Abstract
One of the significant issues in the buildings during a Post-Occupancy Evaluation is exceeded energy usage, especially in buildings was constructed before the energy crises in the 70s, such as university campuses. This research conducted based on the POE projects for four major academic buildings across the Texas Tech University (TTU) campus in Lubbock, TX, to evaluate the building performance and users’ comfort. While most of the buildings in TTU consume more energy than the average EUI for university buildings, energy consumption and harmful consequences should be considered. For this purpose and building performance evaluation, data on actual energy consumption, building construction specifications, operating schedules, and equipment for each building have been gathered. Then, all four building energy models were created on IES Virtual Environment (IESVE) and calibrated based on actual data for similar buildings and climate zone through the ENERGY STAR portfolio manager. Next, potential retrofits for energy- efficiency, such as passive strategies and renewable energy production, are modeled in IESVE. Results from the building energy simulations indicated that among the strategies for reducing energy consumption, specific approaches (Double Glazing and Set Back for thermostats) could achieve energy reductions by 15% and 18%, respectively. Furthermore, combining different retrofits to enhance energy efficiency could result in a substantial reduction 28%, 24%, 23%, and 26%, in annual energy consumption across the studied buildings, representing a noticeable improvement. These findings, derived from building energy modeling (BEM), enable quick and accurate decision-making regarding building performance enhancement in occupied buildings.
Presenters
Mohammad Mehdi GhiaiAssistant Professor, School of Architecture and Design, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Louisiana, United States Sepideh Niknia
Student, PhD Student, Texas Tech University, Texas, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Economic, Social, and Cultural Context
KEYWORDS
Building Energy Modeling, Post Occupancy Evaluation, Energy Use Intensity, Energy-Efficiency
