Energy Consumption Analysis Using Weighted Energy Index and Energy Modeling for a Hotel Building

Abstract

Energy consumption is an essential and vital issue for commercial hotel buildings. Regulations and codes are commonly used to regulate the energy usage of the building. However, the energy index used to evaluate energy performance does not include the usage of hotel buildings for different service purposes. This study utilizes a comprehensive approach involving data collection, field measurement, regression analysis, and building energy modeling to investigate the energy performance in hotel buildings. The study finds that ambient temperature and occupancy rate are key factors in energy consumption, resulting in a weighted energy index for public areas and guest rooms with an R-square of 0.8314 and 0.9184, respectively. The measurement data are also used to perform the energy modeling, and the data are validated. Studies on different regions, occupancy, orientation, window-to-wall ratios, and U-values are evaluated and simulated to determine the energy consumption, which might be useful for the hotel building design phase. In addition, it also evaluates the energy-saving potential, including chilled and condenser water temperature, COP, and indoor temperature settings. The study finds that implementing various studies could result in significant energy consumption and savings, with higher chilled water and lower condenser water temperature having a particularly prominent impact. The study concludes that energy modeling approaches can be useful tools for identifying and implementing energy-saving strategies.