Abstract
ABSTRACTLow-carbon building retrofit will contribute to delivering China’s policy to reduce carbon emissions. This paper proposes viable low-carbon adaptation strategies for a recurrent building type within the Hot Summer and Cold Winter (HSCW) zone. An existing 23-storey tower in Hangzhou is investigated within the context of a representative city environment. Indoor air temperatures and energy consumption were monitored across a typical floor and simulated in EnergyPlus. Outdoor and indoor airflow patterns were modelled in an advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool, FLUIDITY. Across a typical floor, observations and modelling show marked variations. South-facing flats overheat significantly in summer largely due to solar radiation. External sun-shading structures are proposed and evaluated to counter summer overheating. An innovative wind catcher and exhaust-stack natural ventilation system is proposed to enhance indoor thermal comfort using natural ventilation. Modelling of this integrated ventilation system indicates that the proposed retrofit system will improve indoor thermal comfort even in the lower floors. The proposed building retrofit strategy is costed using locally established construction cost estimates. Predicted energy savings suggest that the adaptation strategy proposed is potentially viable with significant implications for policy-makers, developers, constructors and designers in this challenging climate zone in China.
Highlights
Excessive energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (Wang, Zhou, Zhou, & Wang, 2011; Zhang & Cheng, 2009) have historically accompanied the rapid urbanization of China, as delivered by its buoyant construction industry
This paper focuses on resolving the adaptation challenges of a representative case study building in Hangzhou city
The adaptation design strategy for new builds included optimizing building orientation, configuring the site layout to create wind paths, and encouraging cross-ventilation by ensuring two opening windows were present in each bedroom, all measures which demonstrate that natural ventilation could be effective in the Greater Chongqing area
Summary
Excessive energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (Wang, Zhou, Zhou, & Wang, 2011; Zhang & Cheng, 2009) have historically accompanied the rapid urbanization of China, as delivered by its buoyant construction industry. Chow et al (2013) proposed a retrofit solution to reduce energy consumption of an existing office building in Ningbo (150 km north-east of Hangzhou) located in the HSCW zone They proposed renovating the building by changing the enclosure (walls, windows and roof) and replacing the electric boiler with an air-source heat pump. The adaptation design strategy for new builds included optimizing building orientation, configuring the site layout to create wind paths, and encouraging cross-ventilation by ensuring two opening windows were present in each bedroom, all measures which demonstrate that natural ventilation could be effective in the Greater Chongqing area. Ge et al (2018) studied the prospects for retrofitting a typical research building located in Hangzhou at the Zhejiang University old campus to reduce energy consumption, the impact of improving the performance of the building envelope and shielding glazing from solar radiation. They are dynamic elements that can be folded out of the envelope of winter midday solar radiation
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