Computational Study On High-rise Residential Building Energy Demand Reduction Via Retrofitting

In China,building energy consumption as a proportion of the total final consumption of energy products is approximately 1/3.The reduction of energy consumption and CO2 emission is regarded as a high priority in the building sector.The decrease of energy use in residential building sector also plays an important role in building energy conservation since it is a major energy consumer.A high-rise residential building located in Jining City,Shandong Province has been selected as the study object.This study aims to improve the thermal properties and reduce energy consumption of the target building using energy-saving retrofitting measures.Real fabric parameters and part of energy consumption data were gathered through field study.The base model of the target building was established base on the gathered data using DesignBuilder software.The simulation and analysis of energy consumption were carried out.Two strategies of energy-saving retrofitting were designed based on current building standard and Passive House standard.The energy consumption was simulated and analysed in the retrofitted model.The feasibility in economy and energy conservation was examined for the energy-saving retrofitting scenario based on Passive House standard.The simulation results indicated that the 52.7%reduction of overall energy consumption was achieved in the retrofitted model which was based on the current building standard.The heating consumption was reduced by 66.8%and the cooling consumption was reduced by 1.7%.767846 kWh of energy would be saved in a calendar year.The total energy consumption was reduced by 78.9%through the energy-saving retrofitting strategy based on Passive House standard.The heating demand was decreased by 96%and the cooling demand was reduced by 8.7%.767846 kWh of energy would be saved in a calendar year.The results of economic analysis demonstrated that the simple payback period was 19 years.Profits could be obtained for 24 years of the building remaining lifetime.The results indicate that it is feasible to achieve the Passive House standard at aspects of economy and energy conservation.This study focuses on the Passivhaus-based energy-saving retrofitting in high-rise residential buildings using DesignBuilder software which is new and innovative in China cold zone.The methodology and retrofitting approaches can be applied to other similar existing residential buildings in the area.