Study on thermal comfort and energy conservation potential of office buildings in subtropical Taiwan

The world has not been able to achieve minimum greenhouse gas emissions in buildings’ energy consumptions because the energy and emissions optimization techniques have not been fully utilized. Thermal comfort is one of the most important issues for both residential and commercial buildings. Out of the 40% of global energy consumed by buildings, a large fraction is used to maintain their thermal comfort. In this study, a comprehensive review of the recent advancements in building energy conservation and efficiency application is presented based on existing high-quality research papers. Additionally, the retrofit of the heating/cooling and hot water system for an entire community in Cyprus is presented. This study aims to analyze the technical and environmental benefits of replacing existing electric heaters for hot water with heat pump water heating systems and the use of heat pump air conditioners for thermal comfort in place of the existing ordinary air conditioners for space heating and cooling. One administrative building, 86 apartments (including residential and commercial) buildings, and a restaurant building is retrofitted, and the feasibility of the project is determined based on three economic indicators, namely; simple payback period (SPP), internal rate of return (IRR), and net present value (NPV). The electrical energy required by the hot water systems and the heating/cooling system is reduced by 263,564 kWh/yr and 144,825 kWh/yr, respectively. Additionally, the retrofit project will reduce Cyprus’ CO2 emission by 121,592.8 kg yearly. The SPP, IRR, and NPV for the project show that the retrofit is economically feasible.

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Using Thermostats for Indoor Climate Control in Office Buildings: The Effect on Thermal Comfort

Energies ◽

10.3390/en10091368 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 1368 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Georgios Kontes ◽

Georgios Giannakis ◽

Philip Horn ◽

Simone Steiger ◽

Dimitrios Rovas

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Office Buildings ◽

Indoor Climate ◽

Climate Control

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Novel stochastic approach to predict the energy demand and thermal comfort in the office buildings considering materials and human-related Gaussian uncertainties

Journal of Building Engineering ◽

10.1016/j.jobe.2021.102831 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102831

Author(s):

Marcin Koniorczyk ◽

Witold Grymin ◽

Marcin Zygmunt ◽

Dariusz Gawin

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Stochastic Approach ◽

Office Buildings

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The Role of Wind on Double Skin Facades in High Rise Office Building

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.787.711 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 787 ◽

pp. 711-716

Author(s):

Daryanto ◽

Eko Budihardjo ◽

Wahyu Setyabudi ◽

Gagoek Hardiman

Keyword(s):

Energy Conservation ◽

Building Envelope ◽

Office Buildings ◽

Thermal Discomfort ◽

High Rise ◽

Double Skin ◽

The Subject ◽

Air Conditioning Systems ◽

Double Skin Facades

There was an indication that high rise buildings in Jakarta was not designed based on energy conservation principles. The most important aspects of the high-rise buildings is energy saving technology located in the building envelope design. Building envelope with a full glass design functions for widening view and enhancing natural lights, even though but it is also increasing energy consumption and thermal discomfort due to the intensity of solar radiation in hot humid climates. During the current decade, the development of double building envelope type (Double Skin Façade: DSF) seemed more just to improve the aesthetics and the use of natural light, while the wind and thermal performance aspects were still lack of serious consideration. Those aspects will be chosen as the subject matter in this research. The research was aimed to investigate and compare the value of heat transfer in the building envelope of high-rise office buildings. Samples were taken from five DSF buildings, with closed and open cavity. CFD software is used for simulation of the five different models of DSF. The research proves that the high-rise office buildings as the research object in Jakarta do not apply energy conservation principle. The utilization of wind in the DSF cavity can reduce temperature and relieve the burden of air conditioning systems that is energy save. An important finding of the research is the need for ventilation in the design of a double skin at high-rise office buildings in the humid tropics.

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Hypothermia and Energy Conservation: A Tradeoff for Elderly Persons?

The International Journal of Aging and Human Development ◽

10.2190/5qqu-u15h-pb8u-m8vp ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 151-161 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Susan M. Macey

Keyword(s):

Energy Conservation ◽

Thermal Comfort ◽

Elderly People ◽

Home Environment ◽

Accidental Hypothermia ◽

Elderly Persons ◽

Residential Energy ◽

Conservation Measure ◽

Measure Methods

For many elderly people, residential energy conservation options are often limited to little or no cost measures such as reducing their winter nighttime thermostat setting. As a result, conflicts can arise between the need to preserve health and the necessity to conserve energy. Under these circumstances, accidental hypothermia is an important and growing concern. This study examines the association between concern for health and the adoption by elderly persons of a lowered winter nighttime thermostat setting. Evidence from two surveys of elderly respondents who maintain separate owner-occupied residences shows that health and thermal comfort concerns are the major reasons for nonadoption of this energy conservation measure. Methods are presented for increasing energy conservation while maintaining a healthful home environment.

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