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.

PHOENIX’S FIRST NET-ZERO ENERGY OFFICE RETROFIT: A GREEN AND LEAN CASE STUDY

Many in the construction industry view lean practices as a means for reducing cost and schedule while maintaining or improving quality. This paper argues that lean practices can also be used to promote energy savings throughout a building’s life cycle. This paper presents a case study of an existing building retrofit in Phoenix, Arizona. The project owner, a general contractor, self-performed much of the building construction and worked to ensure the project team aligned around the project’s net-zero energy goal. All building systems, excepting the walls and roof, were re-designed and re-constructed. After retrofit, the building has achieved net-zero energy consumption;that is, the building produces as much energy as it consumes on an annual basis. Deep building energy retrofits typically result in larger energy savings than operational changes alone can provide, as these retrofits take a whole-building approach to design (i.e., optimize the whole) and implement integrated project delivery methods (e.g., (AIA, 2007)). This paper discusses a net-zero energy retrofit and how lessons learned on this project could apply to other deep energy retrofits for commercial buildings (where “deep” refers to energy savings of 25% or more) that may significantly improve building value (Miller and Pogue, 2009). The inefficiency of existing building stock supports the need for retrofitting: energy consumption in the existing building stock in the United States accounts for approximately 41% of the total primary energy consumption (US DOE, 2012). In order to reduce this consumption, existing buildings must be retrofit, through replacement or upgrade of their existing building systems, to improve their energy performance. Beyond the energy motivation, a building’s operating costs account for the largest portion of the life cycle cost. Thus, deep energy retrofit projects offer an opportunity to significantly reduce both national energy consumption and expenditures. While much research exists on the topic of energy retrofits, very little explores the role of the contractor. This paper explores the contractor’s role (rather than the designer’s or engineer’s role) in delivering deep energy retrofit projects. The contractor plays a critical role in delivering a project that meets the owner’s expectations and goals and satisfies the specifications (Ahn and Pearce, 2007). Namely, the contractor executes the plans and specifications, giving physical reality to the design team’s vision. In the case of deep energy retrofits, this role is particularly important, as installation and operation must conform to the design intent to achieve the predicted energy performance. Moreover, the contractor must understand the existing condition to effectively retrofit the building. This paper explores critical building energy efficiency measures and processes for achieving deep energy savings in retrofit projects. Specifically, we present the role of the contractor in a case study project in Phoenix, Arizona where the contractor was engaged in the project early in the design stage. This paper discusses the process of developing and selecting energy efficiency measures (EEMs). It explains the reasons for choosing particular EEMs, including a discussion of selecting an appropriate baseline for energy savings calculations, and documents the impact of EEMs on total energy consumption and design intent. The paper concludes with a discussion of recommendations that, if applied in part or whole, will increase the effectiveness of future construction teams in delivering deep energy retrofit projects.

An Analysis of Energy and Environment Efficiency of China＇s Iron and Steel Industry

Due to heavy energy consumption and low technical efficiency, China＇s iron and steel industry is trapped in the dilemma ＂large but not strong＂. This situation not only exerts enormous pressure on energy security but also on increased carbon emission and environmental pollution. The contribution of this study is to calculate the energy and environment efficiency of China＇s iron and steel industry and to analyze the factors affecting this efficiency. An index of energy and environment efficiency is introduced based on Directional Slacks-based Distance Measure Model. This index is adopted to measure the energy and environment efficiency of China＇s iron and steel industry using 2,382 firm observations during 2001 to 2005. In addition, Hierarchy Linear Model （HLM） is applied to analyze the factors which can influence the efficiency with both firm-level and province-level data. The conclusions are as follows： The energy and environment efficiency of China＇s iron and steel industry did not have a significant change during the research period. A firm＇s age, size, ownership, product category and the economy of its province have significant influence on its energy and environment efficiency.