Evaluation of School Building Energy Performance and Classroom Indoor Environment

Abstract

Existing building stock represents potential for energy saving renovations. Energy savings and indoor climate comfort are key demands for sustainable building refurbishment. Especially in schools, indoor comfort is an extremely important issue. A case study of energy consumption in selected school buildings in temperate climatic conditions of Central Europe region was performed. The studied buildings are representatives of various school premises constructed throughout the last century. The evaluation was based on data analysis of energy audits. The goal was aimed at assessment of the school building envelopes and their influence on energy consumption. One of the studied schools was selected for detailed evaluation. The school classroom was monitored for indoor thermal and visual environments. The monitoring was performed to compare the current state and renovation scenarios. Results of the evaluation show that the school buildings are highly inefficient even if renovated. Indoor climate in classrooms is largely influenced by windows. Solar gains affect interior thermal stability and daylighting. Thermal insulation quality of building envelopes and efficient solar shading systems appear to be fundamental tasks of school renovation strategies.

Comment on Pietrapertosa et al. How to Prioritize Energy Efficiency Intervention in Municipal Public Buildings to Decrease CO2 Emissions? A Case Study from Italy. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 4434

“…Moreover, recalculation of results shown in Table 3 indicates that heat savings due to other measures analyzed were considered directly proportional to the expected heat savings by outer walls insulation, which is an oversimplification. Similarly, the expected electric energy savings due to lighting refit are evidently a rough estimate due to the lack of actual design and operation data [ 19 ] and findings acquirable by site visit only [ 13 , 20 ].…”

“… Lighting refit is proposed. Given a probably wide range of existing lighting system quality, reliability, age, etc., such measure cannot be evaluated without a site visit [ 13 ]. Taking the building of our faculty as an example: the lighting is partly refitted, partly dysfunctional and there is no relevant information on how its operation time relates to working hours.…”

A Procedure for Automating Energy Analyses in the BIM Context Exploiting Artificial Neural Networks and Transfer Learning Technique

“…They found that depending on the expected life cycle of the building, the priority of investments on more performing technologies should be accurately analyzed, being that not obvious. Mohelníková et al [24] analyzed several options for complex retrofits focused on building envelopes and their window/shading systems together with the installation of efficient technical systems for HVAC systems. Their analyses on heating energy demands in existing old buildings showed the importance of renovations for their energy efficiency.…”

Winter Thermal Comfort and Perceived Air Quality: A Case Study of Primary Schools in Severe Cold Regions in China

“…The classroom is the most important functional space in the teaching building and is also a staff-intensive space. The indoor comfort requirement is a basic requirement of the school and is more important than the energy conservation requirement [2]. The classroom should provide a comfortable and healthy indoor air environment because occupants may be in the classroom for a long time.…”