Energy Efficiency Retrofit Research Articles

Energy Management Opportunities Through Energy Efficiency Retrofit for Hostel Building

An energy audit conducted on a building is also known as a building energy assessment. It can summarise the whole idea of a building’s energy use. Conducting an audit can help business owners determine how much energy a building uses and how much of this energy is useful. It also determines where it is losing energy and which problem areas and fixes should prioritized to make the building more efficient and comfortable. An energy audit should be the first step before making and energy-saving improvements. A targeted audit was conducted on the selected hostel building to identify the energy management opportunities and possible implementation of energy efficiency retrofit techniques. Regression and CUSUM analysis were performed on the obtained data to study the pattern of energy consumption. Recommendations were made on the energy management opportunities for energy conversation and saving with the estimation of carbon footprint.

A French Residential Retrofit toward Achieving Net-Zero Energy Target in a Mediterranean Climate

Cities are paying more attention to building energy use and carbon footprint for attaining sustainability. Within this building sector, there is a growing attention toward development and adoption of energy efficient retrofit strategies. Plagued by the lack of efforts in achieving comprehensive energy efficient retrofit solution sets (passive, active, and renewable energy systems), the authors acknowledge the concept of NZEB toward achieving energy efficiency by 2050. Toward this end, a numerical energy simulation modeling is carried out to retrofit an existing French “Puccini house” using ‘passive, energy efficient building systems and renewable energy’ strategies toward an NZEB target in the Mediterranean climate of Nice. Using Design builder 7.0, the simulated baseline energy model (Case A) is retrofitted through variations in the proposed energy efficient retrofit measures using two case scenarios (Case B: passive retrofit; Case C: energy-efficient building) to achieve NZEB (Case D). Assessing the performance of energy efficient retrofits using % energy reduction, the implementation of a high-performance building envelope is achieved using a thermally insulated external wall (46.82%), upgraded airtightness (20.39%), thermally insulated pitched roof component (33.03%), and high-performance window type—a glazing system (3.35%) with maximized window-to-wall ratio (5.53%). The maximum energy-saving retrofit solutions provide an ambitious reduction in energy consumption by approximately 90% from the baseline. A deep retrofitting of the French house meets the NZEB targets, as it reduces the baseline energy consumption from 194.37 kWh/m2/year to 23.98 kWh/m2/year using both passive and active strategies. The remaining energy demand is met by the integration of on-site PV panels (EUI= −27.71 kWh/m2/year), which achieve an increase in energy production by 15.5%, while returning energy back to the grid (−3.73 kWh/m2/year). Findings of this study serve as a guideline for retrofitting traditional French single-family residences, while contributing toward the NZEB goal.

Keep out the cold: An analysis of potential gaps in fuel poverty policies in Ireland

Fuel poverty in Ireland is a significant issue faced by almost a quarter of the population as per government statistics. In this study, we analyse fuel poverty data in Ireland between 2008 and 2020 using the Irish subset of EU SILC data. We find that the increase in the proportion of households receiving Fuel Allowance and the decrease in the proportion of poor-quality dwellings have a significant positive impact on the decline in aggregate fuel poverty experienced. We also analyse a sample of low-income households that experience fuel poverty and compare groups that are targeted by official policies with others on key indicators. We find that the existing supports normally target lower-income households who live in energy-inefficient dwellings and are of retirement age. We also find that non-targeted larger urban families who live in rented or mortgaged dwellings experience significant fuel poverty due to difficulty paying bills. We identify some gaps in the current policies that target fuel poverty. We propose that fully funded energy efficiency retrofits and social transfers for vulnerable households to help with the cost of heating, which are policies already used in Ireland to target fuel poverty, should be expanded to effectively reach a cohort of the population that is facing challenges to keep warm.

Experimental Investigation on Aging and Energy Savings Evaluation of High Solar Reflective Index (SRI) Paints: A Case Study on Residential Households in the GCC Region

Energy-efficient retrofitting of building envelopes is necessary to reduce global carbon emissions and to reach net-zero goals. Cooling energy demand-dominated countries in the GCC region require simple and effective strategies to reduce building sector energy loads. One such approach is using high solar reflective index (SRI) paints to retrofit building roofs and walls. However, the hot and desert conditions of the region pose a barrier to maintaining consistent radiative properties throughout their life cycle. To this extent, research is limited in the region. The novelty of this work is to qualitatively assess the aging characteristics of high SRI or cool paints and estimate the energy savings for their application in residential buildings. The work encompasses comprehensive lab, pilot, and real-scale experimental studies combined with theoretical modeling for dynamic evaluation. Dynamic simulations enabled to determine the time-dependent aging effect on the energy savings performance of the building retrofitted with cool roof and wall paints. A case study on a townhouse in UAE showed annual energy savings of 34% considering cool roofs, walls, and window films. Aging studies showed SRI reduction of 36% and 25%, respectively, for cool roofs and walls during the first 3 years. The corresponding energy-saving reductions ranged from 31 to 44% for the white roof to dark wall colors. Using the initial values of SRI in energy models overestimates saving by 10% per year. Considering the aging effects, this work provides insights into cool paint retrofit potential on energy, economic savings, and CO2 reductions for four major cities in the GCC region.

Performance Assessment of Giant Reed-Based Building Components

The growing concern for the reduction of energy needs and the environmental impact of the building sector has placed emphasis on the possibilities offered by natural materials. The adoption of agricultural by-products seems to be promising and in line with the circular economy paradigm. Materials such as hemp and straw have been extensively adopted in contemporary construction, but nevertheless, the potential use of giant reed has not been sufficiently investigated despite being a common infesting plant abundantly available all over the planet. This work focuses on the performances assessment of lime/cement–reeds mixtures as base materials to design a new line of building components (bricks, blocks, panels and loose insulation) that can be used both in new bio-based construction and in existing buildings for energy-efficiency retrofit. The main materials used in the experimental campaign are giant reed by-products, lime, cement and local and recycled aggregates. The evaluation of the physical, mechanical and thermal properties of lime–reed and cement–reed composites are presented. The results of thermal conductivities (between 0.245 and 0.191 W/m K) and mechanical properties (compressive strengths between 0.848 and 1.509 MPa, and flexural strengths between 0.483 and 0.829 MPa) allow meeting the requirements for non-bearing and thermal building blocks. The outcomes show how blocks made with the abovementioned lime–reed mixture have good mechanical performance and thermo-physical behavior when compared to conventional building materials such as hollow clay or hemp blocks with the same thickness.

Determinants of energy efficient retrofits in residential sector: A comprehensive analysis

Energy-efficient retrofits (EERs) are probably the most cost-effective method to address energy poverty in the residential sector. However, actual EER rates are far below those called for in recent policy goals. A large body of literature has examined the determinants influencing households’ EER decisions but with scattered and contextually limited results. Consequently, there is a lack of a comprehensive quantitative analysis of the literature in this area. In this study, a detailed literature review and bibliometric analysis of the determinants of EERs was conducted to better understand the scope and evolution of knowledge in this area. Specifically, 1198 scientific documents were systematically examined, with 1000 terms included in the final analysis. In addition, a new approach to bibliometric analysis was adopted, examining the content of abstracts rather than keywords, allowing for a more detailed analysis. This work contains important contributions. First, the result of this research is a detailed overview of the determinants of EER in residential buildings, which can be divided into five main groups: information and policy measures, economic factors, socioeconomic characteristics of households, technical and building characteristics and behavioural factors. Second, I conducted a bibliometric analysis that visualises the current state of knowledge regarding the determinants of EER in the literature. The results show that several groups of these determinants have been identified in the literature, the most influential of which are thermal comfort, energy cost, sustainable retrofit and behaviour change. These groups include 83 factors that are most relevant in the literature. Third, this study provides the historical evolution of the most influential EER determinants over the past three decades. The study suggests that future energy policies should use a mix of approaches to promote EER to comprehensively address the identified groups of determinants and multiple aspects of household members’ decision-making process.

A Rational Plan of Energy Performance Contracting in an Educational Building: A Case Study

Energy performance contracting (EPC) is the best solution for an educational building to implement energy conservation measures (ECMs) because of its high capital expenditure and operational expenditure needed for retrofit and maintenance. It is also considered a win–win mechanism for organising building energy efficiency retrofit projects. It aims to assist educational buildings in acquiring new high-efficiency equipment and maximising energy use reduction, as guaranteed by energy service company (ESCO). This study developed an EPC model using regression analysis, in which the inputs are based on the data collected during the preliminary energy audit in University A. As a result, with a quantum sharing ratio of 0.95/0.5 for ESCO/University A, the forecasted energy savings from the proposed ECMs, chiller optimisation and replacement, lighting retrofit, and energy management system are estimated to save 25.6% energy use, which reduces 5,672,057 kilowatt-hour (kWh) in electricity consumption; saves RM 2,762,291.76/year; carbon dioxide (CO2) mitigation equal to 3,771,061.22 kgCO2/year; return of investment of 4.2 years with a 5% interest rate; and building energy intensity of 93.55 kWh/m2/year. A sensitivity analysis of various quantum sharing ratios found that the saving value of ESCO is inversely proportional to that of University A as the client when the quantum sharing ratio for the former is increasing.

How Climate Action Plans are modified by the energy crisis? A focus on residential heating in Bristol

The recent surge in European energy prices could substantially reduce the social cost of Climate Action Plans. This paper conducts an ex-ante Cost-Benefit Analysis of mitigation policies in residential heating and studies the extent to which rising energy prices modifies their cost-effectiveness. I use the city of Bristol (UK) as a case study and assess two options: (1) investing in district heating networks in central districts or (2) subsidizing energy efficiency retrofits for least efficient dwellings. Implementing either of the two policy options under high energy prices trends increase economic benefits to households by around £ 1 per pound invested, in present value, relative to a scenario with baseline energy prices trends. Besides, district heating networks become more cost-effective at mitigating carbon emissions than energy efficiency retrofits.JEL classification: D61, Q41, Q48, Q58

Estimates of Long-Run Energy Savings and Realization Rates from a Large Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program

Estimates of Long-Run Energy Savings and Realization Rates from a Large Energy Efficiency Retrofit Program

Application of McKinsey Curve in Building Emission Reduction Technology

In order to promote the application of McKinsey energy reduction cost curves in buildings, This paper introduces the concept of McKinsey abatement cost curves, the current application status of building abatement measures and abatement cost data, makes an analysis for the economic characteristics of different energy efficiency measures in retrofit projects, and presents the retrofit measures, annual energy savings and investment costs used in retrofit programs by taking the example of energy efficiency retrofits in office and commercial buildings in the past 2 years, discloses the data changes in abatement costs for some energysaving retrofit technologies contrastingly, and suggests that dates should be iterated based on McKinsey abatement cost curves. The McKinsey abatement cost ctuve is usefill for guiding the selection of building energy efficiency measures. The curve is economical and visualized compatibly and is a good reference for making abatement decisions through timely updating the data of retrofit technologies and influencing factors.

In-Depth Analysis Based on Occupant Behaviour: A Support-Decision Method for Energy-Efficient Retrofitting of 20th Century Buildings

Several researches have demonstrated the capacity of dynamic energy simulations to accurately assess the energy performance of buildings. These studies have identified the performance gap between standard occupant behaviour models, based on conventional patterns, and the genuine energy consumption.This article aims at proposing an in-depth analysis methodology based on post-occupancy behavioural energy assessment. After demonstrating the interest and impact of the occupancy variable on the implementation of dynamic energy simulation processes, this paper proposes two survey campaigns carried out with residents of a social housing operation in the Vieille Motte district of Neuville-en-Ferrain in northern France. One aimed to shed light on residents’ habits in order to include diagnostic profiles in the simulations; the second aimed at estimating the residents’ satisfaction levels with regard to the proposed intervention measures. The first survey allowed us to quantify the impact of residents’ behaviour on the energy performance in the dwellings studied and to propose a decision support tool for strategic interventions on a case-by-case basis. The second campaign allowed us to support the inhabitants towards eco-responsible housing practices and to improve the acceptability of the proposed methodology here called “Rehabilitation 2.0”.

Pro-social concerns characterise landlords’ energy efficiency retrofit behaviour: evidence and implications for energy efficiency policy in Victoria, Australia

Internationally, rental properties have fewer energy efficiency features than other homes, causing unnecessary carbon emissions and poor health outcomes for tenants. Landlords are the primary decision-makers for energy efficiency retrofitting of rental properties, yet their retrofit behaviour is not well understood. We surveyed 500 small-scale private landlords in Victoria, Australia, to examine how a range of variables impacted landlords’ energy-efficient retrofitting. Landlords who installed more retrofits were more likely to have greater concern for tenants’ comfort, a relationship with the tenant, or greater knowledge of property conditions. Despite the existing literature and in contrast to the research on owner-occupiers, financial variables, environmental concerns, and sociodemographic variables were not associated with landlords’ retrofitting. We propose that policies may be more effective if they are framed in pro-social (rather than pro-environmental or financial terms) and convey information about the impact of property conditions on tenants’ wellbeing.

Determinants to the adoption of energy-efficient retrofits and the role of policy measures

ABSTRACT Buildings are responsible for around 45% of total energy consumption and one-third of CO2 emissions annually in Switzerland. Policymakers have argued that an increased rate of energy-saving retrofits in existing buildings will play a critical role in meeting the energy and climate policy goals. This article examines the determinants for the households’ investment decisions to undertake energy-efficient retrofits and investigates the role of policy measures. We estimate random effects probit models using a rich data for 1663 owned single-family Swiss households for retrofits undertaken during 2010 to 2014. Results suggest that while the building vintage appears to be a relevant determinant; energy-related attitudes of decision makers and policy instruments are also likely to play an important role. In particular, we find a suggestive evidence of tax deduction policy in supporting households’ decisions to undertake energy-saving retrofits as well as the intensity of renovation. Direct monetary policies such as tax deductions should be focused particularly upon poorly insulated old buildings and those that rely on non-renewable energy sources for heating purposes.

Evolutionary dynamics of homeowners’ energy-efficiency retrofit decision-making in complex network

Understanding homeowners' energy-efficiency retrofit (EER) decision-making is a critical priority for reducing the adverse environmental impacts of the building sector and promoting a sustainable consumption transition. Existing research lacks attention to the dynamics and social interactions in the decision-making process of homeowner EER adoption. This paper applies the complex network-based evolutionary game approach with agent-based modeling to construct an evolutionary dynamics model for homeowners’ EER adoption decision-making. Through simulation experiments, this paper examines the effects of various key factors, including government incentives, retrofit costs, retrofit uncertainty, and network size, on the evolution of EER adoption. The results suggest that government incentives facilitate EER adoption, but their effects require a sufficiently long period of policy implementation and extensive social interaction to be realized. Reducing retrofit costs is a robust and effective way to encourage EER adoption, especially when uncertainty is high. Retrofit uncertainty has a significant impact on the adoption evolution. Increased uncertainty can hinder adoption decisions. In particular, the combination of high uncertainty and incentives is prone to lead to incentive failure. The increase in network size contributes to EER adoption, but attention needs to be paid to the impact of potential incentive redundancy in large-scale networks.

Energy-efficient retrofitting with exterior shading device in hot and humid climate – case studies from fully glazed multi-storied office buildings in Chennai, India

ABSTRACT Many existing buildings are not sustainable, such as poorly insulated office buildings with large glass window panels that significantly increase the cooling energy use in a hot and humid climate. Energy-efficient retrofitting can substantially reduce energy use through a passive façade design. This paper suggests simulation as a method for selecting a façade retrofit solution at the early design stage. A façade retrofit solution that requires the integration of all three sustainability dimensions: energy efficiency, visual comfort, and economics. Two case studies of fully glazed multi-storied office buildings of different sizes demonstrate the methodology. This research adopted two simulation methods: one for façade retrofit solutions with fixed exterior shading device (ESD) types and the other for a dynamic ESD. The results show that fixed ESD with perforated fabric for 100% of the glazing area was 22.7% energy-saving retrofitting solution than the base case for the small sample and 17% energy-saving for the large sample with a low payback period of 7 years for both the case sample. Building practitioners, stakeholders, and end-users can use this simulation methodology for a successful façade retrofit decision-making at the early design stage.

House energy efficiency retrofits and loan maturity

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine how households opt for their loan’s duration when it comes to energy efficiency retrofits (EERs). The primary focus is on the time horizon that these types of EERs will provide benefits to the households. Design/methodology/approach This study examines the second wave of the largest EER support program in Greece in recent years. The authors exploit an idiosyncrasy of the support program which offered interest-free loans. The baseline sample of this study includes approximately 18,000 households awarded the support and opted for a loan. To provide robustness and complement the analysis, the authors also use data from 38,000 households that were awarded support from the first wave of the EER program. Findings This study finds that EER investments that are likely to deliver longer-term benefits, in the form of energy savings, are positively associated with longer duration. This finding implies that households view such EERs as long-term investments that will consistently provide benefits in the future, thereby tolerating a longer period of incurring the inconvenience of paying monthly installments. Practical implications This study posits that an EER can be perceived by the household as an investment that saves money in the long term because of more efficient energy use. To this end, the authors bring forward the duration of the benefits accrued to the household as a driving factor to the household’s decision over the length of the loan. Originality/value This study expands on prior literature that has focused on consumer and loans for durables (e.g. cars) by examining EERs. However, EERs are different, as they can save households money in future periods. In addition, house EERs are at the forefront of energy policies and the design of future support programs at the epicenter of several initiatives.

Analysis of Occupant Behaviours in Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Projects

This review of studies into Energy Efficiency Retrofitting (EER) has shown the practice of EER to be a key factor in sustainability regeneration. Thus, the retrofitting practice itself (the way it is organised) has received increasing attention from both practitioners and researchers, and studies are now addressing some issues that are affecting the retrofit level of achievement. Most of the risks which lead to low retrofit development are related to owners. This paper aims highlight the role of the occupants in achieving the goals of EER. It is found that: (a) the early involvement of occupants in the design and construction stage, (b) mutual engagement, and (c) an integral approach that involves the occupants are the key to motivate EER decisions from these same occupants. It follows that this involvement, including the demographic characteristics of the occupants, such as their culture, habits, preferences, awareness towards energy saving and socio-economic factors, are indeed effective in influencing the energy-related behaviours of these occupants. Moreover, other factors, such as space-heating behaviour, presence/absence of the occupants, control level of the equipment and window, and lighting control behaviour, are all effective factors in the energy performance of the buildings. Hence, socio-technical advancements, co-design processes and effective energy efficiency policies are recommended strategies to: (a) improve occupants’ behaviours; and (b) increase their participation in EER projects.

A Review on Technical Challenges and Possibilities on Energy Efficient Retrofit Measures in Heritage Buildings

For heritage buildings, energy-efficient retrofitting cannot be applied with the same range of possibilities as with existing buildings. Applying such improvements to heritage buildings can be challenging due to their historic and/or cultural significance and non-standard construction methods. This paper reviews the technical challenges and potential of applying energy efficient retrofit elements in heritage buildings. The retrofitting measures reviewed are draught-proofing, windows, insulation, ventilation, heating, solar photovoltaics and phase change materials. It is possible to significantly reduce energy use in heritage buildings with such retrofits. However, there is no universal way to apply energy-efficient retrofitting in heritage buildings, which is apparent in the literature, where case studies are prevalent.

Applying the response surface methodology to predict the energy retrofit performance of the TABULA residential building stock

Recent advances in computing software have enabled the development of calibrated building energy simulations tools that allow retrofit-related analysis including optimization and energy-efficient building design. However, to create a national energy and climate plan, using these tools may imply a great deal of effort (time, cost, and human resources) to carry out simulations for the full set of different building types, construction, geometries, design parameters, and retrofit scenarios. Because of this, simplified approaches that can reliably estimate the impact of energy-efficiency retrofit alternatives based on averaged building stock characteristics could offer a significant advantage, especially in middle-income countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. This study aims to explore the energy reduction potential of a representative building from the national residential building stock by utilizing the response surface methodology (RSM). In this study, RSM is combined with the energy simulation tools EnergyPlus and DesignBuilder to model the energy savings associated with energy-efficient retrofit measures for a residential building from the national TABULA registry in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This study introduces a novel energy consumption model that can be applied to optimize energy-efficient retrofit design solutions for reducing the energy consumption for heating and cooling in the residential building sector. Moreover, the model developed was validated by using the results of a national survey on energy consumption in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, the use of the model developed is versatile and suitable for rapid prediction of energy-efficient retrofit-related energy consumption and energy savings of the residential building stock.

Tripartite Evolutionary Game Analysis of Stakeholder Decision-Making Behavior in Energy-Efficient Retrofitting of Office Buildings

Environmental degradation is significantly influenced by the construction industry. Energy-efficient retrofitting of existing office buildings has become an effective means of reducing building energy consumption. Implementation of retrofits requires the support and cooperation of stakeholders. However, existing studies on the dynamics of decision-making behavior among stakeholders are still relatively limited. This study constructed a tripartite evolutionary game model including the government, property owners, and end users, to better understand the behavioral evolution and evolutionary stabilization strategies of stakeholders. The results show that: stakeholders’ decision-making behavior has obvious mutual influence; benefits and costs are the dominant factors in stakeholders’ decision making; the effects of government supervision policies depend on the profitability of the project; and government behavior appears to be influenced by public willingness. In addition, targeted countermeasures were proposed for the development of the energy-efficiency retrofit market. This study provides a generic model that fits various contexts and can be used to inform a reference for scientific decision making by stakeholders.