scholarly journals Improving Occupant Wellness in Commercial Office Buildings through Energy Conservation Retrofits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. McArthur ◽  
Chris Jofeh ◽  
Ann-Marie Aguilar
Keyword(s):  
Energy Savings ◽  
Financial Analysis ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Commercial Building ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Productivity Cost ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Voluntary Standards

There is increasing literature demonstrating the link between building indoor environmental quality, and occupant health and productivity, driving the corporate real estate industry to investigate how to integrate wellness features in both new and existing building stock. Meanwhile, new voluntary standards to promote occupant health are becoming adopted alongside sustainability standards. As commercial building owners and tenants seek to improve occupant conditions and incorporate wellness, apparently conflicting priorities must be balanced, particularly improving indoor environmental conditions has the potential to increase energy. This paper presents a framework to consider retrofits holistically and considering the benefit of improved conditions both qualitatively and quantitatively. Where poor conditions exist, published literature demonstrates a lost productivity cost that exceeds typical building energy costs, and this is quantified in the financial analysis presented. Energy retrofits provide a unique opportunity to integrate wellness-enabling features because the energy savings can offset marginal energy or operating cost increases for particular wellness interventions. This paper presents a flexible, customizable framework to develop potential retrofit bundles and evaluate them considering economic, sustainability, wellness, risk and occupant experience factors to identify the optimal zone of retrofit. An illustrative case study using real building data demonstrates how the framework might be applied to a real project and customized to achieve unique stakeholder priorities.

scholarly journals Improving Occupant Wellness in Commercial Office Buildings through Energy Conservation Retrofits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. McArthur ◽  
Chris Jofeh ◽  
Ann-Marie Aguilar
Keyword(s):  
Energy Savings ◽  
Financial Analysis ◽  
Operating Cost ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Commercial Building ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Productivity Cost ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Voluntary Standards

There is increasing literature demonstrating the link between building indoor environmental quality, and occupant health and productivity, driving the corporate real estate industry to investigate how to integrate wellness features in both new and existing building stock. Meanwhile, new voluntary standards to promote occupant health are becoming adopted alongside sustainability standards. As commercial building owners and tenants seek to improve occupant conditions and incorporate wellness, apparently conflicting priorities must be balanced, particularly improving indoor environmental conditions has the potential to increase energy. This paper presents a framework to consider retrofits holistically and considering the benefit of improved conditions both qualitatively and quantitatively. Where poor conditions exist, published literature demonstrates a lost productivity cost that exceeds typical building energy costs, and this is quantified in the financial analysis presented. Energy retrofits provide a unique opportunity to integrate wellness-enabling features because the energy savings can offset marginal energy or operating cost increases for particular wellness interventions. This paper presents a flexible, customizable framework to develop potential retrofit bundles and evaluate them considering economic, sustainability, wellness, risk and occupant experience factors to identify the optimal zone of retrofit. An illustrative case study using real building data demonstrates how the framework might be applied to a real project and customized to achieve unique stakeholder priorities.

Energy Efficiency in French Social Housing Renovations via Design-Build-Maintain

2014 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 48-56
Author(s):  
Tadeo Baldiri Salcedo Rahola ◽  
Ad Straub ◽  
Angela Ruiz Lázaro ◽  
Yves Galiègue
Keyword(s):  
Social Housing ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Substantial Improvement ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Delivery Methods ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Design Build ◽  
Bonuses And Penalties ◽  
Design Bid Build

The renovation of existing building stock is seen as one the most practical ways to achieve the high energy savings targets for the built environment defined by European authorities. In France, the Grenelle environmental legislation addresses the need to renovate the building stock and specifically stresses the key role of social housing organisations. In recent years, French procurement rules have been modified in order to allow social housing organisations to make use of integrated contracts such as Design-Build-Maintain. These contracts have a greater potential to deliver energy savings in renovation projects than do traditional project delivery methods, like Design-bid-Build. This is because they facilitate collaboration between the various actors and boost their commitment to the achievement of project goals. In order to evaluate the estimated potential of such contracts to achieve energy savings, two renovation projects (carried out by two French social housing organisations) were analysed from their inception until the end of construction work. The analysis is based on written tender documents, technical evaluation reports, observations of the negotiation phase (in one of the cases) and interviews with the main actors involved. Findings show that Design-Build-Maintain contracts do indeed offer substantial energy savings. Both projects achieved higher energy targets than those initially required. Furthermore, the energy results are guaranteed by the contractor, through a system of bonuses and penalties. Other results demonstrate that, compared to previous Design-bid-Build renovation projects, these projects were completed in less time (from project inception to completion of the work) and at virtually the same cost. There has also been a substantial improvement in cooperation between the actors involved.

scholarly journals Modeling of an Aerogel-Based “Thermal Break” for Super-Insulated Window Frames

Buildings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Cannavale ◽  
Francesco Martellotta ◽  
Umberto Berardi ◽  
Chiara Rubino ◽  
Stefania Liuzzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Potential Role ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Insulating Materials ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Heating And Cooling ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Optimal Exploitation ◽  
Indoor Comfort ◽  
Window Frames

Research activities in the field of innovative fixtures are continuously aiming at increasing their thermal and optical performances to offer optimal exploitation of daylight and solar gains, providing effective climate screen, according to increasing standards for indoor comfort and energy saving. Within this work, we designed an innovative aerogel-based “thermal break” for window frames, so as to consistently reduce the frame conductance. Then, we compared the performance of this new frame both with currently used and obsolete frames, present in most of the existing building stock. Energy savings for heating and cooling were assessed for different locations and confirmed the potential role played by super-insulating materials in fixtures for extremely rigid climates.

scholarly journals CO2-based grey-box model to estimate airflow rate and room occupancy

2019 ◽  
Vol 111 ◽  
pp. 04036
Author(s):  
Sebastian Wolf ◽  
Maria Justo Alonso ◽  
Davide Calì ◽  
John Krogstie ◽  
Hans Martin Mathisen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Differential Equations ◽  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Box Model ◽  
Airflow Rate ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Deterministic Models ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Controlled Ventilation ◽  
Demand Controlled Ventilation

In the existing building stock, heating, cooling and ventilation often run on fixed schedules assuming maximal occupancy. However, fitting the control of the HVAC system to the building’s real demand offers large potential for energy savings over the status quo. Building occupants’ presence as well as mechanically supplied and infiltrated airflow rates provide information that enables to define tailored strategies for demand-controlled ventilation. Hence, real-time estimations of these quantities are a valuable input to demand-controlled built environments. In this work, the use of stochastic differential equations (SDE) to estimate the room occupancy, infiltration air-rate and ventilation air-rate is investigated. In particular, a grey-box model based on a carbon dioxide (CO2) mass balance equation is presented. The model combines knowledge about the physical system with statistical, data-driven parameter estimation. Furthermore, the proposed model contains uncertainty parameters. This is in contrast to purely deterministic models based on ordinary differential equations, where uncertainty is usually disregarded. The suggested model has been tested in a naturally ventilated and in a mechanically ventilated environment; the performance in these two cases has been compared. We show that the ability to address measurement errors and non-homogeneous conditions in the room air implies that the suggested SDE-based grey-box approach is suitable in the context of demand-controlled ventilation.

scholarly journals Retrofit Strategy in Existing Building for Implementing Energy Conservation Building Code in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 134-140
Author(s):  
Anil K. Berwal ◽  
Manisha Yadav
Keyword(s):  
Energy Conservation ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Minimum Energy ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Building Code ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
Commercial Building ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
The Government

The expanding commercial building sector and urbanization in India leads to an increase in demand of energy many folds. Consequently, it is the need of the current scenario to define some regulatory regime or policy to harness the enormous potential of energy savings. Under the Energy Conservation Act 2001, the Government of India under the Bureau of Energy Efficiency launched the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) on a voluntary basis. ECBC sets the standards of minimum energy performance for “large commercial buildings. These norms were for both new and existing buildings. Retrofitting of existing buildings offers noteworthy opportunities for reducing global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This paper provides a systematic approach to review the application of energy conservation building codes in existing buildings and identification of the best retrofit strategies to stimulate the implementation of ECBC in the country.

Building Stock Energy Models and ICT Solutions for Urban Energy Systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 490-514
Author(s):  
Ilaria Ballarini ◽  
Vincenzo Corrado ◽  
Matteo Piro
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Energy Systems ◽  
Environmental Indicators ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Energy Flows ◽  
Urban Energy ◽  
The Right

The existing building stock presents a high potential of energy savings and CO2 emissions reductions. To this purpose, literature provides novel city-scale building-oriented studies, aimed at developing suitable tools for stakeholders, city planners, and decision-makers. To achieve an effective urban energy planning, urban energy systems (UES) models are developed; they employ a multi-domain approach, embracing the complex interactions in urban areas, such as energy flows, environmental indicators, social and economic factors. To perform an advanced modelling and to simulate the complexity of the UES, ICT (information and communications technology) represents nowadays the right answer to the needs of integration of data, tools, and actors in different domains. The chapter investigates the current studies in the field of building stock energy modeling and the application of advanced technologies to develop UES models. As an exemplification, the technological approach followed in the SEMANCO project to support urban scale energy modelling is presented.

scholarly journals Novel Methodology toward Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) Renovation: Cost-Effective Balance Approach as a Pre-Step to Cost-Optimal Life Cycle Cost Assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4141
Author(s):  
Yovko Ivanov Antonov ◽  
Per Kvols Heiselberg ◽  
Michal Zbigniew Pomianowski
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Zero Energy ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Zero Energy Building ◽  
Selection Of

Reaching environmental targets set by the European Union (EU) requires a constant renovation of the existing building stock to nearly Zero Energy Buildings (NZEB) in a cost-optimal manner. Studies show that the renovation rate of the existing building stock is more than two times less than what is necessary to reach the targets. Furthermore, the majority of performed renovations across the EU reach just a small amount of energy savings, whereas NZEB renovations are rarely achieved. This paper proposes a methodology for the evaluation of renovation measures, aiming to provide decision support related to the selection of what to renovate and to what extent. The proposed method is rooted in the well-established cost-optimal methodology, yet it suggests a pre-step to package evaluation. This is done by means of a simplified cost-effective parameter (CEP), linking cost, lifetime, and energy savings. The methodology is demonstrated using a case study building in Denmark. The results show that the CEP provides good grounds for the compilation of single actions to packages. Further developments could focus on the sensitivity of the model inputs and integration of additional evaluation parameters to cost, such as environmental, architectural, comfort, risk, etc.

scholarly journals Energy performance assessment of passive buildings in future climatic scenarios: the case of study of the childcare centre in Putignano (Bari, Italy)

2021 ◽  
Vol 2069 (1) ◽  
pp. 012146
Author(s):  
L M Campagna ◽  
F Carlucci ◽  
P Russo ◽  
F Fiorito
Keyword(s):  
Energy Performance ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Dynamic Simulations ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Energy Retrofit ◽  
Childcare Centre

Abstract The building sector is a primary target for GreenHouse Gas emissions mitigation efforts, as it accounts for 36% of final energy use. The most effective mitigation strategies include the energy retrofit of the existing building stock. Among existing buildings, particular attention should be paid to school buildings, which are among the most diffuse public buildings in Europe, most of them built decades ago, with a resulting high potential in terms of refurbishment effectiveness. Moreover, schools cover a social function and require high levels of indoor environmental quality. In this field, the research activity is intense, but retrofit strategies are still conceived considering historical weather data, which could not represent correctly present and future climate patterns, reducing the retrofit effectiveness. In this work, an energy retrofit to “Passivhaus standard” of a childcare centre located in the Mediterranean area is analysed through dynamic simulations. A post-retrofit building model is simulated using Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) and compared with the ones simulated in future weather scenarios, created using the morphing method. The analyses aim to assess if the technical solutions currently adopted on the basis of the TMY will lead to acceptable energy performance in future decades. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis of different design solutions is performed, aiming to assess their effectiveness in future weather conditions.

scholarly journals Integration of Prioritisation Criteria in the Design of Energy Efficient Retrofitting Projects at District Scale: A Case Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (14) ◽  
pp. 3861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Á. García-Fuentes ◽  
Sonia Álvarez ◽  
Víctor Serna ◽  
Maxime Pousse ◽  
Alberto Meiss
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Selection Of

The evident need for improving the existing building stock still suffers from important barriers, such as the fragmentation of the value chain, the lack of information regarding some solutions, and the lack of confidence with respect to energy savings, which prevent unlocking investments, and the difficult communication among stakeholders. Therefore, new processes based on exploiting the potential of existing and new tools are required. In this framework, the OptEEmAL project has developed a tool that integrates stakeholders, data and tools in order to ease the process of designing energy efficient retrofitting projects at building and district scale. This tool works around an optimisation framework in order to evaluate, compare and optimise candidate retrofitting scenarios against a set of indicators showing the performance of the district. This evaluation and optimisation method is based on aggregating indicators through transforming the priorities of stakeholders into a mathematical weighting scheme, which makes it possible to provide scenarios within their expectations. Therefore, the generation of these scenarios is driven by their design parameters, being thus flexible and adapted to their needs. This paper shows the implementation of this tool and specifically 3 different prioritisation schemes, analysing how they impact into the decision making process and selection of the retrofitting strategy.

scholarly journals ModSCO a Web Application Based on a Grey-Box Model to Support the Estimation of the Energy Savings in Building Retrofits

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Alessandro Piccinini ◽  
Federico Seri ◽  
Letizia D’Angelo ◽  
Shima Yousefigarjan ◽  
Marcus M. Keane
Keyword(s):  
Web Application ◽  
Energy Savings ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Box Model ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Building Stock ◽  
Existing Building ◽  
Performance Contracting ◽  
The Cost

Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) can help the European Union (EU) in accelerating the cost-effective renovation of existing building stock. However, there are many risks and barriers that can inhibit the application of EPC. These barriers include uncertainty about building data, lack of quality assurance regarding the post-renovation energy performance, and process complexity. In order to cross these barriers, this paper presents ModSCO. ModSCO is a web application based on a Reduced Order grey-box Model (ROM) able to systematically quantify the energy savings achieved through Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) utilising the schema of the International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP). The benefits of utilising ModSCO in terms of accuracy and time savings are demonstrated with a comparison with a whole building energy model developed with IES-VE.

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