Estimation of the impact of energy efficiency measures recommended by Colombian legislation on the performance of low- and middle-income housing buildings

Abstract

The building sector consumes a significant amount of energy and produces polluting gas emissions. Therefore, many countries have adopted regulations for energy efficiency. In Colombia, Resolution 0549 of 2015 (R0549-2015) has promoted energy efficiency in buildings based on the integration of measures. However, the measures recommended for residential buildings in the absence of air conditioning may not generate the energy savings required. This study evaluates the impact of the integration of the measures recommended by R0549-2015 in two residential buildings (low-and middle-income) in the Bucaramanga metropolitan area based on energy simulations. The results show significant savings in both cases; however, middle-income buildings do not satisfy the savings requirement. The simulations show that except for natural ventilation, the recommended measures do not have a significant impact on energy consumption. For this reason, the evaluation of the measures required additional analyses of thermal comfort and virtual energy. The comfort assessment revealed that the savings measures significantly improved the indoor environment. The analysis of the thermal comfort energy reveals significant savings concerning fully air-conditioned buildings. The results of the simulation also highlight the impacts of some measures incorporated in the studied buildings, such as lamps and high-efficiency elevators, orientation, and vents in the upper part of the windows. These findings support the relevance of strengthening studies aimed at evaluating the impact of the application of the saving measures recommended by the standard. The methodology followed in this study may be of interest to designers and researchers in the evaluation of energy efficiency measures in residential buildings without air conditioning located in a tropical climate.