Reducing the Operational Energy Consumption in Buildings by Passive Cooling Techniques using Building Information Modelling Tools

Muhammad Mubashir Ahsan, Muhammad Zulqernain, Hassaan Ahmad, Basit Ali Wajid, Saqib Shahzad, Muzamil Hussain

Abstract


Enormously increased energy consumption makes it inevitable to upgrade the energy efficiency of the existing stock of buildings which share a substantial part of the overall energy consumption worldwide. Being an effective tool for analyzing energy performance, Building Information Modelling (BIM), is used to enhance the energy performance of the buildings. This study, therefore, investigates the effectiveness of applying passive cooling techniques using BIM and focuses on developing recommendations on feasible and optimized retrofitting techniques for existing buildings. Moreover, it gives an economic comparison between initial investment and returns based on the quantitative results of energy retrofitting. Thermal simulation software Autodesk Ecotect has been used to simulate annual energy consumption of one case building. Different passive cooling techniques have been applied according to Building Energy Codes of Pakistan. The input parameters are, thus, type of insulating material, the thickness of insulating materials, single and double glazing of windows and window to wall ratio. Results indicate that the annual energy consumption of selected building can be reduced up to 35 % when building incorporates passive cooling techniques with a calculated payback period of 3 years and 2 months.


Keywords


Retrofitting; Building Information Modelling; Energy Efficient Buildings; Passive Cooling Techniques;

Full Text:

PDF

References


I. E. Agency. (2018, 10 Aug, 2018). Global energy demand grew by 2.1% in 2017, and carbon emissions rose for the first time since 2014. Available: https://www.iea.org/newsroom/news/2018/march/global-energy-demand-grew-by-21-in-2017-and-carbon-emissions-rose-for-the-firs.html

M. LaFrance, "Technology Roadmap: Energy efficient building envelopes," Paris: IEA, 2013.

I. E. Agency. (2018, 15 Aug). Buildings. Available: https://www.iea.org/buildings/

M. Syal, D. Duah, S. Samuel, M. Mazor, Y. Mo, and T. Cyr, "Information framework for intelligent decision support system for home energy retrofits," Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, vol. 140, p. 04013030, 2013.

V. Ermuratskii, V. Oleschuk, and F. Blaabjerg, "Experimental investigation of two modified energy-saving constructions of solar greenhouses," in 2015 International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA), 2015, pp. 339-342.

U. Berardi, "A cross-country comparison of the building energy consumptions and their trends," Resources, Conservation and Recycling, vol. 123, pp. 230-241, 2017.

I. E. Annex, "Prefabricated Systems for Low Energy Renovation of Residential Buildings," Retrofit Module Design Guide, EMPA, Duebendorf, marzo.

S. Barlow and D. Fiala, "Occupant comfort in UK offices—How adaptive comfort theories might influence future low energy office refurbishment strategies," Energy and Buildings, vol. 39, pp. 837-846, 2007.

S. Roberts, "Altering existing buildings in the UK," Energy policy, vol. 36, pp. 4482-4486, 2008.

A. Power, "Does demolition or refurbishment of old and inefficient homes help to increase our environmental, social and economic viability?," Energy Policy, vol. 36, pp. 4487-4501, 2008.

K. Asano and Y. Aoshima, "Effects of local government subsidy on rooftop solar PV in Japan," in 2017 IEEE 6th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA), 2017, pp. 828-832.

S. Duerr, C. Ababei, and D. M. Ionel, "Load balancing with energy storage systems based on co-simulation of multiple smart buildings and distribution networks," in 2017 IEEE 6th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA), 2017, pp. 175-180.

B. Poel, G. van Cruchten, and C. A. Balaras, "Energy performance assessment of existing dwellings," Energy and Buildings, vol. 39, pp. 393-403, 2007.

A. Jafari and V. Valentin, "An optimization framework for building energy retrofits decision-making," Building and Environment, vol. 115, pp. 118-129, 2017.

Z. Ma, P. Cooper, D. Daly, and L. Ledo, "Existing building retrofits: Methodology and state-of-the-art," Energy and buildings, vol. 55, pp. 889-902, 2012.

O. Pombo, K. Allacker, B. Rivela, and J. Neila, "Sustainability assessment of energy saving measures: A multi-criteria approach for residential buildings retrofitting—A case study of the Spanish housing stock," Energy and Buildings, vol. 116, pp. 384-394, 2016.

A. Jafari, V. Valentin, and S. M. Bogus, "Assessment of social indicators in energy housing retrofits," in Construction Research Congress 2016, 2016, pp. 1081-1091.

A. Jafari, V. Valentin, K. Howe, and M. Russell, "Environmental impact of housing retrofit activities: Case study," in World Sustainable Building (WBS) Conference, 2014.

T. Fujiwara and Y. Ueda, "Load forecasting method for Commercial facilities by determination of working time and considering weather information," in 2018 7th International Conference on Renewable Energy Research and Applications (ICRERA), 2018, pp. 336-341.

A. Thomsen and C. van Der Flier, "Replacement or reuse? The choice between demolition and life cycle extension from a sustainable viewpoint," Shrinking Cities, Sprawling Suburbs, Changing Countrysides, 1-13.(2008), 2008.

I. Power, "Energy Watch and Time-of-Day Programs Annual Report," Idaho Power. Boise, ID, 2007.

P. Love and P. Arthur Bullen, "Toward the sustainable adaptation of existing facilities," Facilities, vol. 27, pp. 357-367, 2009.

K. Steemers, "Towards a research agenda for adapting to climate change," Building Research & Information, vol. 31, pp. 291-301, 2003.

F. Flourentzou and C.-A. Roulet, "Elaboration of retrofit scenarios," Energy and Buildings, vol. 34, pp. 185-192, 2002.

Z. Ma and S. Wang, "Building energy research in Hong Kong: a review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 13, pp. 1870-1883, 2009.

F. Ardente, M. Beccali, M. Cellura, and M. Mistretta, "Energy and environmental benefits in public buildings as a result of retrofit actions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 15, pp. 460-470, 2011.

S. Chidiac, E. Catania, E. Morofsky, and S. Foo, "Effectiveness of single and multiple energy retrofit measures on the energy consumption of office buildings," Energy, vol. 36, pp. 5037-5052, 2011.

S. Chidiac, E. Catania, E. Morofsky, and S. Foo, "A screening methodology for implementing cost effective energy retrofit measures in Canadian office buildings," Energy and Buildings, vol. 43, pp. 614-620, 2011.

A. G. Hestnes and N. U. Kofoed, "Effective retrofitting scenarios for energy efficiency and comfort: results of the design and evaluation activities within the OFFICE project," Building and Environment, vol. 37, pp. 569-574, 2002.

K. Golić, V. Kosorić, and A. K. Furundžić, "General model of solar water heating system integration in residential building refurbishment—Potential energy savings and environmental impact," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 15, pp. 1533-1544, 2011.

T. Mahlia, H. A. Razak, and M. Nursahida, "Life cycle cost analysis and payback period of lighting retrofit at the University of Malaya," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 15, pp. 1125-1132, 2011.

T. Ekström, R. Bernardo, and Å. Blomsterberg, "Cost-effective passive house renovation packages for Swedish single-family houses from the 1960s and 1970s," Energy and Buildings, vol. 161, pp. 89-102, 2018.

M. Bourdeau, X. Guo, and E. Nefzaoui, "Buildings energy consumption generation gap: A post-occupancy assessment in a case study of three higher education buildings," Energy and Buildings, vol. 159, pp. 600-611, 2018.

C. Regnier, K. Sun, T. Hong, and M. A. Piette, "Quantifying the benefits of a building retrofit using an integrated system approach: A case study," Energy and Buildings, vol. 159, pp. 332-345, 2018.

N. Harmati and Z. Magyar, "Influence of WWR, WG and glazing properties on the annual heating and cooling energy demand in buildings," Energy Procedia, vol. 78, pp. 2458-2463, 2015.

H. M. Taleb, "Using passive cooling strategies to improve thermal performance and reduce energy consumption of residential buildings in UAE buildings," Frontiers of Architectural Research, vol. 3, pp. 154-165, 2014.

K. Abhinaya, V. P. Kumar, and L. Krishnaraj, "Assessment and Remodelling of a Conventional Building into a Green Building Using BIM," International Journal of Renewable Energy Research (IJRER), vol. 7, pp. 1675-1681, 2017.

O. Oduyemi and M. Okoroh, "Building performance modelling for sustainable building design," International Journal of Sustainable Built Environment, vol. 5, pp. 461-469, 2016.

Y. Chen, J. Liu, J. Pei, X. Cao, Q. Chen, and Y. Jiang, "Experimental and simulation study on the performance of daylighting in an industrial building and its energy saving potential," Energy and Buildings, vol. 73, pp. 184-191, 2014.

M. A. Mohammed and I. M. Budaiwi, "Strategies for reducing energy consumption in a student cafeteria in a hot-humid climate: A case study," Journal of Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems, vol. 1, pp. 14-26, 2013.

M. Tahsildoost and Z. S. Zomorodian, "Energy retrofit techniques: An experimental study of two typical school buildings in Tehran," Energy and Buildings, vol. 104, pp. 65-72, 2015.

C. Misiopecki, M. Bouquin, A. Gustavsen, and B. P. Jelle, "Thermal modeling and investigation of the most energy-efficient window position," Energy and Buildings, vol. 158, pp. 1079-1086, 2018.

D. Kolokotsa, D. Rovas, E. Kosmatopoulos, and K. Kalaitzakis, "A roadmap towards intelligent net zero-and positive-energy buildings," Solar Energy, vol. 85, pp. 3067-3084, 2011.

M. Sohail and M. Qureshi, "Energy-efficient buildings in pakistan," Science Vision, vol. 16, pp. 27-38, 2011.

T. Konstantinou and U. Knaack, "An approach to integrate energy efficiency upgrade into refurbishment design process, applied in two case-study buildings in Northern European climate," Energy and Buildings, vol. 59, pp. 301-309, 2013.

Autodesk. (2019). Autodesk | 3D Design, Engineering and Entertainment Software. Available: https://www.autodesk.com/

I. Iqbal and M. S. Al-Homoud, "Parametric analysis of alternative energy conservation measures in an office building in hot and humid climate," Building and environment, vol. 42, pp. 2166-2177, 2007.

H. Radhi, "A systematic methodology for optimising the energy performance of buildings in Bahrain," Energy and Buildings, vol. 40, pp. 1297-1303, 2008.

J.-J. Kim and J. W. Moon, "Impact of insulation on building energy consumption," in Eleventh International IBPSA Conference, Building Simulation, 2009.

T. Jackets. (2011, 1st Sept). 5 Most Common Thermal Insulation Materials. Available: https://www.thermaxxjackets.com/5-most-common-thermal-insulation-materials/

L. E. S. Company. (2018, 28 Sept). ELECTRICITY TARIFF: A2 General Supply Tariff-Comercial. Available: http://www.lesco.gov.pk/3000063

R. Expense. (2018, 28 Sept). Cost of Cellulose Insulation Available: https://www.remodelingexpense.com/costs/cost-of-cellulose-insulation/

A. S. Glass. (2018, 28 Sept). Double Glazed Manufacturing in Pakistan. Available: http://aghasafetyglass.com/double-glazed-manufacturing-in-pakistan

O. L. Store. (2018). Osaka LED bulb 23 watt. Available: http://osakalighting.com/store/product/osaka-led-bulb-23watt/

T. N. s. reporter, "Cement brands cut prices by Rs10/bag," in The Nations, ed. Pakistan: Nawaiwaqt Group, 2018.




DOI (PDF): https://doi.org/10.20508/ijrer.v9i1.8951.g7587

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Online ISSN: 1309-0127

Publisher: Gazi University

IJRER is cited in SCOPUS, EBSCO, WEB of SCIENCE (Clarivate Analytics);

IJRER has been cited in Emerging Sources Citation Index from 2016 in web of science.

WEB of SCIENCE between 2020-2022; 

h=30,

Average citation per item=5.73

Impact Factor=(1638+1731+1808)/(189+170+221)=9.24

Category Quartile:Q4