Open AccessEnergy performance analysis and low carbon retrofit solutions for residential buildings
Author(s) -
E Liapopoulou,
Theodoros Theodosiou
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
iop conference series. earth and environmental science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.179
H-Index - 26
eISSN - 1755-1307
pISSN - 1755-1315
DOI - 10.1088/1755-1315/410/1/012026
Subject(s) - carbon footprint , greenhouse gas , installation , environmental science , analytic hierarchy process , civil engineering , efficient energy use , retrofitting , building envelope , engineering , operations research , thermal , mechanical engineering , structural engineering , meteorology , ecology , physics , electrical engineering , biology
The aim of this paper is to investigate the energy performance of residential buildings, through a case study of a typical domestic house located in Thessaloniki, Northern Greece. The building’s energy performance is simulated and analysed using the DesignBuilder software. The study then performs a parametric analysis, in which deviation in various parameters is compared against the current situation in the thermal, cooling load and total energy requirements. The significance of changing each parameter is evaluated by considering the energy balance. Finally, the study uses the Analytical Hierarchy Procedure (AHP) to choose the best sustainable retrofit option in order to reduce the carbon footprint in a domestic house. The alternatives considered are sealing the building envelope (installing cavity-wall insulation), on-site energy generation (solar PVTs), installation of energy efficient appliances, and home monitoring with smart meters. The procedure suggests a solution that best meets the criteria of cost, greenhouse gases emissions reduction, and ease of installation. The case study suggests that smart meters monitoring is the best option, followed by cavity-wall insulation.