Energy Performance and Thermal Comfort in a Library Building: A Case Study of Dhurakij Pundit University, Thailand

Abstract

The building sector represents high potential to address the energy use and occupants' comfort and well-being. This paper aims to proposed a methodological framework to assess energy and thermal comfort performance in buildings. The research framework was applied in an educational building using a library of Dhurakij Pundit University (DPU), Thailand as a case study. A representative building was modeled using SketchUp plugin with OpenStudio platform and EnergyPlus simulation engine for energy simulation. Thermal comfort parameters were measured in each floor of DPU's library and calculation of thermal comfort indices based on the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) and PPD (Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied) using the CBE Thermal Comfort Tool. It was found that the simulated energy is in line with the measured data with differences between -0.26% to 3.87%, depending on the floor. The energy intensity of DPU's library is 66.53 kWh/m2/year. Based on the measurements, the PMV and PPD of a reference building are -0.57 and 12%. Ten measures were simulated to assess the energy performance as well as thermal comfort conditions. It was found that seven measures can address both energy performance and thermal comfort in a case study building.