2016 ASHRAE Winter Conference

This paper introduces a systematic approach to define a lighting replacement strategy that comprises the following: lighting type, location, efficacy, cost and service classification. The paper also presents an actual life-cycle cost example as a decision support tool to evaluate replacement cost effectiveness. Study results highlight the significant role lighting replacement can play to meet target energy consumption and reductions in CO2 emissions. The approach proposed in this paper can be adopted by organizations operating under similar environments that want to showcase their leadership in energy efficiency and environmental compliance.

Climate has a major impact on energy use in buildings, especially in Saudi Arabia. Due to the complexities of the Saudi Building Code, Energy Conservation Requirements (SBC-601) and the lack of a simple building science-based climate zone map for Saudi Arabia, neither builders nor designers have been able to demonstrate code compliance, and neither have the authorities having jurisdiction been able to mandate code enforcement properly.  As a result, 70% of Saudi Arabian homes are today, for example, not insulated, which results in the consumption of nearly 52% of electrical power generated. This study explains the details of how the above-mentioned shortcomings can be addressed through development of a Kingdom-specific climate zone map online tool, which characterizes the SBC 601 minimum prescriptive energy efficiency performance requirements for residential and nonresidential buildings envelopes. The study also highlights the significant role this tool can play in facilitating code compliance and gives examples of the potential energy savings.

ASHRAE 90.1 is an energy standard for buildings except low-rise residential buildings. It provides minimum design and construction requirements for most types of Residential and Commercial buildings and their systems. The objective of this technical paper is to analyze and assess, some of the building envelope values in ASHRAE 90.1 such as wall, roof, and glazing, using building energy modelling simulation techniques for different regions in the Middle East. A comparative analysis is made for thermal conductivity (U) values of walls, roof,  glazing, and solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC), based on the results from building energy modelling simulation, to analyse the energy consumption and energy savings potential and obtain optimised values for these parameters relevant to the Middle Eastern region. Also, a comparative analysis is made to examine the performance of building envelope values with Residential and Commercial buildings.

The energy utilization index (EUI) is commonly used to describe a building's energy performance. This index is not without shortcomings, as it does not adequately address issues such as space utilization, occupant density, or irreducible process loads. This paper explores the use of a bottom-up approach for energy benchmarking, both for design optimization and portfolio analysis, utilizing a concept known as energy usage effectiveness (EUE). The EUE metric is based on the ratio of a building's total energy use divided by an adapted calculation of process energy use. Benchmark EUE values will be calculated based on the Department of Energy's Commercial Reference Building's for new construction, existing buildings "post-1980" and existing buildings "pre-1980s." The full range of ASHRAE climate ones will be represented for all of the major building types available. EUE will be compared to calculated EUI, to highlight correlations and divergences in the outcome data. The EUE concept will also be applied to data from a heavily sub-metered high-performance building, as well as public data published in ASHRAE high-performance building case studies. Discussion will include possible ways for ASHRAE Standard 90.1 to be adapted to utilize EUE and further rolled into green construction codes.