Abstract
A large amount of the Iranian energy demand is related to the building sector, mainly due to its obsolescence. In this paper, a second-skin system has been implemented as a retrofit action for an office building, evaluating the effect of a tensile material as second-skin in terms of primary energy saving, carbon dioxide equivalent emissions, and simple payback period. The analysis was carried out through numerical simulations across a whole year and for four Iranian cities (Tabriz, Teheran, Yazd, and Bandar Abbas) in four different climates (cold, temperate, hot-dry, and hot-wet), and with the building aligned at either north-south or east-west. Moreover, an economic analysis was carried out suggesting different incentive policies to promote building energy refurbishment. The simulation results highlighted a favorable orientation for buildings in Iran, suggesting a guideline for new constructions. Indeed, the best results were achieved for an east-west orientation of the building (up to a primary energy saving of 13.6% and reduction of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of 45.5 MgCO2,eq, in Yazd), with a decrease of the annual specific total (cooling and thermal) energy demand of 37.9 kWh/m2/year. The simple payback period values were also lower in the east-west orientation than the north-south one.
Highlights
in Tehran (Iran) hosts the third largest oil reserves and the second-largest natural gas reserves in the world [1] and from 1900 to 2019 it consumed an extraordinary amount of non-renewable energy resources compared to international standards [2]
Iranian primary energy consumption has increased by about 33% in the last decade [5] and, following worldwide statistical trends, one of the largest sources of energy demand is in buildings [6], which account for 28% of total CO2 emissions [7]
The results showed the importance of calibrating the Windows-to-Wall Ratio (WWR) to combine the benefit of daylight with management of cooling energy demand, highlighting the importance of a well-designed shading system
Summary
Iran hosts the third largest oil reserves and the second-largest natural gas reserves in the world [1] and from 1900 to 2019 it consumed an extraordinary amount of non-renewable energy resources compared to international standards [2]. Iranian primary energy consumption has increased by about 33% in the last decade [5] and, following worldwide statistical trends, one of the largest sources of energy demand (almost 40%) is in buildings [6], which account for 28% of total CO2 emissions [7]. The high emissions in the big industrial cities lead to several health problems in citizens, due to low air quality. In comparison with successful BECs worldwide, the Iranian BECs encountered several obstacles, including: (i) less attention to designing energy-efficient buildings, (ii) a lack of supervision by the authorities, (iii) constant use of conventional construction techniques,
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