Dynamic Energy Performance Gap Analysis of a University Building: Case Studies at UAE University Campus, UAE

Abstract

As a result of an increasing demand for energy-efficient buildings with a better experience of user comfort, the built environment sector needs to consider the prediction of building energy performance, which during the design phase, is achieved when a building is handed over and used. There is, however, significant evidence that shows that buildings do not perform as anticipated. This discrepancy is commonly described as the ‘energy performance gap’. Building energy audit and post occupancy evaluation (POE) are among the most efficient processes to identify and reduce the energy performance gap and improve indoor environmental quality by observing, monitoring, and the documentation of in-use buildings’ operating performance. In this study, a case study of UAE university buildings’ energy audit, POE, and dynamic simulation were carried out to first, identify factors of the dynamic energy performance gap, and then to identify the utility of the strategy for reducing the gap. Furthermore, the building energy audit data and POE were applied in order to validate and calibrate a dynamic simulation model. This research demonstrated that the case study building’s systems were not operating as designed and almost a quarter of the cooling energy was wasted due to the fault of the building facility management of the mechanical systems. The more research findings were discussed in the paper.

Energijos Vartojimo Spragų Tyrimas Administraciniame Pastate

“…Ki Kim et al (2020) teigia, kad pastatų energinis auditas yra vienas iš efektyviausių procesų, leidžiančių nustatyti ir sumažinti energijos vartojimo efektyvumo atotrūkį bei pagerinti patalpų oro kokybę stebint ir ana lizuojant duomenis bei dokumentus. Buvo atlikti pastatų energiniai auditai (1 pav.…”

“…1 lentelėje pateikiami tolesnio tyrimo (Ki Kim et al, 2020) rezultatai, rodantys skirtingų energijos tipų ir pa skirties pastatų, pastatytų skirtingomis klimato sąlygo mis, energijos suvartojimo skirtumus (EPG) tarp numa tomų ir faktinių energijos suvartojimų.…”

Identifying occupancy patterns and profiles in higher education institution buildings with high occupancy density – A case study

“…Previous research shows that educational buildings not only consume a relatively large amount of energy but also tend to have high-performance gaps (Andersen et al 2014;Bernardo and Oliveira 2018;Chatterton 2018). The lack of knowledge of the building occupants in such high-density buildings results in a high-performance gap, as reported in previous studies, to be up to 85% in electrical energy consumption (Amber 2017;Kim et al 2021). Therefore, the knowledge and understanding of the occupancy profiles will contribute to the mitigation of the performance gap between the estimated energy consumption by building simulation tools at the design stage and the actual energy consumption of buildings.…”

Development and Analysis of a Dynamic Energy Model of an Office Using a Building Management System (BMS) and Actual Measurement Data

“…In addition, having a simulation model already established is usually calibrated to reduce the performance gap [25] and evaluate a particular control strategy [15]. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the building's active systems operation [6] and management [26], carefully include occupancy behaviour prediction [27][28][29]. Such a comprehensive assessment of parameters and operational strategy will improve the energy efficiency and accuracy of dynamic simulation models of newly built or existing buildings.…”