Residential Building Envelope Energy Retrofit Methods, Simulation Tools, and Example Projects: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

As one of the biggest energy consumers, buildings are the focus of the energy conservation market, and the building envelope, which has the highest impact on heating and cooling loads, is one of the main targets in retrofit projects. Several materials, systems, methods, and simulation tools are used in these projects, and it is critical to understand the impact of these methods in different locations, their frequency of use, and the effectiveness of market-ready new solutions. In that context, it is necessary to review the energy conservation measures (ECMs) that are suitable for residential building envelope retrofitting, and that are commercially available or under research and development. This paper provides an overview of these ECMs. A literature review was conducted on different building envelope ECMs, including traditional and innovative energy retrofit methods, such as aerogel and phase change materials on opaque and transparent components of existing buildings. Results show that the most effective retrofit projects include bundles of ECMs, and the traditional ECMs can be as effective as more innovative solutions in terms of energy saving. Moreover, computer energy models were created for a typical residential building in the US for cold and warm climate zones to determine the impact of different retrofit approaches based on a sensitivity analysis. Results show that envelope ECMs have higher energy saving potentials in cold climate zones, of up to around 30%, and reducing the air infiltration has the highest impact in both cold and warm climate zones in a typical small residential building.

Affordability assessment of passive retrofitting measures for residential buildings using life cycle assessment

“…For space-conditioning accounts, which consume the most energy in residential buildings, heating and cooling are responsible for 38–55% of the total energy consumption [ 13 ]. Beyond this, a passive system is considered an excellent alternative strategy for enhancing thermal comfort within a building [ 14 ].…”

Combining CAD Modeling and Simulation of Energy Performance Data for the Retrofit of Public Buildings

“…The third phase is the evaluation of the potential of each intervention, while the fourth phase is dedicated to the implementation of the renovation solutions, which are finally validated by the results in the fifth phase [11]. Numerous studies already provide tools and context for reducing energy consumption around the world [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Retrofitting existing structures can significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.…”

“…Therefore, they propose a machine learning approach to indicate optional interventions. Numerous studies already provide tools and context for reducing energy consumption around the world [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Retrofitting existing structures can significantly reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.…”

Reflectance and Color Tuning in TiO2-CuO Nanoparticle Composition Mixing

“…Improving the performance of existing buildings and adopting smart constructive solutions and materials when developing or renovating residential houses is an interesting strategy for mitigating such energy consumption. With most of building overheating coming from solar radiation, the development of thermal insulation systems [5][6][7] and reflective materials [8][9][10][11] are key steps to effectively reduce energy consumption. In particular, the incorporation of materials with tuned and enhanced optical properties in envelope systems (roofs, pavements or façades) to improve energy performance is being actively pushed by the scientific community [12][13][14][15].…”