Building envelope influence on the annual energy performance in office buildings

Abstract

The objective of the research is to determine the quantitative influence of building envelope on the annual heating and cooling energy demand in office buildings demonstrated on a reference office-tower building located in city of Novi Sad, Serbia. The investigation intended to find preferable and applicable solutions for energy performance improvement in currently inefficient office buildings. A comparative and evaluative analysis was performed among the heating energy expenses and simulated values from the multi-zone model designed in EnergyPlus engine. The research determines an improved window to wall ratio using dynamic daylight simulation and presents the influence of glazing parameters (U-value, solar heat gain coefficient) on the annual energy performance. Findings presented window to wall ratio reduction down to 30% and point out the significance of the solar heat gain coefficient parameter on the overall energy performance of buildings with high internal loads. The calculation of the air-ventilation energy demand according to EN 15251 is included, respectively. Results offer effective methods for energy performance improvement in temperate climate conditions.