Multistage Optimization toward a Nearly Net Zero Energy Building Due to Climate Change

Abstract

Climate change is one of the major problems of the planet. The atmosphere is overloaded with carbon dioxide caused by fossil fuels that are burned for energy. Almost 40 percent of the total energy worldwide is used by the building sector, which comes from non-renewable sources and contributes up to 30% of annual greenhouse gas emissions globally. The building sector in Iran accounts for 33.8% of Iran’s total energy usage. Within the building sector, the energy consumption of Iranian educational buildings is 2.5 times higher than educational buildings in developed countries. One of the most effective ways of reducing global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions is retrofitting existing buildings. This study aims to investigate whether a particular energy-optimized design under the present climate conditions would respond effectively to future climate change. This can help designers make a better decision on an optimal model, which can remain optimal over the years based on climate change. For methodological purposes, multistage optimization was used to retrofit an existing educational building. Specifically, the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) was chosen to minimize the cooling and heating load, as well as consider investment costs for present and future weather files, using the jEPlus tool. Furthermore, the TOPSIS method was used to identify the best set of retrofit measures. For this purpose, a four-story educational building in Tehran was modeled on Design Builder software as a case study to provide a better understanding for researchers of how to effectively retrofit a building to achieve a nearly zero energy building considering climate change. The results show that the optimized solution for the present weather file does not remain the optimized solution in 2080. Moreover, it is shown that to have an optimized building in regard to future weather files, the model should be designed for the future weather conditions. This study shows that if the building becomes optimized using the present weather file the total energy consumption will be reduced by 65.14% and 86.18% if using the future weather file. These two figures are obtained by implementing active and passive measures and show the priority of using the future weather file for designers. Using PV panels also, this building is capable of becoming a nearly net zero building, which would produce about 90% of its own energy demands.

Influence of Variable Moisture Conditions on the Value of the Thermal Conductivity of Selected Insulation Materials Used in Passive Buildings

“…The atmosphere is overloaded with carbon dioxide released by fossil fuels when they are burned to produce energy. The authors of the work [6] examined whether a specific project optimised with regard to energy consumption in the current climatic conditions can effectively respond to future climate challenges. They considered it important to provide for nearly net zero energy buildings proper thermal insulation, which is particularly vital for buildings in cooler climates.…”

“…Another key factor is climate change and violent weather phenomena that occur globally, which clearly indicate the need to reduce pollutant emissions into the atmosphere, including pollution caused by the heating of buildings. The construction industry consumes almost 40% of the total energy in the world, which, moreover, comes from non-renewable energy sources and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions [1][2][3][4][5][6]. The demand for climate protection affects the necessity to apply such material, technological and organisational solutions at the design stage, thanks to which Energies 2022, 15, 2626 2 of 17 new and modernized buildings will use less energy for heating, ventilation and hot water preparation.…”

Strategies to save energy in the context of the energy crisis: a review

“…Strategies such as optimizing passive design, energy-efficient building systems, and developing intelligent energy monitoring and analysis systems can be effective for achieving energy saving goals. Optimizing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems is one of the most effective measures for reducing energy consumption in buildings (Aram et al 2022 ; Taheri et al 2022 ; Yao and Shekhar 2021 ).…”

Confronting Current Crises and Critical Challenges of Climate Change

“…One of the most effective ways of reducing global energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions is retrofitting existing buildings. Aram et al (2022) investigate whether a particular energy-optimized design under the present climate conditions would respond effectively to future climate change. This can help designers make a better decision on an optimal model, which can remain optimal over the years based on climate change.…”