A methodology for energy use evaluation in complex buildings - Applied in a shopping mall case study

Abstract

Appropriate methodologies are needed if energy targets in buildings are to be achieved. Despite the large number of studies concerning sustainable energy use in buildings, few include validation between calculated and measured energy use. It is however well known that there is often a gap between the two. This paper proposes a methodology which aims to more accurately estimate energy use from measured energy, operational data, and technical data, using iterative empirical-theoretical cross-checking. Applying the method provides increased understanding of how uncertainty in input data affects the accuracy of the calculated energy use. A sensitivity analysis is included, which shows what parameters the building is most sensitive to. For these parameters, good input data is important for the calculated results to be correct. Furthermore, these parameters have the largest potential to improve the energy use. The proposed methodology is applied in a case study on a shopping mall in Sweden.