A longitudinal assessment of the energy and carbon performance of a Passivhaus university building in the UK

Sepideh S Korsavi,Rory V Jones,Peter A Bilverstone,Alba Fuertes

doi:10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103353

Sepideh S Korsavi, Rory V Jones + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.103353

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Abstract

There is a limited number of university buildings designed to the Passivhaus standard, therefore, only a few studies have assessed the standard's adoption in this context. This paper aims to address this significant gap by investigating the energy and carbon performance of The Enterprise Centre (TEC), a UK university building, designed and certified to the Passivhaus standard. The building's energy performance was monitored for four years and was predicted by the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) simulations. Results show that TEC met the primary energy requirement of 120 kWh/m2 and space cooling requirement of 15 kWh/m2 during the first four years of operation, as well as the space heating requirement of 15 kWh/m2 during the first two years. TEC had significantly reduced heat losses and heating demand, due to the very high airtightness, 0.21 m3/(m2·h) @50 Pa, and low envelope U-values. The building had significantly lower annual carbon emissions and energy consumption compared to CIBSE TM46 benchmarks and other conventional university buildings. TEC is an excellent building in terms of primary energy, heating consumption, cooling demand, airtightness and carbon emissions. This study bridges the gap on the adoption of the Passivhaus Standard for university buildings to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions.

Highlights

Global temperatures are rising due to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) [1]
This paper presents the results of a modelled and actual performance of a UK university building certified to the Passivhaus standard over four years
To investigate the operational energy and carbon performance of the building, its performance is compared against Passivhaus standard and Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) predictions

Summary

Introduction

Global temperatures are rising due to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) [1]. Through the amendment to the UK Climate Change Act, the government is committed to reducing the UK’s net carbon emissions by 100% relative to 1990 levels by 2050 [2]. UK universities are in a unique position to lead the way forward in tackling climate change for the following reasons: 1) uni versities have become significant energy consumers and carbon emitters due to their large size, population, diverse buildings, and activities (including teaching, research, accommodation and catering) [4]; 2) universities present themselves as leading on sustainability challenges and climate science through their research, which provides rich op portunities for them to innovate [5]. The UK government provides grants to universities to encourage sustainable improvements to their buildings through SALIX funding [6]. A survey among UK HEIs showed that a high per centage of institutions (83%) have embarked on a range of technical, Acronyms

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