The Energy Retrofit Impact in Public Buildings: A Numerical Cross-Check Supported by Real Consumption Data

Abstract

In the framework of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption, the energy retrofit of existing buildings plays a significant role and is often supported by numerical analyses of the planned activities and expected results. This study analyses a public building (a kindergarten) located in Bialystok (Poland) and aims to determine the building’s energy performance prior to and after thermal modernization. The building was examined by employing two different software packages, Audytor OZC 7.0 Pro and Trnsys 18. The thermal efficiency improvement applied to the renovated building in Bialystok was also analyzed by virtually locating the building in Bologna (Italy). Moreover, a comfort analysis focused on the classrooms of the kindergarten was carried out employing Trnsys. As a novelty, in the analysis, particular attention is paid to ventilation losses and to the influence of envelope elements properties on the building energy demand. The results arising from analyses were compared to real consumption data for the heating season. The results obtained from the two software programs display excellent agreement, and they also match the real consumption data if the heating demand is considered, while some differences arise when the cooling demand is considered.

Thermal Characteristics and User Regulation of Household Heat Metering for Residential District Heating Systems in Northern China

“…Although there are control systems, the behavior of users opening windows is also worth considering. Even for retrofitted buildings, ventilation loss may still account for 70% of total heat loss [32]. In addition, users often worry about differences in heating costs, so a method that calculates minimum and maximum heating costs was studied to help allocate heating costs in multifamily buildings [33].…”