renewable energy share,energy savings and economic investments needed to be extended to simulations at urban scale.

Evaluating the energy impact potential of energy efficiency measures for retrofit applications:A case study with U.S.medium office buildings

Quantifying the energy savings of various energy efficiency measures(EEMs)for an energy retrofit project often necessitates an energy audit and detailed whole building energy modeling to evaluate the EEMs;however,this is often cost-prohibitive for small and medium buildings.In order to provide a defined guideline for projects with assumed common baseline characteristics,this paper applies a sensitivity analysis method to evaluate the impact of individual EEMs and groups these into packages to produce deep energy savings for a sample prototype medium office building across 15 climate zones in the United States.We start with one baseline model for each climate zone and nine candidate EEMs with a range of efficiency levels for each EEM.Three energy performance indicators(EPIs)are defined,which are annual electricity use intensity,annual natural gas use intensity,and annual energy cost.Then,a Standard Regression Coefficient(SRC)sensitivity analysis method is applied to determine the sensitivity of each EEM with respect to the three EPIs,and the relative sensitivity of all EEMs are calculated to evaluate their energy impacts.For the selected range of efficiency levels,the results indicate that the EEMs with higher energy impacts(i.e.,higher sensitivity)in most climate zones are high-performance windows,reduced interior lighting power,and reduced interior plug and process loads.However,the sensitivity of the EEMs also vary by climate zone and EPI;for example,improved opaque envelope insulation and efficiency of cooling and heating systems are found to have a high energy impact in cold and hot climates.

Achieving energy efficiency in government buildings through mandatory policy and program enforcement

Government buildings are responsible for a significant proportion of energy consumption worldwide,for example, in Australia, up to 41.5 PJ energy was consumed by government buildings in 2011–2012. While the newly constructed buildings may be energy efficient,the existing buildings, which account for more than 85% of the total building stock, were built prior to the time when energy rating systems was put in practice and are consequently energy inefficient to a large degree. Reducing the energy consumption in existing government buildings is essential, as it will not only reduce the costs and environmental impacts, but also show governments' strong commitment towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emission. Furthermore, successful building energy retrofit projects are the showcases to the general public, encouraging other sectors(e.g. commercial) to conduct building retrofits for energy savings. Recognising these benefits,several state governments in Australia have introduced building energy efficiency policies and programs. This paper reviewed the energy efficiency policies/programs in five States in Australia: Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia, and Queensland in terms of respective policies and targets, implementation methods and current progress. The lessons learned from these programs were also discussed. This research revealed that the key factors for a successful government buildingenergy retrofitting program are 1) having a properly enforced energy efficiency mandate with clear energy saving targets, 2) establishing an expert facilitation team and 3) implementing suitable financing and procurement methods.