Evaluation of passive design strategies to achieve NZEB in the corporate facilities: the context of Bangladeshi subtropical monsoon climate

Abstract

PurposeThis study investigates the impact and economic viability of energy-efficient building envelope and orientation for contributing net zero energy building (NZEB) and suggests optimum thermal insulation thickness, optimum wall thickness, appropriate orientation and glazing types of window in the contexts of unique Bangladeshi subtropical monsoon climate.Design/methodology/approachThe whole study was conducted through energy simulation perspective of an existing office building using building information modeling (BIM) and building energy modeling (BEM) tools which are Autodesk Revit 2017, Autodesk Green Building Studio (GBS) and eQUEST. Numerous simulation patterns were created for energy simulation considering building envelope parameters and orientations. A comprehensive data analysis of simulation results was conducted to sort out efficient passive design strategies.FindingsThe optimum thermal mass and thermal insulation thickness are 6.5 and 0.5 inches, respectively, considering energy performance and economic viability. This study highly recommends that a building should be designed with a small window-to-wall ratio in the south and west face. The window should be constructed with double glazing Low-E materials to reduce solar heat gain. The studied building saves 9.14% annual energy consumption by incorporating the suggested passive design strategies of this study.Originality/valueThe output of this work can add some new energy-efficient design strategies to Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) because BNBC has not suggested any codes or regulations regarding energy-efficient passive design strategies. It will also be useful to designers of Bangladesh and other countries with similar subtropical climatic contexts which are located in Southeast Asia and Northern Hemisphere of Earth.

Building Information Modeling/Building Energy Simulation Integration Based on Quantitative and Interpretative Interoperability Analysis

“…The authors concluded that the workflow is effective, however, adaptations to the model were necessary before the simulation. Rana et al [24] analyze passive strategies for energy efficiency with BIM/BES workflow through the modeling of office buildings in Khulna, Bangladesh using Revit 2017 and comparisons between two BES software, eQUEST and GBS. It was concluded that the two BES software's presented similar results because they have DOE-2 as a simulation mechanism.…”

Energy-efficiency measures to achieve zero energy buildings in tropical and humid climates

“…It can be said that energy efficiency is the first objective of NZEB development, followed by the production of renewable energy from on-site or off-site sources, requirements that cannot be minimized; therefore, to achieve renewable energy technologies such as photovoltaics, wind turbines, solar thermal, district heating, heat pumps, and cooling must be mounted to meet the lasting energy requirements. Likewise, the energy-efficient building envelope is composed of wall thickness, thermal insulation materials, appropriate glazing type, and insulation thickness, which can provide energy efficiency by reducing solar heat increase and cooling load in the subtropical climate in terms of direct solar heat increase, and daylight implementation can be optimized by proper position [24,25].…”

“…In tropical/subtropical climates, a lot of energy is consumed for refrigeration, and conventional air conditioners are widely used [24]; envelope systems for buildings in hot and humid climates are the main shield to reduce cooling loads for NZEBs. Those characteristics of the envelopes shared by NZEBs can be summarized in the following parameters [1]:…”

Influence of Thermal Enclosures on Energy Saving Simulations of Residential Building Typologies in European Climatic Zones

“…In this case, the consumption for an identical building, taking into account the Internal Partitions adopts the value of 91.875 kWh/m 2 year (Equation ( 4)) with a result of the simulation equal to 92. 23…”