Energy Consumption and Thermal Comfort Investigation and Retrofitting Strategies for an Educational Building: Case Study in a Temperate Climate Zone

Cihan Turhan, Sanarya Ghazi

In terms of global sustainable development, buildings are one of the largest energy consumers. Although technology advancements actively assist in constructing environmentally friendly buildings, educational buildings still consume a large amount of energy. On the other hand, establishing high-quality school structures is vital to give a high-quality education to future generations. Thermally comfortable zones aids physical and mental well-being of students. To this aim, this study considers to evaluate the possibility of improving energy efficiency and thermal comfort in educational buildings by making minor changes to the architecture rather than reconstructing. As a case study, a university building in a temperate climate zone is selected. Seven different retrofitting strategies including changing the window and frame types, adding a Trombe wall, replacing insulation materials, adding solar collectors, decreasing set temperature and airtightness and modification on lighting system are simulated in a dynamic building energy simulation tool. The results showed that adding rock wool insulating material reduced student discomfort hours by 17%. Furthermore, using a solar collector was the most expensive choice.

A Statistical Analysis of the Energy Performance Characteristics for the Residential Building Stock in Jordan

Reham Alasmar, Yair Schwartz, Esfandiar Burman

The residential sector is responsible for the consumption of 46% of the building’s total primary energy consumption in Jordan. The Jordanian housing stock will need to be significantly improved to meet the government’s commitment to reduce national emissions by 2050. This research aims to examine the available statistical data on residential buildings, to help better understand the current state of housing stock in Jordan and pave the way to generate a national housing stock model, as well as to identify opportunities in improving the energy efficiency of these buildings.

The study synthesised data from the Department of Statistics housing survey and the Jordan Green Building Council survey to investigate the Jordanian national housing stock. The aggregated data was examined using a descriptive statistical analysis method. The data was then merged to provide aggregated datasets with detailed building characteristics.

The study successfully characterized residential buildings archetypes and identified a range of typical thermal performance-related building characteristics (e.g., envelope properties, HVAC systems, lighting systems, etc.). The findings of the statistical analysis can be useful for policymakers in Jordan to gain insights into the current state of the housing stock, identify trends and patterns, and make informed decisions and initiatives such as the improvement of regulatory building code requirements for energy efficiency.