Abstract
Electric appliances for cooling and lighting are responsible for most of the increase in electricity consumption in Karachi, Pakistan. This study aims to investigate the impact of passive energy efficiency measures (PEEMs) on the potential reduction of indoor temperature and cooling energy demand of an architectural campus building (ACB) in Karachi, Pakistan. PEEMs focus on the building envelope’s design and construction, which is a key factor of influence on a building’s cooling energy demand. The existing architectural campus building was modeled using the building information modeling (BIM) software Autodesk Revit. Data related to the electricity consumption for cooling, building masses, occupancy conditions, utility bills, energy use intensity, as well as space types, were collected and analyzed to develop a virtual ACB model. The utility bill data were used to calibrate the DesignBuilder and EnergyPlus base case models of the existing ACB. The cooling energy demand was compared with different alternative building envelope compositions applied as PEEMs in the renovation of the existing exemplary ACB. Finally, cooling energy demand reduction potentials and the related potential electricity demand savings were determined. The quantification of the cooling energy demand facilitates the definition of the building’s electricity consumption benchmarks for cooling with specific technologies.
Highlights
High fossil energy consumption for the heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilation of buildings and related greenhouse gas emissions contributes significantly to climate change and resource depletion [1,2]
The climate of Karachi is hot and humid [37]; reducing the heat gains in buildings remains a priority for indoor environmental comfort
The results showed that using insulation in the building envelope positively impacts indoor environmental comfort, and reduces the energy demand for cooling
Summary
High fossil energy consumption for the heating, cooling, lighting, and ventilation of buildings and related greenhouse gas emissions contributes significantly to climate change and resource depletion [1,2]. Buildings account for one-third of the final global energy consumption [3]. Around 39% of CO2 emissions and 36% of the global energy consumption are attributed to the building sector [3]. The building sector in Great Britain accounts for around 27% and that in the US for 38% of CO2 emissions [1]. Buildings are a major contributor to global environmental impact due to their high energy consumption [1,4]. The major end-use activities in the building sector are space cooling, space heating, cooking, lighting, and refrigeration.
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